Defending PCCL Champs Fail to Adavnce

• The DLSU Green Archers failed to reach the Elite 8 in the PCCL after winning it all last year as they were defeated by an undermanned Letran Knights, 83-72. The Knights led by double figures in the 1st half behind the 12 points of Kevin Alas and Archers' horrible shooting. The Archers then went on a run anchored by Joshua Webb at the end of the 1st half to diminish the lead of the Knights to a solitary point by halftime. It looked like the Archers were ready to take over the lead in the 2nd half but they struggled to manufacture points once again as they could not knock down a shot from the outside. At the Knights end of things, Jaypee Belencion and Reymar Gutilban started to wax hot from the outside. It was like a replay of the 1st half. The Knights were up big and the Archers could not buy a basket. But like in the 1st half, the Archers made a furious run and came as close as 5 in the 4th quarter. The Knights were coughing up a lot of TOs and Arvie Bringas was starting to get hot. Jaypee then came back in and hit a couple more shots and Bringas was taken out of the game because of a cut in his face. Suddenly the Archers, could not score once again. The Knights reestablished their double-digit lead and did not look back at that point. Both teams played full-court press defense for most of the game(if not the whole). Much of the offense of the Archers came from transition play while Knights got a lot of shots from escaping the Archers' press defense. The Knights played w/o their top 2 players, RJ Jazul and Rey Guevarra. Jaypee Belencion just shot the lights off as he finished with 36 points and a PCCL-record 10 3-pointers. And it wasn't like he did not have a hand in his face when he shot the ball. Coach Franz Pumaren put on different defenders on Belencion to try stop him but to no avail. I believe he's still in his 2nd year so look for more from him in the next couple of years. Kevin Alas carried the Knights in the 1st half as he scored all of his 12 points in the 1st half. This kid just has a lot of dirty tricks. He was caught a couple of times and he even fouled-out when the refs saw him intentionally trip Yutien Andrada. He's fun to watch but the refs need to watch out for him. He will the main man for Knights next year and it seems like he's ready to fill in the shoes left by RJ Jazul. Joshua Webb scored 15 points in the 1st half but he only managed to score 3 points the rest of the way. He did show some flashes of brilliant passing. He will need that next year as he will now be the main man of the Archers. Bringas looks more comfortable in the system. His soft touch inside will make him one of the primary options of DLSU next year. Maybe he can be the Nico Salva of DLSU but his consistency is still a big issue. Simon Atkins was back in action after missing most of the last UAAP season. He did a great job in throwing out outlet passes but unfortunately, his teammates were not able to convert his passes to points. He still needs to work on his shooting but his mere presence on the court definitely helped the Archers. PJ Barua was a non-factor as he finished the game with only 2 points and 1-10 shooting. Joel Tolentino was still quick as a cat and did a great job pushing the tempo but like Atkins, he failed to manufacture easy shots for his teammates. The Archers played w/o James Managahas and Bader Malabes. The Archers sorely need a perimeter who can create a shot for himself and his teammates. Kevin Alas was supposed to be that guy but he choose to play for his father in Letran. Kiefer Ravena surely fits the bill but I believe it's still a long shot that he will choose DLSU over ADMU. The Archers will also need to work on their outside shooting. Watching these Archers, I realized how lucky the Eagles to have a guy like Jai Reyes.
• In the other game last Wednesday, the ADMU Eagles advanced to the Elite 8 as they disposed the ISAA champions, Lyceum Pirates. It wasn't a blowout from the get go as the Eagles needed some time to heat up. The Eagles started the rampage in the 2nd quarter and continued it up to the 3rd quarter. They led as much as 27 but the Pirates capitalized on the Eagles' complacency as they came as close as 8 in the last quarter. Nico Salva led the way for the Loyola-based squad as he finished the game with 17 points including 10 in the 3rd quarter. Jai Reyes played with poise as usual with his clutch baskets and leadership. They will surely miss his presence next year as Eman Monfort has yet to develop the presence on the court that Jai was able to give Coach Norman Black. Current RP Patriot Nonoy Baclao and Smart-Gilas member Ryan Buenafe played but Finals MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini did not. ISAA MVP Jospeh Abaya looked very impressive as he led the Pirates with 17 points. His fade-away jumper from top of the key is very deadly and reliable.
  
