Sweet November

We are nearing the Playoffs and most of the teams are fighting for their rightful spot in the team standings. The month of November is indeed a very memorable one for us PBA fans. This is the month where all PBA teams exposed their abilities to counter each of the opposing team to have a safe place when the playoffs come.

So let us have a rundown on how November played a vital role for the PBA:

1. Petron Blaze Boosters and BMEG Llamados: “Perfect November”

After suffering consecutive losses, both Blaze Boosters and Llamados posted 6 game winning streaks this month. Petron is on the top of the standings with 9-3 win-loss card, while BMeg is on a solo third with 8-4 card.

After three consecutive losses, Coach Ato and the rest of the Boosters regroup and restarted their engines to continue their high octane offense and suffocating defense to climb all the way to the top of the standings. Arwind Santos continue to play consistently, Alex Cabagnot showed maturity and excellent decision making, Denok Miranda is beasting the other point guards and posted some high numbers during the month. Although the team is not playing Chris Lutz in most of their games this month, Joseph Yeo miraculously “risen” and proved once again that he is still the “Ninja”.

Coach Tim Cone and the Llamados defy all odds in learning the triangle, and their hard work resulted to another 6 game winning streak for the team. James Yap is arguably the best player in the league for this month. He averaged 22 points per game (all in 6 games) and a whopping 85% FT percentage.

2. The slump of Rain or Shine

After posting 7 wins in 8 games, they are on a 4 game losing streak this month. One of the missing links for the team is Gabe Norwood. If you remember an ROS game, Yeng Guiao “benched” Norwood in the last quarter. Well, since Paul Lee is emerging as one of the stars in ROS and Jeff Chan is on a roll, maybe it’s time for Norwood to go. Hmmm Baguio-Norwood trade?

3. Allein Maliksi, SOLD: Barako Bull

As expected, Barako Bull traded Allein Maliksi to Ginebra in a three team deal which also involves BMEG. The Barako Bull received 2013 picks and BGK’s benched star, Jimbo Aquino. So, let us cross our fingers for Dylan Ababou that he will last as a Barako for at least one year.

4. Barangay Ginebra’s Business

After acquiring two gifted players which can be their savior this conference, Allein Maliksi and Rico Maierhofer is now on the injured list. The blockbuster trade made in the mid-November raised some eyebrows of their fans because those two players whom they acquired are considered as “damaged goods”. Both of them had a history of ACL injuries and still not 100 percent to play after they have been acquired.

Mark Caguioa’s comment about their role in the team also ignited the BGK fans especially on the part of their head coaches, Jong and Siot. Mark is questioning the player rotation and the playing time given to them by their coaches.

And lastly, before the month ended, Rudy Hatfield expressed (once again) that he will come back and play for the Gin Kings. Enough of that Rudy! Just leave BGK alone…

5. Talk N Text’s injuries

Not bad for a team that is in the second in the team standings, and yet most of their players are in the injured list. The only bright spot for the team are Jason Castro, Harvey Carey and Kelly Williams. We do pray that TNT will have their complete roster when the playoffs come for Chot Reyes to stop tweeting that they are the underdogs and the reason why they lost every single game is because of injuries.

Bubbling under:

6. Shopinas on a roll (of being eliminated)

7. Alaska Aces facing a worst record this conference.

8. Powerade Tigers will to survive.

Second Round Gems in the Last Decade

In the PBA, finding a diamond in the rough after the first round of draft is a rare occurrence. Most of the value falls within the first 10 choices in most basketball drafts, so adding a valuable player near the end of the draft is something to be proud of in this league.
From the year 2001 to present, I'll list the top PBA players who were drafted in the second till the last team decided to pass on the draft(keep in mind some of these players did not remain with the team that drafted them).
2001 – Peter June Simon (Sta. Lucia 43rd pick)

He earned the moniker “Super Sub” because playing second fiddle to James Yap in the BMEG rotation. During the time when James Yap is out due to injuries, Simon carried the team on his shoulders and heralded as one of the best sixth man in the league today and became the PBA 2007-08 All Star MVP.

