40 Minutes of Freedom

Ultimate All-star Showdown: MVP vs SMC

2011-07-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, the MVP Sports Foundation made the unthinkable happen by bringing over a star-studded line-up for two exhibition games at the newly-christened Smart-Araneta Coliseum. It's been covered on ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, CNNSI, etc. primarily because of the amount of talent that came over. The Drew League in LA has seen stars drop in one-at-a-time, and the same things have happened in numerous Pro-Am leagues and Charity events, but never has a game seen a set of players with some many individual accolades:

2 League MVPs, 2 Scoring Champions, 3 Rookies of the Year, 2 5-time NBA Champions... and the list goes on!

Rave reviews of the basketball scene from fellow players, authors such as Rafe Bartholomew and countless sports company execs, not to mention a big pay day could have them hop on the next flight over to Manila. Also, now that there has been a precedent, making it happen a second time around probably wouldn't be as difficult.

Just to spark some thought into this, what if the San Miguel Corporation, a rival of the MVP group, would bring over a set of all-stars on their own. Who would they bring? And perhaps the better question, who would win in a Smart vs SMC battle?

1. Lebron James - Easy pick. LeBron vs. Kobe should happen. Why not in Manila?

2. Dwight Howard - Adidas needs Dwight here because D-Rose was with Smart.

3. Carmelo Anthony - Melo is the only one who could score with the ease of KD.

4. Rajon Rondo - Matches up with CP3 - assists, steals, boards

5. Steph Curry - Steph vs. Reke for the best scoring combo guard position.

6. Jodie Meeks - Meeks vs. the Beard shooting 3s while spotting in the corners

7. Andre Miller - the only other slow PG who Sol Mercado will again try to take advantage of

8. Darrell Arthur - young 3/4 with great athleticism to match up with Derrick Williams

9. Kyrie Irving - will probably be burned if he ends up matching up w/ Rose/CP3/Evans.

Clearly, advantage to this team is the Dwight vs. McGee match up. But to make things even, this team will clearly have a weaker back court opposed to the Rose-Paul-Evans-Fisher combination.

So who do you think will take this match up?

UAAP: Veterans vs Rookies

2011-07-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

The first week of the UAAP is done. After a rainy, yet impressive opening ceremonies (that needed better camera angles), a week of the season is finally completed. The rains were not able to dampen the fireworks of week 1 though. Just a quick recap!

1. FEU starts off the season with a big win over DLSU.

2. AdMU holds AdU scoreless in the last 7 minutes.

3. Kobe Bryant plays with a UAAP selection in an FEU jersey.

4. UST and NU go on a shootout in the 4th quarter and overtime.

5. UP wins!

6. AdU bounces back to beat FEU soundly by 19.

7. Ateneo - La Salle Round 1 & Kiefer Ravena

8. Ray Parks goes for 30.

9. UE goes nuts in a blitz but falls short.

Photo courtesy of getblued.multiply.com

Now, most of the headlines so far are pointed to how this year's rookie class is seemingly stating their claim that the future is already here. The hype train for these talents isn't slowing down, and it leaves me wondering: Is the UAAP still owned by the veterans of the rooks?

So here's what I am going to do. I will keep tally of the Best Players of Each Game until the end of the season. Maybe then, we can decide if the torch has already been passed or experience still rules out:

FEU v DLSU: Aldrech Ramos (16 pts, 8 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk) - Vets
AdMU v AdU: Greg Slaughter (23 pts, 8 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blks) - Rooks

UST v NU: Jeric Fortuna (23 pts, 3 3fgm, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl) - Vets

UP v UE: Mike Gamboa (19 pts, 4 3fg, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 2 stls) - Vets

AdU v FEU: Alex Nuyles (22 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts) - Vets

AdMU v DLSU: Kiefer Ravena (24 pts, 10 rebs, 2 asts, 5 stls) - Rooks

NU v UP: Ray Parks (30 pts, 3 3fg, 9 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls) - Rooks

UST v UE: Kevin Ferrer (19 pts, 3 3fg, 5 rebs, 1 stl) - Rooks

Veterans: 4

Rookies: 4

Let's see how the rest of the season goes!

PBA: Deep Into The Second Season

2011-05-06T02:02:00.000-07:00

We are on the brink of closing out the PBA's Commissioner's Cup, and I have to give it to Talk n Text. As hard as it is to say, they actually seem to be getting better. The statistics have speak for themselves. (And I have to give a shoutout to Solar TV's stats team. You finally showed something relevant, Boys!)