• There have no upsets so far in the 2009 edition of the PCCL. All the higher ranked teams have won their assignments. The Letran win over DLSU might be branded as an upset considering the Knights did not have their top 2 players but the Knights were still given a higher seeding in the tournament for the their Final 4 finish in their tournament compared to the Archers who did not reach the Final 4 in their mother league.

Let the PCCL Games Begin...

• The FEU Tamaraws started out on a good note as they defeated the AU Chiefs, 79-69 in the first game of the 2009 edition of the PCCL. It was a game of runs as FEU couldn't take the Chiefs totally out of the game. The Tams led as much as 14 in the 1st half but the Chiefs came as close as 1 in the 3rd quarter. In the end, AU just did not have enough weapons against a very talented Tams team. The AU Chiefs just could not manufacture any points in the half court and were dependent on their transition play. I did not see any set plays at all. The Chiefs were relegated on giving the ball to Gio Ciriacruz and hoping that he could muster enough points to get a W. On the defensive end, the Chiefs settled for different variations of the zone defense. The zone defense was effective at times as it prevented the Tamaraws from attacking the basket but it wasn't able to stop the outside shooting of the Tams. Coach Glen Capacio's boys moved that ball with so much patience and it resulted to good quality shots. Paul Sanga and RR Garcia knocked down 2 3-pointers a piece in the second half when the Chiefs were employing the zone defense. Both JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos played in the game despite their commitment to Smart-Gilas. Ramos was his normal self getting rebounds and scoring on inside incursions. JR Cawaling still looked passive. He was passed good looks and it resulted to a couple of TOs. I know he's trying to be a leader by setting his teammates but FEU needs him take over the reigns of Mark Barroca and he needs to be a little bit more aggressive. RR Garcia surely is not suffering from the absence of Barroca as he scored 17 points and blocked 3 shots.
• In the second game dubbed as a catfight, the San Beda Red Lions proved to be too much for the SSC-R de Cavite Baycats as they blew the Baycats out of the gym 91-50. The Baycats were known to be a run-and-gun team but so are the Lions. The Lions definitely took the Baycats to school on how to run fastbreaks as they got multiple opportunities for wide open lay-ups in the open court. The Baycats were trying their luck from the outside all game long but only couple of their attempts connected. The Lions also imposed their authority inside as they used their height advantage to get easy and multiple looks inside the paint. Bam-Bam Gamalinda finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. He still missed a couple of open jumpers but I'm pretty sure this was how Coach Frankie Lim envisioned him to play back in the NCAA. He was just barely a factor in last couple of games in the eliminations up to the NCAA Finals. But hey, he still has a chance to prove his worth in the PCCL. The Lions also played minus Jay-R Taganas, Dave Marcelo, Chico Tirona and Borgie Hermida but they did not need them in this game.
• Both SBC and FEU will now advance to the Elite 8. SBC will face the winner in the UV-Mapua game while FEU will await the winner of the UE-UC game.
  
• The next games will be on Wednesday. DLSU Green Archers will face off with CSJL Knights in a very exciting match at 2PM while the ADMU Blue Eagles square off with the Lyceum Pirates. The DLSU-CSJL game will most likely be a treat to watch but I can't say the same for the ADMU-Lyceum game. What is up with the PCCL management scheduling the better games at 2PM? Really ADMU-Lyceum and SBC- SSC-R de Cavite at 4PM? And DLSU-CSJL at 2PM? WTH.
  

Nate Robinson, shoots it at the wrong rim

With just 0.5 seconds left on the clock during the 1st quarter, Nate

Robinson for some strange reason shoots it at the wrong basket

which enraged his coach Mike d' Antoni.