2002- Celino Cruz (Talk N Text 19th pick)

Former Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao did not hesitate to sign this man to be his back-up point guard in his team. His clutch three point shot earned him a spot in the Red Bull team and became one of the coveted guards during the 2007-2008 season, where he averaged 8 points per game.

2003- Cyrus Baguio (Red Bull 14th pick) and Ronald Tubid (Shell 16th pick)

Coincidentally, these two players were once teammates in the Barangay Ginebra Kings. Cyrus played supporting role to Willie Miller and Lordy Tugade in his Red Bull days. But when the management decided to trade those players, Yeng Guiao set his eyes to this man to carry his team. “Skyrus” got traded to Burger King (formerly Air21) and traded again to Barangay Ginebra and dealt to Alaska in one of the blockbuster trade in the PBA for 2 time MVP Willie Miller.

Ronald Tubid, from being “The Saint” to being “fearless”, he was drafted by the Shell Turbo Chargers. After the team disbanded, he joined the Air21 Express. Acquired by Ginebra in the 2006 season, he became the third man of the BGK’s Big Three joining JayJay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa.

2004 – Willy Wilson (Alaska 15th pick)

He was dropped by Tim Cone in the Alaska roster because they already reached the maximum Fil-Am players in the squad (maximum of 5). But he asked Chot Reyes, the coach of San Miguel Beermen then, to pick this player because of his wonderful work ethics. Now, he is considered as one of the top undersized power forward in the league today.

2005 – Larry Fonacier (Red Bull 14th pick)

The Baby Face Assassin was the PBA Rookie of the Year in 2005 while playing for the Red Bull franchise. During the draft, teams didn’t bother to pick him up in the first round despite of his good credentials way back in Ateneo. During an interview with Yeng Guiao, he was surprised when his team will pick a player in the second round, he noticed that Fonacier is still available, that’s why he picked him up. One of the reasons why he was not picked in the first round, he suffered an ACL injury while playing for the Ateneo, which his “stock” dropped during the draft.

2006 – Chris Pacana (Coke 15th pick)

Reason: No any other player noticeable in that round. But he was once a good player during his time with Coke.

2007 – Ronjay Buenafe (Sta. Lucia 11th pick)

He is considered a “steal in the draft” because of his uncanny plays and gravity-defying acts during his stint with Coke, earning him a spot in the All Rookie Team. He is one of the trusted player of Yeng Guiao in Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

2008 - Jeff Chan (Red Bull 17th pick)

To some PBA fans, he is the second coming of Allan Caidic because of his three point percentage. He is now the leading scorer of Rain or Shine and the early candidate for Most Improve Player.

2009 – Josh Urbiztondo (Undrafted)

Because of the need of a back-up point guard, Sta. Lucia signed Urbiztondo as an undrafted free agent. He became one of the popular rookies in his class, where he was named as best player of the game in some games for Sta. Lucia. He is now playing for BMEG and one of the “orchestrator” of the triangle system.

2010 – Robert Labagala (Ginebra 12th pick)

It was so suprising that Labagala earned a spot in the BGK roster despite of the “surplus” of guards on the team. Because of the injuries of Helterbrand and Cortez, Jong Uichico placed him to the starting line up. He was the second coming of Bal David, because of his speed and shooting accuracy.

2011 – Magi Sison (Shopinas 11th pick)
It’s too early to say that Shopinas.com found a gem in the second round, but if this young center from UP will elevate his game to a higher level; we might see another “Danny Ildefonso” in the making.

Let’s play “Thoss-Coin”

Alaska Aces is on the verge of getting an early elimination in the Philippine Cup 2011 this 37th season of the PBA. Having a win-loss card of 1 – 7, the second most number of championships (with 13 among the active PBA teams right now) is having trouble in their system even in the start of their campaign.

