Ball Points (11-7-2009)

• Smart-Gilas finally won a game yesterday as they defeated the Coca-Cola Tigers 98-93. This game and the remaining games of the RP developmental squad will not count anymore in the PBA squads' win-loss record so it's reasonable to think that the PBA teams might not take the games seriously anymore. I caught some portions of the game and it seemed like the Tigers were very much interested in winning the ball game. Still, I can't say that I was impressed by the performance of the Gilas team as they defeated a team that lacks both in manpower and talent. The Tigers did not have men Ken Bono and Asi Taulava in their lineup yesterday and we can't really say that the current roster of the Tigers on paper can strike fear into other PBA teams like SMB and TNT. In my opinion, the biggest concern for the Gilas team right now is individual defense. Chris Tiu has proven that he can really score in Toroman's system but his defense is something I'm not fond of. He's lucky that the Tigers do not have a proven guard that can score 20 points night in and night out. I understand why Japeth can't guard Kerby Raymundo but I can not understand why he can't guard Beau Belga or Norman Gonzales. They're just outsmarting him. It's not like those guys are uber talented. Japeth has the tools to be a great individual and team defender but he needs to have the willingness to be a good defender. I just hope coach Rajko Toroman can motivate this kid to play up to his utmost potential.
• After weeks of speculation, the JRU Heavy Bombers have announced that the Vergel Meneses will be the their new head coach. Derrik Pumaren is also being eyed to assist him to provide the much needed coaching experience in JRU's sidelines. I'm not really sure what to expect from Vergel as he has had little coaching experience from the past. Unlike Coach Ato Aguston, he will be under a lot of pressure as he is inheriting a very talented roster consisting of reining NCAA MVP John Wilson, former Mythical Five member Marvin Hayes and foreigner big man Joe Etame.
• The RP Patriots have inflicted the first loss of Singapore Slingers as they beat the Singapore-based squad 70-53 at The Arena, San Juan today. The Patriots played hard-nose, physical defense that has been the signature of the recent Letran squads coached by the Patriots' coach Louie Alas. The RP squad forced the Slingers to TOs and swatted shots all game long. The visiting team just could not get into any type of rhythm in the game. The nationals of Slingers were non-factors. Their imports Kyle Jeffers and Michael Leblanc were forced to carry the load on their own and it allowed the RP squad to gank up on them.

Wynne Arboleda attacks a fan during a game vs Smart Gilas, BK won 115-105

Wynne Arboleda a.k.a. "the snatcher" threw a few punches to a Smart Gilas fan which was apparently sitting only a few inches away from the court. This whole incident happened yesterday during the debut game of the PBA guest team(Smart Gilas) vs the Burger King Whoppers as BK won 115 to 105.



This “punch-a-fan” thing started when the fan was cursing Wynne maybe because he was hurting the Smart Gilas players. A few moments later after the foul was made, Wynne was provoked and attacked the fan with a kick and four punches. Luckily, the guy managed to defend himself and the punches thrown at him apparently missed but the kick hit him. Wynne already earned himself a flagrant foul in the first quarter before this incident happened.

After that occurrence, the 13 point lead of Smart Gilas vanished instantly. We were watching the game in Araneta and hoping for a blowout game for Smart Gilas but instead, it was a blowout game for the other team. All I could say is that the game was like an initiation for the boys. Sneaky punches were thrown, luckily for BK refs didn’t see it. Smart Gilas couldn't defend well because players are in foul trouble. I think every player has a foul and about at least four of them have 4 or more fouls. Even obvious flops for the BK players were called.

One more thing, Burger King should be called “Floppers” instead of Whoppers.

BTW, Here are some things Chris Tiu have to say about the game :

-"Today, we got clobbered, literally and figuratively, by the BK Whoopers! It was more of a boxing match than a basketball match. We expected it, but we didn't see it coming this bad."

-"For me it's not so much about the X and O's. It was their viciousness that got us out of our normal rhythm. 4 flagrant fouls in the first half and Winnie Arboleda's "attacking a fan" moment saw our 13 point lead disappear at an instant. Our players became hesitant to drive to the basket and dive for the loose balls. And that is what all coaches will probably instruct their players to do when playing against a younger, skinnier and faster team. It was a fitting initiation for us in our debut game in the PBA."