Ron Artest throws away Ariza's Shoe after loosing it

Trevor Ariza accidentally lost his shoe during a play when Ron-Ron was

there and threw it away. Defensive tactic or unsportsmanlike behavior or

simply hilarious? You'll be the judge. Well I he'd not apologize in the

same manner as to what he did to Paul Pierce which was quite hilarious.

S-Jax Finally Traded

Looks like Stephen Jackson will finally be dealt to another team but he won't be on a team on his wishlist as he will be headed to a lottery bound Charlotte Bobcats. The Warriors will send their former captain along with Acie Law for Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell. The move does give the Bobcats a scorer that they have sorely needed since the start of the season but dealing for Jackson can not solve their scoring problems completely. They should have gone the route commonly taken by most rebuilding teams. They should have been more patient with developing their younger players in DJ Augustin and Gerald Wallace, cleared cap space and improve through high 1st round picks. The Bobcats might earn a couple more wins and they might even contend for a playoff spot this season but this move doesn't put them in a better position for the future at all. Raymond Felton will be an unrestricted free agent next season and they won't have any cap space at all until after the 2010-11 season. The move might also mean that the Bobcats will only receive a mid 1st round pick in next year's draft. As blaze said, this move doesn't do anything for the Bobcats other than getting more points on the board and around 5 more wins. S-Jax's a fantastic complementary player on a contender but is a mediocre go-to-guy on a playoff spot contender in th East. I'm not sure if Jackson will be willing to play for 'Cats. Another trade? Highly unlikely but I hope so. For the Warriors, this move is a little shocking but not unbelievable. There have some rumors that Bobcats might be interested in Jackson in the past. Don Nelson has said they will do his best to send Jackson to a team on his wishlist(any Texas team, NY, Cleveland) but maybe no one was willing to pay the next 4 years on Jackson's contract. The move will create more flexibility for the Warriors as Bell's contract expires this season and Radmanovic's expires next season. Both are also quality shooters and are compatible with Nelson's system.

Ball Points (11-16-2009)

• As expected, the DLSU Green Archers have booked the final ticket to the PCCL Sweet 16. ADMU, UE, FEU, UST, SSC-R, SBC, JRU, CSJL have also booked seats in the Sweet 16 for advancing to the Final 4 in their respective leagues. The UV Green Lancers have also qualified for winning the latest edition of CESAFI. Contrary to what I predicted, it was the SSC-R Cavite Baycats who advanced by beating out the Adamson Univeristy in their zonal qualifier for having a better quotient. Other teams that have adavnced through their zonal qualifiers are University of Cebu, Mapua, Arellano U, University of Manila and University of San Carlos. The league is set to start on November 23 and will be broadcasted at Studio 23. My early bet is the FEU Tamaraws. That is if the Gilas boys, JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos, will play in the tournament. If not, look for DLSU Green Archers and SSC-R Golden Stags to make some noise. Still, we can not count out teams like ADMU, UC or UV. ADMU still has one of the better coaches in the collegiate ranks in Norman Black. They might not use veterans Nonoy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Jai Reyes but they are still a very talented team.
• The RP Patriots have notched their 4th win in the ABL as they defeated the KL Dragons in the Dragons' home court 73-63. This is the Patriots' 3rd straight win since Nonoy Baclao and Elmer Espiritu have been included in the lineup. Looks like the defense of the former UAAP stars is just what the doctor ordered for the Patriots.
• There are some rumblings that Emeka Okafor might be on the move once again. There isn't anything imminent and there have been only discussions. If the deal does push through, that would mean that NO Hornets might be entering into rebuilding mode. They recently fired Byron Scott due to the horrendous 3-8 start and replaced him with GM Jeff Brower. I don't like this move at all. Scott is a good a coach and I believe he's being used as a scapegoat. Whenever you're paying $14M to a shooter who is currently shooting 38% from the field, you can't expect to win a lot of games. I actually like the Okafor-for-Chandler swap as it gives them another guy who can create shots for himself but its has not translated into more wins. They're already 3rd to the last in the Western Conference with Chris Paul and now that he will be out for 3-4 weeks. That might result to their burial in the Western Conference. CP3 might not come back in time to save their season and it might prompt management to start rebuilding. If they do decide to rebuild, I'm pretty sure CP3 will not want any part of it. Right now, I think they just have to be patient. Find a coach who can work with their star PG and get a guy who can create off the dribble and shoot. The Golden State Warriors have stars who want out in Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson and the Hornets might want to start calling up Don Nelson about those guys. It will hard for them to upgrade their current roster though as they hardly have any assets. They're stuck with the 2 years and $29M on Peja's contract. The most sizeable expiring contract they have is Hilton Armstrong's $2.8M deal. The only young player that other teams might have any interest is Julian Wright and he has not been productive at all. The Hornets were considered contenders in 2007 but they fell short to the SA Spurs. Last year, there were a lot of expectations for the team but they did not even get past the 1st round with only the 7th seed in the Western Conference to show. 2007 was a fluke? Maybe. But Peja and Tyson Chandler were still productive in 2007. Maybe you can partly attribute their success in 2007 to the fact that not a single team was ready for them. Hurricane Katrina might have also motivated them to play extra hard. Fluke? Sort of. But I still believe they can still get out of their current situation but they they will have to be extra creative now.
• What about the LA Lakers losing 2 straight after the Boston Celtics lost 2 straight. The Rockets beat the Lakers in their home court today behind Aaron Brooks 33 points and Kobe Bryant's 5-20 shooting. Kobe is shooting 34% shooting in his last 2 games and the woeful shooting could be blamed to his groin injury. He has said that he will be resting his groin but don't expect him to sit out games. Aaron's domination justifies the fact that the Lakers can not guard guard quick point guards. Jordan Farmer will have to show up sooner rather later if the Lakers still intend to defend their championship. I guess the possibility of a 70-win team is dwindling down. Maybe we should stop dreaming the feat accomplished by Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 will be done again.