Last off-season, Tim Cone expressed his sentiments on leaving his team because of some personal matters and team owner, Fred Uytengsu gave Cone the signal to leave and quickly appointed Assistant Coach Joel Banal to take over the team.

Adding insult to injury, after a week or two, we saw some photos of Tim Cone handling the drills of the BMEG Llamados and before the season opening of the PBA, the management made an announcement that Tim Cone is the BMEG’s new head coach.

Without their “original” mentor, the Aces find it too difficult to climb up to the top of the standings. I think this is the worst record of this team since Tim Cone handled the team for almost two decades.

The latest buzz about the team is that Mr. WSU called an emergency meeting to discuss about the team’s performance after eight games. One of the agenda on this meeting is to convince one of their franchise players to stay with the team and according to some insiders, that player is “The Boss” Sonny Thoss.

Thoss, is one of the backbone of the Aces since drafting him 5th overall by the Alaska Aces in 2004. One of the pillars of the triangle offense in the team, he is one of the coveted players of every team in the PBA. In the Philippine Cup 2011, he is averaging 16 points and 8 caroms per game, and one of the consistent players in the Aces’ roster.

With trade issues evolving in the Philippine Basketball Community, Barangay Ginebra would like to add Thoss in their lineup. Also, Thoss’ former mentor, Tim Cone, expressed that he also want him to be in the team but there are no discussions or talks made by him and Thoss as of this moment.

Game Face

According to Snow Badua’s tweet, Plan B is on the review phase.
Before the trade between the triple B’s (BGK – BBE – BMEG) was approved, another trade is in the making which involves BGK, Petron and Alaska. There are several names floating and it includes Sonny Thoss.

So, which is the best destination for The Boss if ever the trade will push through?

For Barangay Ginebra, this is the upgrade that they are looking for. It’s been a long time since the Kings have a decent Center after Eric Menk. They already have Rico Maierhofer, and adding Thoss will make the front court of the Gin Kings more deadly.

I don’t see Petron joining the tug of war in order to get Thoss. Ato Agustin is set to acquire his beloved player any time this season.

The only hindrance for this trade to push through is the willingness of Mr. Uytengsu to transact with SMC. After the “Tim Cone Piracy”, maybe WSU will think twice in dealing his player to SMC and might go to MVP to seek some “offers”.

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...

An Eye Opener for the People's Champ

Once again, Manny Pacquiao edged Juan Manuel Marquez yesterday to end their trilogy at the MGM Grand Studio in a very controversial win. The defending champion defeated the “Dinamita” in a majority decision. The score cards: 114 – 114, 115 – 113 and 116 – 112, in favor of the People’s Champion.

But most of the viewers were not convinced on how PacMan sealed the win and Marquez is silently shouting “For the third time, I was robbed!”.

PacMan’s trainor, Freddie Roach, said that the fight is close, but still Manny won the fight. If Marquez wants another rematch, Manny will do it in May 2012.

In some boxing forums, they said that Manny was exposed during the fight with Marquez. Yes, indeed he was exposed; he was exposed to politics and entertainment before the fight. TV show appearances, commercials and even singing engagement deter PacMan to fully concentrate on his training. Another thing is his political ambition, he was too busy on his commitments in the Congress and the preparation for this fight was cut short in terms of focus and attention on his training.

I watched the replay on GMA 7 because I think it was unfair to Manny and Marquez to judge their fight by reading the comments on some social networking sites. If you will watch every round, it was obviously Manny won the fight but with a very slim edge on Marquez. So I will congratulate Manny for the win.

But one thing I observed from Manny is he is not in his usual form, or should I say he was a little bit “lost” in the ring. Marquez is very aggressive especially in the middle rounds, but Manny is not the “animal” in the ring yesterday. I can sense that he is a bit nervous about JMM.

Some of the critics said that Manny is on the verge of declining. Well, he is in his early 30’s, I think Manny cannot be a part time boxer at this time. Too many distractions on his side and the training is not as intense compared to his fight against Morales and Larrios. If he will continue to fight alongside with his political and entertainment disturbances, he cannot defeat Floyd Mayweather at any given time.