Ball Points (10-12-2009)

• The Lions have secured the no. 1 seed in the NCAA as they won their playoff against the SSC- Golden Stags, 71 -65. Apparently, Jimbo Aquino was thrown out of the game for throwing a punch at Jake Pascual. I wasn't able to watch the full game so I'm not sure about this. Also, Borgie Hermida is getting a lot of love with his performance in this game. He will be certainly needed by the Lions in the F4 (and Finals most probably) for his experience as he is one of the only two remaining starters of last year's championship squad. These Red Lions have been stuck in 2nd place since they suffered a defeat at the hands of the Stags in the 1st round. They only tasted the share of 1st place last Monday when they defeated this Stags. Are the Red Lions peaking at the right time? Is SBC going FOURward? I certainly hope not. I'm getting sick of seeing Frankie Lim win championship after championship.
• Here's a post regarding Franz Pumaren and his master plan. Can you imagine Kiefer Ravena in a DLSU jersey? A staring lineup of Ravena-Agovida-Webb-Bringas-Van Opstal would surely be enough to give DLSU a Final 4 appearance and possibly multiple championships. A combination of Dindo Pumaren and a talented deep team like the 2007 UE team doesn't really sound that good to me though.
• Finally, the Japeth Aguilar drama ends. What's with Lito Alvarez giving BS answers? It's not like we all didn't know that he was eventually going to trade Japeth for picks(which he will use to draft young players then sell them once they've established their names in the PBA) and cash. Why is the PBA allowing teams like BK and RB stay in the league? I know Mark Heisley (Memphis Grizzlies owner) is cheap bastard but he's not selling OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay and he just traded for the $28M 2 year deal of Zach Randolph (which is a dumb move).
• Capt. Jack no more. Jackson has relinquished the role of being the Warriors' captain. He has not yet changed his stand on being traded and is actually open to a buyout. A buyout after just signing a $27M 3 year extension? Talk about having no sense of commitment. He's already got his guaranteed cash so WTH with the GS Warriors. Right Jack?

Ball Points (10-12-2009)

• On the last day of a very long elimination round in the NCAA, the SBC Red Lions have secured the 2nd twice-to-beat advantage in the F4 as they defeated the SSC-R Golden Stags 71-67. The win by SBC means they will now have a playoff with the Stags (Yup, another game with the same both teams) on Wednesday to decide who will be the no. 1 seed. The winner of the game in Wednesday will face the depleted Letran Knights while the loser will square off with a very talented JRU Heavy Bombers in the F4. Whoever the Stags will face in the F4, they will have a twice-to-beat advantage like the Lions. It was the Lion's defense that ultimately gave them the win. The Stags held the lead from late 1st quarter up to the 3 minute mark of the 4th. After the Lions were able to finally grab the lead, a seesaw battle ensured between the 2 heavyweights as a couple of lead changes and ties occurred in the latter parts of the game. With less than a minute remaining in the game, SBC sent a double team to Jimbo Aquino in midcourt that resulted to a turnover. The costly TO by Jimbo eventually resulted to a breakaway layup by Bam-Bam Gamalinda that gave SBC a 69-67 lead. In SSC-R's last chance to tie or win the game, Pamboy Raymundo attempted to hand the ball to Jimbo but Jimbo was well covered by the Lions. Pamboy was left w/o any other option and fell on the hardcourt and turned the ball over to SBC. Calvin Abueva stepped up big time as Gilbert Bulawan was suspended for this game. Abueva was all over the court driving hard to the basket, blocking shots by Caram and Dela Rosa and boxing out and defending RP's own version of Superman, Sudan Daniels. I can't figure out why SBC is having a hard time getting Daniels the ball while Rabeh Al-Hussaini had the time of his life jacking up countless shots over smaller guys in the UAAP. Is Ateneo spacing the floor better because they've got better shooters? Lanete and Tecson are pretty good outside shooters while Jake Pascual and Bam-Bam Gamalinda have reliable midrange shots. Or are teams from NCAA just doing a better job of denying the big man his touches?
• The PF Tender Juicy Giants beat the BK Whoppers in convincing fashion 93-80. BK looked like a collection of barely-got-into-the-league players and some all-stars from LP and PBL. What makes things worst is 2 out of their 3 most talented players in Ronjay Buenafe and Gary David play the same position and their highly touted rookie Japeth Aguilar is expected to be traded to TNT after a couple of games. Do you expect a starting 5 of Beau Belga, JR Quinahan, Mark Yee, Gary David and Wynne Arboleda to compete with SMB or TNT? This team actually looks like they're not that far in terms of talent from Red Bull. I don't know how this team is going to compete in the PBA this season.
  