Sick Dunk by Ty Lawson

This is definitely the exclamation point of beating the LA Lakers received from the Denver Nuggets as the commentators said. This guy was one of most productive players in the USA collegiate basketball as he led his team, the UNC Tar Heels, to a NCAA championship. Despite his production, he was only the 18th pick because most teams did not want any part of him because of his size or the lack of it. That didn't stop the Denver Nuggets from getting this guy. The Nuggets have been high on this kid since last year. There were a lot of rumors that the Nuggets gave him a promise they would use their 2008 2oth overall pick to draft him but Ty Lawson eventually decided to back to school and the Nuggets traded their pick when they found out that Lawson was no longer available. This year, the Nuggets traded for the T-Wolves' 18th overall pick to draft Lawson.

So far he has been one of the most productive players as he is averaging 10.3 ppg and 3.2 apg. His aggressiveness, speed and athletism have helped him to be one of the better players in his class. He's also in a very good situation playing behind a very big PG in Chauncey Billups and he's with a team that believes in him. Do I think he can eventually replace Chauncey and be the PG of the future of the Nuggets? Not yet. But this kid has game and he can produce in the grandest stage of basketball if given the chance.

RoS Finally Grabs 1st Win

The RoS Elasto Painters earned their 1st win in this conference in grand fashion as they defeated the previously unbeaten Alaska Aces. The Painters were off to a good start as they led as much as 14 in the 1st half before the Aces mounted a comeback in the 3rd quarter. Things didn’t look good for the Painters as they not only allowed the Aces to comeback in the game but also allowed them to establish an 11 point lead in the 3rd quarter. The Painters were coughing up TOs and missing their foul shots. It took more than 11 minutes for a Elasto Painter other than Ryan Araña to score in the 3rd quarter. I didn’t expect but RoS to recover after the meltdown in the 3rd but they did. The bench of the Aces was not able to maintain the lead and allowed the Painters to complete a fantastic play after another. In the end, the Painters just made plays when the Aces couldn’t.

