Dissecting the Ginebra - BMEG - Barako Bull Trade

Yesterday, the trade proposal from Barangay Ginebra, Barako Bull and BMEG Llamados was received by the Commissioner’s office around 2-3 in the afternoon, but the day before the submission of the proposal, a lot of PBA fans knew already what the trade is all about and who are the players involved in the trade.

It was Allein Maliksi (Barako Bull) and Rico Maeirhofer (BMEG) to Barangay Ginebra, Jimbo Aquino (BGK) plus 2014 and 2015 second round pick (BGK) to Barako Bull and Yancy de Ocampo (BGK) to BMEG.

For Barangay Ginebra, I think this trade will improve their front court rotation by acquiring Maierhofer, which can play the PF position, vacated by Rudy Hatfield. This will also give Rico the chance to prove himself and will earn more playing minutes in the Ginebra camp.

For Allein Maliksi, BGK will have a log jam in the 3 position where JC Intal, KG Canaleta and even Ronald Tubid play similar position.

But the drawback of this trade is both players acquired by BGK are coming off from ACL injury.

For BMEG Llamados, adding Yancy de Ocampo will give their line up with more flexible shooters in their triangle offense. De Ocampo, the top pick in the 2002 PBA Draft, is considered a journeyman in his 9 year as a pro.

For Barako Bull, they will add another scorer in the mold of Jimbo Aquino. Aquino, drafted in the first round by BGK in the 2010 PBA Draft, spent most of the time in the BGK’s bench because of the surplus of guards in their lineup. They also received two second round picks (2014 and 2015)

Game Face

I think this is the first part of the trade for Ginebra. Adding Rico and Allein will not solve their problems in their front court rotation, although I would pick Rico any day for Yancy. Noli Eala also confirmed that in order to upgrade the lineup of BGK, they cannot do it with one move, meaning another trade is on our way.

I feel sad for Barako Bull, no more "Espana Express". Dylan Ababou might be the next victim if he continue to play well in this conference. For Jimbo Aquino, Noli Eala made a good move by trading him to Barako Bull. This is the only way for Coach Ato Agustin to acquire his beloved player from college. How about the two second round pick given to them? Forget that, by 2014, this team will be disbanded if they will continue to sell their players.

For Yancy de Ocampo? Well goodluck! I hope Tim Cone will unleash your potentials that you've been hiding for almost a decade.

and for the PBA fans, just wait for the next trade. It might be the trade that will broke the hearts of the fans of the teams involved.

Clue? A trade between A - P - G...

Colliding with the Barako Bull

No one expected that this cellar-dweller team, the Barako Bull, will display an unstoppable dominance in the 37th season of PBA.

Despite losing their first game against the Petron Blaze Boosters, this team is on a three game winning streak, defeating the crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra, the defending champions Talk N Text, and the new comer and their sister, Shopinas.com, and found themselves on the second spot in the team standings.

This team (formerly Air 21), led by the two-time MVP Willie Miller, with his veteran supporting cast of former San Miguel Beermen/Petron Blaze Boosters Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena, Mick Penissi, Paul Artadi, Sunday Salvacion, former BMEG players Don Allado and Jondan Salvador, original Barako Leo Najorda, Leo Avenido and their super rookies Dylan Ababou and Allein Maliksi, defied all odds and starting to get their rhythm to play basketball in it’s true definition.

Living up to their tagline, “Ang Bumangga, GIBA!”, the Barako Bull is now showing no mercy with every opposing teams that they collide every game. Just in their recent game against Shopinas.com, Homer Se and Dorian Pena was thrown out of the playing court because of an altercation leading to numerous technical fouls that lead both players to their dug-out.

Willie Miller, Barako Bull’s leader, put on a show in their last game against Talk N Text, toying Jason Castro and PBA 2011 MVP Jimmy Alapag by scoring 27 points on a winning output.

The super rookies, former PBA D-League MVP Allein Maliksi and former UAAP MVP and Smart Gilas member Dylan Ababou, showing no rookie jitters in the PBA by averaging on their last 3 games with 12 points and 20 points respectively.

Game Face

Just a reminder to other PBA teams, please never under estimate the Barako Bull because they are very tough team (in both offense and defense) to beat. They are now “playing the game” and no one can question their capability to win games, as they proved already what takes to be a Barako.

To coach Junel Baculi and the rest of his coaching staff, congratulations for giving the team its “new identity”. We, the PBA fans, are very happy to see this team winning games and giving a hell of a basketball every game.

One wish, to those teams that are planning to “raid” again the talents of this team, please LEAVE THIS TEAM ALONE. Let Maliksi and Ababou be the cornerstone of this franchise.

Enough of those lopsided trades!

NOW AVAILABLE: Allein Maliksi and Dylan Ababou

When we talk about Barako Bull (formerly Air21 Express), we cannot deny how powerful their line-up could be if not for the bogus trades that they entered since coming into this league.

Let’s have a quick rundown on the list of players that they acquired during the draft since 2002, the year that they entered the league.

2002

Yancy de Ocampo – 1st pick (now with Barangay Ginebra)
Renren Ritual - 8th pick (now with Shopinas.com)

2003

John Ferriols – 12th pick (now with BMEG Llamados)

2004

Marc Pingris – 3rd pick (now with BMEG Llamados)
Ranidel de Ocampo – 4th pick (now with Talk N Text Texters)
Wesley Gonzales – 9th pick (now with Alaska Aces)

2005

Jay Washington – 1st pick (now with Petron Blaze Boosters)
Mark Cardona – 5th pick (now with Meralco Bolts)
Nino Canaleta – 6th pick (now with Barangay Ginebra)

2006

Arwind Santos – 2nd pick (now with Petron Blaze Boosters)

2007

JC Intal - 4th pick (now with Barangay Ginebra)
Doug Kramer – 5th pick (now with Powerade Tigers)

2008

Mark Borboran – 6th pick (now with Meralco Bolts)

2009

Japeth Aguilar – 1st pick (now with Talk N Text Texters)
Chris Ross – 4th pick (now with Meralco Bolts)
Rogemar Menor – 7th pick (now with Shopinas.com)
Ronnie Matias – 9th pick (now with Rain or Shine)

2010

Noy Baclao – 1st pick (now with Petron Blaze Boosters)
Rabeh Al-Huseini – 2nd pick (now with Petron Blaze Boosters)
Rey Guevarra – 3rd pick (now with Petron Blaze Boosters)

2011

Allein Maliksi – 8th pick
Dylan Ababou – 10th pick

If you will take a look at these players that they drafter, numerous championships is up for grabs for this franchise. But what happened? They entered some trades in order to give away their talents in exchange of series of draft picks and cash considerations.

And in this 37th season, Barako Bull’s roster is consist of washed up veterans like Willie Miller, Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena, Jondan Salvador, Don Allado, Mick Pennissi, Sunday Salvacion, Wynne Arboleda and Paul Artadi. They are once the pride of their former teams, but because of the injuries they have encountered from the past years, I doubt majority of them can complete a whole season without missing a one game.

Last night, Barako Bull won its first game in two outings, defeating the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. Dylan Ababou, after being benched during their first game against Petron, led the team with 20 points. Allein Maliksi scored 13 points also and grabbed 8 rebounds (Maliksi averaged 14 points per game).

Because of the sturdy offense displayed by these rookies in their last two games, I’m afraid that after five more games, we will see them playing to another team.

If this will happen again, Barako Bull must change their name to AMAZON.COM or SULIT.COM…