To sum it up, my respect for PacMan is still there, and I also want to congratulate Marquez for a very tough fight and for making PacMan realized that he ain’t no Superman.

To Manny Pacquiao, if you are very serious in facing Floyd Mayweather, you must start training now. I'm telling you, Mayweather has faster hands and definitely much bigger than Marquez. His counterpunching skills are in par or above the level of Marquez. If you can't even land one solid blow on Marquez, what more on Mayweather the defensive genius?

What Went Wrong, Petron?

If you remember guys, I wrote an article about the high octane efficiency of Petron Blaze Boosters after the team winning their first three- game assignment in the 37th season of the PBA.

But after that, they dropped their last three games against the two MVP teams: Meralco Bolts and Talk N Text Texters (both with a 10 point margin), and Powerade Tigers, after allowing Gary David scoring 42 points in that game.

So, the fans are asking…Petron, what went wrong? The killer instinct of the team is the missing link in this conference.

Before the season opening of the PBA, the team acquired valuable players via draft, trades and free-agency. They got back Dondon Hontiveros, but got injured on his first game as a Booster, alongside with Carlos Sharma, who played well in the first two games, but suddenly, he fell in love on his new found arsenal (outside shooting). Chris Lutz, the third overall pick in the 2011 PBA Draft, although playing marvelously this conference but the drawback; he is playing on an average of 38-40 minutes per game and he is not an import huh. Rob Reyes, acquired via FA, is still need to find himself in the rotation of Petron because of the presence of Santos, Baclao, Sharma and Ildefonso. The latest acquisition, Axel Doruelo, will be the third PG of the team and I have no idea about this player.

Game Face

So Petron, what went wrong?

One of the things to be considered on this team is they are undermanned. Jay Washington, Rabeh Al-Husseini, Dondon Hontiveros is still nursing with their injuries. If these guys were healthy at the start of the conference, the team might be on the top of the standings.
Alex Cabagnot and Denok Miranda playing together will hurt the team because there are no available PGs that will complement the team if one of them got injured (like what happened in the PBB – TNT game where Denok did not play). I don’t think that Doruelo will give Acab and Denok substantial minutes in the bench.

Too bad that Penissi, Hubalde, Duncil and Salvacion is now gone on the Petron side. They are the type of players that will give the team the suffocating defense that they needed in their last three games.

Coach Ato Agustin must trust his bench every game. Their first five is averaging 30 plus minutes every game and it is not a good sign for the team come play-offs. Joseph Yeo, Rey Guevarra and Noy Baclao must step up every game.

If the team will engage in some trades with other team, they must do it now. Jay Washington might return in the second conference while Hontiveros might be back in the third conference, or worst, next season.

Their next game is on Saturday against Alaska Aces. They need to end their three game slump.

God bless Petron!

The PBA Monthly Report (Winners and Losers)

It’s been one month after the season-opening of the first “pay for play” basketball league in Asia, the PBA. The ten teams already played a maximum of 5 games in the entire month and gave us shocking result in which we didn’t expected to happen. So let’s have a trip down the memory lane and decide which team performed well in this conference.

WINNERS

Barako Bull – Surprisingly, they are on the top of the standings (tied with Rain or Shine and Talk n Text with 4-1 win-loss card). Willie Miller came out strong for his team by averaging 13 points per game. The team is already known as “The Giant Killer” for beating powerhouse teams like Barangay Ginebra, Talk N Text and their latest victim, the BMEG Llamados. I admire Coach Junel Baculi because of his excellent player rotation and for injecting composure on this team. Not to mention their super rookies, Dylan Ababbou and Allein Maliksi, both late picks in the first round, averaging double figures for the team. This team believed that “age is only a
number”.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – The wonders of Yeng Guiao is properly working. From being a cellar-dweller team upon entering the PBA, they are now one of the deadliest team in the league. With a 4-1 record, opposing teams now is trying to figure out on how to defeat this young team composed of defense specialist Gabe Norwood, sweet-shooting Jeff Chan and the lethal Paul Lee. This trio helped the team to accomplish such feat in the early part of this conference.