Don Dulay led the way for RoS as he finished with 20 points in the game. The Aces could not stop this guy and it proved costly for them as he almost single-handedly carried the Painters to a W. LA Tenorio was held scoreless in the 2nd half. He was barely a factor in the 2nd half after exploding for 13 points in the 2nd half. Willie Miller was also not able to take over late in the game. The Aces went away from him most of the time in the 2nd half and that might have affected his rhythm. I did not see any aggressiveness from him at all in the 2nd half.

RoS desperately needs a go-to-guy in the perimeter to win. Don Dulay was that guy for them in this game but we can’t expect him to be this hot in every game. It was Sol Mercado last year but he has been off to a terrible start averaging 7.5 ppg and shooting a 29.6% from the field. I don’t think Gabe Norwood can be that guy for them. He might have the tools to be one of the best players in the PBA but I don’t think we will ever see a Norwood as aggressive as Mark Caguioa. It also doesn’t help them every damn big man they have is almost a clone of Yancy De Ocampo. I was never a fan of the Mark Telan acquisition and having a lot of players who play alike. They’ve already got a lot of players like him in Mike Hrabak and Jay-R Reyes. Norwood could surely use an athletic guy big man that he can dump the ball to.

Another loss for Smart-Gilas

Lo and behold, Smart-Gilas actually lost their game against the SLR Realtors 96-95. This was one of the few times I did not finish a game because one team was well ahead of the other. I just could not imagine how SLR could manage to win the game with how SG was shooting the lights out. SG was able to build a double digit lead in the 2nd quarter and they continued to hold onto that lead until early in the 4th quarter. I don't just don't know why SLR was able to mount a comeback. Mark Barroca had a chance to save the day for Gilas but he missed the shot.

As expected, SLR pushed the Gilas boys around and got what they wanted. The Realtors were able to cut to the basket numerous times in the 1st quarter but it did not result to conversions. Marlou Aquino took the big men of Gilas to school as taught them how to post up with the big boys. Dennis Daa dominated as he scored 11 points in the 3rd quarter and it just proves that SG just can not defend players who are much bigger than them.

I think the Realtors took the game seriously but they were not exerting a lot of effort and it allowed SG to jump to a big lead. Maybe it’s just natural for the SLR players not to play as hard knowing that it was just an exhibition game. Coach Boyet Fernandez did some experimenting in his lineups as he did not use Dennis Daa at all in the 1st half but he started him in the 2nd half along with Jason Misolas. He also fielded little-used Mark Benitez in the 1st half.

In terms of officiating, the Realtors were running their mouths at the refs for most of the game. I think they had good reason to as most of the calls favored the young boys of SG. Maybe the Realtors just weren’t used to the FIBA rules. I will have to agree with the commentators that applying FIBA rules only when playing against SG is a big sacrifice for the PBA teams.

The Gilas offense still looks good. There were a lot of extra passes and it resulted to good quality shots. I saw a lot more inside incursions by the national developmental team in this game. It’s a very encouraging sign as Gilas will not be able to win in FIBA-Asia if they stay contended with jacking up 3s but much of the offensive sets of Coach Rajko Toroman still result to jump shots. They do get into trouble when their offensive sets fail to yield a quality shot for them. They resort to one-on-one basketball when it does happen and we all know that none of the current players of SG are great one-on-one players. A Stanley Pringle and/or Paul Lee could definitely help. Running should help solve this kind of a problem and SG ran well in this game. Pushing the tempo (intelligently) must be a priority for a very small team. They got a lot of offensive rebounds but they muffed a couple of easy put backs. They can’t expect the same number of rebounds when they’re going up against the best of Asia though.

Defense is still the problem for this team. Marlou looked like the old Marlou and not an old Marlou with these guys defending him. Most of the big men of SG are just standing around. I don’t know if this is by design but it’s not working.