• Norman Black has announced a couple of prospect players for the Ateneo Blue Eagles next year. Sweet shooting Blue Eaglet Ael Banal and a couple of big men from their Team B in Jason Escueta and JP Erram are being eyed by Norman to fill in the void left by his veterans Rabeh, Nonoy and Jai. Man, when will Ateneo's reign in the UAAP stop? I hope those big guys will need some time to develop to give way to some of the other UAAP schools like FEU, DLSU and Adamson. Also mentioned in the article is Rabeh Al-Hussaini keeping his options open. Negotiations have already stared between Gilas and Rabeh's camp but it seems like Rabeh in a Gilas unifrom is not yet a done deal based on Rabeh's comments in the Inquirer article. The smart thing to do to for Rabeh is to join Smart-Gilas. I'm sure he won't enjoy the same amount of success in the PBA as he's going to bang against bigger guys in the pros. I'm a little skeptical if Rabeh can be succesful in Toraman's system but maybe Toroman has something up his sleeve because he's been clamoring for the UAAP Finals MVP to join the squad for some time already. Like the 6'9 giant from Cebu Junmar Fajardo and UE guard Paul Lee, Rabeh has been included in the Gilas lineup in the PBA despite not having a contract with the national team yet.

Ball Points (10-11-2009)

• Rey Guevarra has played his last game in the NCAA as he tore his ACL and will not be able to join the team in their Final 4 run. Rey Guevarra is one the most athletic swingman in Philippine collegiate basketball today and is also a member of Smart-Gilas. An ACL injury is one of the most threatening injuries to basketball player's career especially for players who depend on their athletism like Rey. It's a pity the Knights will not have a chance to upset the Stags one more time. Rey is such an integral part of Letran's success this year and it is doubtful if they can put much of a fight against a resurgent Stags team. This guy would have also looked so good in Toroman's system with his leaping ability and his improved shooting. I do hope that Gilas will take necessary steps to ensure Rey would return to 100%. He's got so much promise and I won't mind seeing him in a Gilas uniform once again.
  
• Smart-Gilas destorys the RP Patriots 87-66. The Gilas program is looking better and better as time goes by. The Patriots weren't expected to put much of a fight against Toroman and his boys but it is important to note that the Patriots are reinforced by 2 American imports namely big man Jason Dixon (former import of Coke in the PBA) and the very athletic Brandon Powell. Japeth scored a total of 24 points including a couple of triples and dunks but managed to secure only 4 rebounds. He should be able to get more rebounds than that for a guy of size and leaping ability. Gilas' import ,CJ Giles, was limited to only 2 points as I believe he was plagued by foul trouble most of the game. At least, Gilas was able to show that they can win even without much production from Giles.
• Kay haba-haba ng prusisyon sa simbahan din naman ang tuloy. Japeth Aguilar finally agrees to play for BK in the PBA. I believe it is only for 1 year 1.8M deal and not a 3 year deal as mentioned on the article to which the link above goes. It's hard to see how Japeth can manage to play on both BK and Smart-Gilas but don't be alarmed Gilas fans. Also mentioned in the article is the agreement that Japeth will only play a couple of games for BK and he will be eventually be traded to TNT and will then be released to Smart-Gilas. One of the main problems of Gilas is how they could secure the services of Japeth without ruining the healthy relationship of SBP and PBA. Now, if the rumor is indeed true, the only thing Gilas has to think about is how to win on the court.
  
• Norman Black calls his young center, Justin Chua, a pretty good player in an interview with Hardball. He also adds the that Chua just hasn't been able to get much exposure because he's playing behind the league's best center. Ateneo having another dominant center next year is a pretty scary thought for the other UAAP teams. Bear in mind that Rabeh was barely a factor for Ateneo is his 1st 3 years. He was only a guy with size who can shoot from the outside back then and then boom, he wins the league MVP in his 4th year. A big guy down the post is such an integral part of Black's system so developing his young bigs in Salva and Chua will be key if Ateneo wants a 3-peat.
  
• RP Patriots have won the first ever game of the ABL as they defeated Indonesia's Santria Muda 76-69. From what I heard from the game broadcasters, I guess we can think of Santria Muda as the Indonesia's TNT or SMB. The game was very close from the 1st quarter up to the early stages of the 3rd. It was a couple of steals of Christian Coronel that started RP's run that would eventually result into a double digit lead. The Indonesians was able to mount a rally in the 4th but the Pinoys were able to hold on to the lead and win the game. A lot of players from Indonesia, especially import Alex Hartman, were getting really frustrated with physical play from the Filipinos. Maybe they had a little too much "gulang" from our countrymen. Khasim Mirza who was expected to be key part of this team scored only 1 point and it came on a FT late in the game that was result by a foul of SM to stop the clock. He was clearly frustrated with the lack of playing time when he was taken out of the game when he committed a couple of mistakes in the 3rd. Big man import Jason Dixon was horrible from the field missing a lot of gimmes inside. He was getting a lot of easy looks because SM's big man Theo Little was in foul trouble but Dixon was not able to convert on those looks. I was quite impressed with our other import, Brandon Powell. He did miss some inside looks but he was a key part of this win as he played hard nose defense on sharp shooting Hartman and limited him to only 13 points and forced him to bad shots. Brandon also caught my attention with his hustle, energy and superb athletism.