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.

Ball Points (10-30-2009)

• It was Freaky Friday for the PBA last night and the broadcasters were asked to wear costumes. Ateanan Mico Halili wore a DLSU jacket but could not take the color of green for a whole game as choose to take it off by halftime. Chiqui Reyes wore some sort of wizard outfit. Of course, I will not forget to mention the beautiful Lia Cruz. (Click on her name to see her in costume.) She was having difficulty picking out a costume before settling on dressing up as Mico Halili. Hey, this girl would look great in ANY type of costume. Onto some real basketball talk now. Anybody who said they believe that Josh Urbiztondo and Dennis Daa can lead the SLR Realtors in scoring in a official PBA game is lying. Josh led the team a team-high and career-high 24 points and 4 assists while Dennis Daa finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds. My biggest concern for the Realtors is their depth. Their best 5 of Gabby Espinas, Kelly Williams, Bitoy Omolon, Ryan Reyes and Joseph Yeo can compete with any team in the league but the same can't be said for their bench. Guys like Urbiztondo, Daa, Ardy Larong and Chris Pacana have to contribute on a consistent basis if the Realtors expect to contend for the All-Filipino Cup title. In the 1st game of the double-header in the PBA, the Coca-Cola Tigers were able to earn their 1st win despite trailing by double-digit in the 3rd.
• It looks like the games against Smart-Gilas will not count in the standings after all. The PBA commissioner has already sent a letter to SBP director Noli Eala notifying him of the decision of the PBA officials. Of course, the PBA ordered the change due to the lack of playing time of Gilas import CJ Giles when they played against TNT (Smart-Gilas' sister team). Their theory is that Rajko benched Giles to help boost their sister team's standing which I don't get at all. Can you blame Toroman for benching his import because his best player's head wasn't in the game? He didn't even play a single second against BGK. As far as I can remember, BGK is not a sister team of Smart-Gilas. Hey, Toroman fielded Giles as much as possible in their against BK and his boss Manny V. Pangilinan is actually a part owner of BK. If Toroman did try to help improve TNT's record by benching Giles, why didn't he do it for MVP's other team? Noli's not happy at all as well. He's saying that this latest development is a message from the PBA that they do not want the Smart-Gilas team playing in the commercial league. I'm pretty sure that this is not a objective comment at all from Eala. He has taken every opportunity to bash the PBA in the past because of what happened in 2007. What's done is done. Eala has to move on. At least the PBA is still willing to let them play with the PBA teams. Besides, the Gilas team needs international competition and not local competition. I fear that they might get sucked in the brand of play of the PBA if they play with them extensively. PBA teams employ so much isolation plays and let their star players "gumawa ng diskarte." I'm not saying the style of play of PBA players is ugly. In fact, it's a nice treat to watch. It's just that the 2 previous RP teams have not reached a respectable finish in FIBA-Asia with this style.
• I got treated to a very lengthy game when I watched the battle between the 2 best teams of the Northwest Divison of the NBA last year, the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trailblazers. The game took so long because of the 90 combined free throws attempts by both teams. I don't think you can blame the refs for calling so much fouls. The stars of both teams, Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Roy, were just both very aggressive driving down the lane. They actually combined for 37 FT attempts in the game. I guess the refs thought that it was also fitting to just let FTs decide the game. With 4.6 seconds remaining and Denver holding a 1 point lead, Kenyon Martin was called for a very soft foul for holding on Greg Oden. It looked like Portland got lucky as they were rewarded a golden opportunity to take the lead. Unfortunately for them, FTs ultimately gave the Nuggets the win as Greg Oden missed his two FTs. On the other end, Melo knocked down his pair of charity shots after he was fouled as he got the rebound off Oden's miss. I never liked seeing a ball game be decided on FTs. Let the players play. Melo was very aggressive in the game and the commentators said that the Melo of this year is different from the Melo of past years. I'll have to agree to that after seeing him in action. Now, if he can only turn himself into an all-around performer. That means he needs to get better at the defensive end and he needs to be a better passer. He showed some signs of that last year but he has to do it consistently if he wants to win a ring for himself. Does his team have enough to get past the Lakers and the Spurs? I don't think so but nobody expected them to be in the Western Conference Finals last year.
• How about the blowout win of the Mavs over the defending champions, the LA Lakers? And they did it in Kobe's house, the Staples Center. The Lakers just could not buy a basket in the 2nd half. The Mavs really looked good on both ends of the floor as they were getting open shots while they forced the Lakers into difficult, contested shots. Ron Artest looked lost in his 1st 2 games as a Laker. He's shooting 4-16 from the field so far. Not a very encouraging sign if you're a Laker fan. If these Lakers come up with anything less than a championship at the end of the year, Ron-Ron is going to be unfairly blamed for it. It's not his fault the Celtics have a healthy KG this year and some new quality recruits in Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels. He also shouldn't be blamed for making other contenders like the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks a lot deeper this year. I just hope that Ron Artest will find a way to incorporate himself into the Lakers' system without causing so much headache. Jeff Van Gundy also remarked (repeatedly, maybe 10 times?) how having Dirk Nowitzki play as the center while putting Marion at the power forward position will create so much headache for the opposing teams' defense. I agree with him on that but if Dirk does play the 5, that would mean the either Dirk or Shawn Marion will have to defend the likes of Tim Duncan, David West, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, etc. That doesn't really quite equate to a successful playoff run in my book.
  