Mac Baracael looked tentative at times but I still like him because he’s the most energetic guy in a SG jersey. Chris Tiu is proving us all wrong with his impressive play. I’d like him to be part of the final SG lineup just as long he’s not the starting 2 guard. SG might have lost this game but at least their main guy, Mark Barroca, is back. He's averaging 17.8 ppg over his last 4 games after scoring only 4 points in his 1st game. I guess he has moved on after the controversies during his stint with FEU. He will be such an important piece in the puzzle if SG does intend to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

Ball Points (11-9-09)

• Rico Maierhofer really looks good in a Purefoods jersey as he led his team to a 108-102 win over the TNT Tropang Texters. He finished the game with a line of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Amazingly, those numbers are all career-highs in his young and promising career. He looks more polished than the number 1 overall pick Japeth Aguilar right now. Sigurado ako na naglalaway si Rajko Toroman para kay Rico. I believe him when he said that Gilas would have been a lot better with this guy in their lineup. He's just so versatile and athletic. Of course it helps when you're playing with a proven star like James Yap rather than playing alongside a college kid who's only basketball-related ability is to shoot coming off screens. (He can host. He's a looker. And best of all he can give you free pizza. I guess those can help Japeth get easier shots.) Rico and Marc Pingris have benefited so much playing alongside the likes of Yap and Kerby Raymundo. So much attention is given to those superstars that Rico and Marc are given multiple opportunities to roam around for offensive rebounds. PF does have the talent but one thing that caught my attention is the lack of a 3rd scorer. The other elite teams have more than 2 guys who can create offense for himself and for his teammates. SMB has Arwind Santos, Jonas Villanueva, Dondon Hontiveros, etc. (They have a LOT more.) TNT has Jimmy Alapag, Mac Cardona and Jared Dillenger. BGK has Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguiao and Cyrus Baguio. PF has only James Yap and Kerby Raymundo. Peter June Simon has been that guy for them the past couple of years but he didn't see any playing time yesterday. (I'm not sure why. Maybe an injury?) They will need his scoring ability if they want to contend for a championship. Also missing in their team is a bruiser type of a big man. They had one before in Rico Villanueva but they traded him for another long, athletic but thin big guy in Rafi Reavis. They already had Marc Pingris and Rico Maierhofer. I don't really see a need for guy like Reavis. What are you going to do with so much players who play alike? How about Don Allado? Too soft. Rommel Adducul? Not as productive as before. Jondan Salvador? A tougher but less talented version of Allado. Alex Crissano would look good in a PF jersey if you ask me.
• Some PCCL news for you. Arellano University and University of San Carlos have already booked seats in the PCCL Sweet 16 for winning in their zonal qualifiers. They will be joining members of the Final 4 of both the NCAA and UAAP in SSC-R, SBC, JRU, CSJL, ADMU, UE, FEU and UST. They will also be joined by CESAFI champions, University of Visayas Green Lancers. Both Adamson and University of Cebu have also virtually booked seats in the sweet 16 not unless Adamson lost to a lowly SSC-R Baycats team in the final game of the Cebu zonals. The DLSU Green Archers and the MAPUA Cardinals have yet to play in their respective zonals but we can all be assured that both these teams are going to be part of the sweet 16 as well. It's just sad that most teams would only use as a tune-up tournament to give some of their young guys more experience. Expect the Blue Eagles to be competitive but don't expect to contend for the title. I'd be suprised if Norman Black will use his seniors in Jai Reyes, Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini at all. It is also uncertain if players from the RP Patriots (Khasim Mirza, Val Acuna, Elmer Espiritu) and the Gilas boys will participate in the tournament. Expect young teams teams like DLSU and the hungry teams like FEU, JRU, UV and UC to make some noise in the tournament. Another interesting development will be the appearance of the Visayas behomoths and possible Smart-Gilas recruits Junmar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter. The league was established to sort of emulate March Madness in the USA. It's hard to see it that way because most teams won't take the tournament seriously. (Yeah, I'm talking to you Norman Black! C'mon! Play it like you would play the UAAP.)
• When Hyram Bagatsing is the best prospect in your league's draft, you're in trouble. Smart-Gilas, RP Patriots and Liga Pilipinas have provided players with a lot more options other than the PBA and the PBL. The PBA will never lose out on players because the PBA is the ultimate goal of almost every Filipino basketball player. Can't say the same about the PBL. They will definitely encounter a drop in the talent level this year. They will have to depend on the talent level of the collegiate teams all over the country. Don't get me wrong, I want the PBL to stick around. I have been a big fan of the PBL ever since and I hope they can survive through this famine.