Talk N Text Tropang Texters – despite playing with a depleted line up in the start of the conference (Gilas member Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams is out for a vacation), this team proved that they are the defending champs. With the addition of Japeth Aguilar, this team is now complete in every position. Harvey Carey and Jason Castro are playing a hell of a ball game. Chot Reyes is very serious to try another run for the grand slam this season. And once the team is complete and healthy comes play-offs, opposing teams must start thinking a way to prevent a back to back championship from happening.

Meralco Bolts – what will happen if the main core of the team is beleaguered by injuries? From the start of the conference, the Bolts are playing without their two main scorers, Sol Mercado and Mac Cardona, while Asi Taulava is tired because of the Wuhan FIBA Championship. Chico Lanete, Gabby Espinas and Mark Macapagal, shouldered the needed offense and defense for the team and that’s why they are on the second spot in the standings. With Sol Mercado back on the team and Gabby Espinas is playing an excellent game with a double-double average, this team is on a mission: to enter the play-offs.

LOSERS

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings – coming from a two game winning streak, but those win was decided in a matter of seconds only. Against Powerade, Mark Caguioa’s shot gave their second win (73 - 72), thanks for the poor free throw shooting of the Tigers. For Shopinas.com, the team got carried away and celebrated too early, thanks to JayJay Helterbrand for the win.
Despite of their winning streak, I placed them in the losers’ column because this team needs an upgrade on their front line. This team must not rely on “miracles” or “bad game of the opposing teams” just like what happened to Powerade and Shopinas.

Petron Blaze Boosters – after a 3-0 start, here comes 0-2, two losses with a 10 point margin against Talk N Text and Meralco, both from MVP teams. We thought that this team is invincible in terms of talent and defense, but their main weakness after their last two games is the manpower. Last Friday, we’ve seen Chris Lutz and Alex Cabagnot played the entire game without rest. The team already signed their 3rd PG, Axel Doruelo, but he won’t play against Powerade because he must wait for the “go” signal from the Commissioner’s Office.

Powerade Tigers – same with Petron, from 2-0 start, they dropped their last three games. Marcio Lassiter is playing a good game in his rookie season, averaging 14.20 points per game. Gary David is still their number one option for scoring but the team needs another scorer to complement with David because Lassiter, Anthony and Kramer is focusing more on defense. JV Casio, playing with limited minutes coming from an injury, is slowly getting his game to harmonize with the team.

BMEG Llamados – After six games this conference, they found themselves at the bottom of the standings. Despite of having a great coach in the person of Tim Cone and talented composition of roster, the main problem of the team is how to absorb the triangle system. If you will able to watch their previous game, they started their game with the triangle and ends up with isolation/one-on-one game (the Ryan Gregorio system). They need to master their system or else we will see Wilfred Uytengsu with a great smile on his face.

Alaska Aces – I think this is the first time in this franchise to start a conference with a 0-5 record. They were abandoned by Tim Cone before the start of the season, and replaced by Joel Banal as head coach of the team. Jay R Reyes and Sonny Thoss are playing their best game this season (especially Jay R Reyes), but LA Tenorio and Cyrus Baguio is still “missing in action”. Why does Banal giving Brandon Cablay too much playing time when you have Eric Salamat, Julius Pasculado and Ariel Mepana on the bench? Sam Eman is a freaking bust!

Shopinas.com Clickers – this team is very promising, despite of being the new kid on the block in this league. I hope that if ever they will be eliminated early this conference, they will be able to find a very good import to reinforce them in the Commissioner’s Cup. One thing, I hope Ms. Sheila Lina will watch their game always. It is quite inspiring for the team to see her watching the team.