Some Early Thougths on the Young NBA Season

• Other than his combustibility, another disadvantage for the Lakers of having Ron Artest instead of Trevor Ariza is the spacing. With Trevor last year, the Lakers had at least 2 and at most 3 dependable 3-point shooters on the hard court. It's not just because Trevor is better shooter. Adding Ron-Ron to the mix also means that the Lakers will now have 3 guys who need to post up to be effective on the floor. Let's take the current starting five of the Lakers. Bynum, Odom, Artest, Kobe, Fisher. Now, Phil Jackson can not afford to make Ron a spot shooter 100% of the time he's on the floor. He has to place Ron on the block occasionally. Now, if Ron is on the block, Odom and Bynum will be forced to hang out around and become spot up shooters and they will left with only 2 guys outside the arc.(Kobe and Fisher). Odom is an able shooter but he is not a natural shooter. Bynum? You be the judge. Yes, those 2 guys can cut more to solve the issue a little bit but they can't cut endlessly. If Pau Gasol returns, he'll replace Bynum and the Lakers will have another perimeter shooter. Pau's still not a Ray Allen though. There's a big difference in having a midrange shooter than a 3-point shooter. Avoiding to post up Ron is not the solution. Ron can hit outside shots but I don't think he can hit at a consistent rate. Plus, it would be a waste if you made Ron Artest play like James Posey.
• A lot of people are making a fuss about the 0-2 start of the Cleveland Cavaliers and I can see where they're coming from. Their new acquisitions were suppose to make life easier for the King but they haven't so far. Anthony Parker is averaging 11ppg but on 33% FG shooting. Jamario Moon is averaging 5.5 ppg and 37.5% FG shooting. Not really nice shooting. Shaq's averaging 11ppg and 8.5rpg but I feel he hasn't been much of an impact so far. Defense is also not quite there. Their opponents averaged 98ppg and 44.9% FG shooting in the their 1st 2 games. The most important thing (guy) they're lacking is Delonte West. Other than Lebron, I believe he's the most consistent player of the Cavs last year on both ends of the floor. Hey, even Paul Pierce thinks they really miss him.
• What about the rookie class of this season? Dejuan Blair, 14 points and 11 rebounds. I've always been a big fan of undersized, hardworking, 2nd round draft pick power forwards. Paul Millsap? Carl Landry? They have always found a way to produce for their teams despite their size. I don't think the Spurs did a great job in drafting this guy. They just got lucky that most of the teams were scared of his past ACL injury. Chase Budinger, 11 points and 3-6 from beyond the arc. Who needs Brent Barry if you can have a younger version of him? (and I'm hoping he can be more) Ty Lawson, 17 points and 6 assists. I've been fan of this guy since I saw him play for the UNC Tar Heels. He might be small but this can run with anyone in the NBA and he's fearless.
• I might have made a mistake in my fantasy league when I picked D-Wade over CP3. My rational for the move was that CP3 has more help now that he has a Emaka Okafor. I was wrong. The NO Hornets still look like a one-man team even with the Chandler-Okafor swap. As JVG said, the Hornets need a wingman who can create his own shot. S-Jack is a possibility but is GS willing to part with him for the Hornets' junk? And is he enough to take NO to the next level? Micheal Redd is an intriguing option but there are still no signs the the Bucks are going to try to move him.