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.

NBA scores 10/31

Cavs 90 Bobcats 79

Watch out.. the Cavs are close to being back at full strength.. Delonte West played his first game since being arrested for gun charges. He scored 13 pts (5-7 fg), 2 rebs, 2 ast in 24 mins of action. Not bad for someone who missed 4 training camp practices and all of the preseason games. Mo Williams is staring to find his rhythm early scoring 24 pts. Lebron made short work of the Bobcats scoring only 14 pts but having 9 ast and 7 rebs. The interior was pretty much shut by Z and Shaq having 5 and 2 blocks respectively. For the Bobcats, G Wallace scored 11 pts and pulled down 9 boards. Boris Diaw had 7 pts while dishing out 9 ast.

Wizards 123 Nets 104

Agent Zero is back, and he's back better than ever. 32 pts, 7 ast in just 30 mins on the floor. Andre Blatche had an awesome game scoring 30 pts in 15-18 shots. Randy Foye is solid with 17 pts and 8 ast. Caron Butler sat out the game due to knee injury but should be back soon as it is nothing serious. Devin Harris also sat out the game with a sore right groin. Douglas-Roberts picked up the scoring load having 25 pts, 4 rebs and 3 ast. Their off season acquisitions Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston contributed to their new team having 17 and 20 pts respectively with the latter dishing out 8 dimes.

76ers 121 Knicks 115

When you are up against the Knicks your offense will have no problems. Philadelphia had 4 players scoring 20 pts or more, AI (32), Williams (27), Young (25), Speights (20). The big AI and Lou both had near triple doubles by grabbing 11 boards, 8 ast and 10 boards, 7 ast respectively. Gallinari had 30 pts, 3 rebs, 3 ast. Al Harrington exploded with 42 pts and 6 rebounds however that effort wasn't enough to put away the 76ers in overtime. Lou Williams took a page out of Lebron's book by scoring the last 17 pts of the ballgame to rally them past the Knicks.

Bucks 96 Pistons 85

Rookie Brandon Jennings is making a name for himself scoring 24 pts to lead his team past Detroit. Warrick outscored the whole Detroit bench 21-14. The Milwaukee bench showed their worth today by putting in 52 pts. Down 49-38 at the half, the Bucks used a 28-8 run to put the Pistons away. Ben Gordon chipped in 26 pts, Stuckey had 13 pts, 6 rebs and 8 ast.

Spurs 113 Kings 94

Kevin Martin had a big game scoring 29 pts and Hawes added 22 pts but that wasn't enough to put away the San Antonio Spurs. Tony Parker and the rest of the gang made the Halloween nightmare of the kings come true. Manu Ginobili never ceases to impress by capturing a bat with his bare hands. “When you can’t dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news,” Ginobili said. “So that’s what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Rockets 111 Trailblazers 107

No Yao, No Tracy, No Problem for the Rockets. Their prized acquisition (Trevor Ariza) from the off-season proved his worth putting in 33 pts, while the mighty Aaron Brooks gave 28 pts as the Rockets weathered Brandon Roy's 42 pts and Aldridge's 27 to pull off the win at home. The Rockets shot a magnificent 50% from 3 pt distance. Greg Oden is still developing his game contributing 6 pts, 9 rebs and swatting 3 shots.

Mavs 93 Clippers 84

Interesting enough, the Mavs were the first team the Clippers defeated last season but there won't be a de ja vu this year. Nowitzki poured in 24 pts and 9 rebs, the Matrix gave 16 pts and 11 boards, the Jet contributed 16 pts, 6 ast and 4 stls. Chris Kaman had 27 pts and 11 rebounds. Eric Gordon added 16 pts. The Mavs were determined not to hand the Clippers its first win in two consecutive years. The Clippers are still without their prized rookie Blake Griffin.