TNT is an impressive 9-0 when they hold opponents to below 90 points. Sure, that seems pretty straight forward in this day and age. Good professional teams should be able of scoring enough to get beyond 100. But this is crazy considering the pace that TNT Plays at. I'm not one of the great advanced stats people like the boys of patayangbutiki.net, but the sheer number of increase in possessions should kick up opponents scoring by even just a bit. So clearly, they are a disciplined and hardworking team on defense. That's a testament to their great system in place.

So aside from their system, what is the main reason why they've given Ginebra such a beating in this Finals series? And aside from that, why is it that Ginebra has seemingly dealt them so little damage as well. Two reasons - Ranidel de Ocampo & Paul Harris.

Ranidel de Ocampo was the unheralded member of the TNT roster coming into these playoffs. People were continually saying that he wasn't the same since his injury, and reintegrating him in an import-laced conference would be difficult. In the opposite direction, he has actually found a way to come back, improve his game and even complement their import. De Ocampo has once again shown signs of being a relatively unguardable player in the PBA, Dirk Nowitzki-esque - a great big with a sweet j, who can handle, pass and rebound. His ability to play in the open-court has spaced out the floor for Harris and given them that fast post option they couldn't get with Ali Peek. Ranidel gives TNT so many different "teams" to work with, and that's what has made them so difficult to guard for opponents.

Then, there's Paul Harris. The Texters import has fit the team perfectly. He's fast, long, athletic, smart, relentless and a smart basketball player. He knows their team is loaded with talent, so he doesn't have to shove his skills down their throat in order to succeed. He can do a lot of things well, and he suits that to complement their system, his teammates and his coach.. Perhaps, aside from the skills though, the leadership IQ of the person is clearly remarkable. His teammates are talented, so when he's asked, just just says "he's just doing his part of the job." And when asked about the Best Import Award (which should have been given to him), he said he's out there to win a championship and he's going to be able to do that best by boosting his teammates and how he thinks of them.

The versatilty and overall soundness of these two men's games has given them an edge in comparison to the dragsters over at Ginebra. Brumfield, Caguioa, Tubid, et.al. go at a quarter-mile in 10 seconds. Indeed, when they arrive, they are Fast and Furious. But when the going gets tough, the basket seems to shrink for them, and they can't play any other way. It's stop and have Brumfield or Caguioa create. Unlike their opponent, which can play fast, really fast, slow and deliberate, the Ginebra puzzle has apparently been solved by TNT.

So my vote, Ranidel de Ocampo for Local Finals MVP & Paul Harris for Finals MVP.

Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs

2011-04-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

East

> Chicago Bulls vs Indiana Pacers (3 - 1)

Indiana was playing too hard not to pull out a win. Even the Bulls fans out there might have to reward them and say that the undermanned Pacers deserved at least a win on their home floor. Either way, the Bulls will have to fly back to Chicago anyway, so they'll just have to play one more game before they get to the second round.

Who knows, it might actually be good for them to play another game. The Orlando and Atlanta series poses to drag on until game 6 or 7.

> Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers (3 - 0)

The 76ers are overmatched - plain and simple. Wade, LeBron and yes, even Bosh, have been excellent in the series. They've outplayed all 6 or 7 players that the Sixers have been depending on. I expect Miami to clean this out pretty quick since Boston is also going for a sweep.

Perhaps, if anything Miami should take this opportunity to stretch out their bench and see what they can get from those guys. After all, they're going to need the support in the second round.

> Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks (3 - 0)

The New York roller coaster for the 2010-11 season will probably end in 1 or 2 games. They got the guys they wanted, but the Knicks haven't been solid long enough to really make a run at the standard-bearers of the East. The road to the finals goes through Boston and Melo's crew hasn't proven themselves to be good enough.. Not yet.

The injuries have definitely not helped. Hopefully, the Knicks can rile up enough energy to win one in the Garden, but the Rondo-Allen-Pierce-Garnett combo is too much for this year.

> Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks (1 - 2)

Here's where it gets interesting. Game 4 will miss the presence of Orlando's Jason Richardson and Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia. In spite of the disparity in salary and career accomplishments, I think Atlanta might have actually gotten the short end of this. Zaza was defending Dwight best among the Hawk bigs, and without him Collins, Horford and Etan Thomas might have to deal with the Beast. Orlando, on the other hand, will miss J-Rich's shooting. But since SVG runs only one offensive scheme (Post Dwight / Kick for the 3 /Pick n Roll with Nelson), J-Rich's spot can actually be replaced with any shooter - in this case, probably JJ Redick.

I think Orlando will actually tie it 2-2 after the next game. It might need another monstrous effort from the 3-time DPOY, but he'll have to carry the load on his broad shoulders. If somehow, Horford and J-Smoove can match his production, then maybe Atlanta can pull it out. I'm still inclined towards the tie though.

West

> San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies (1 - 2)

The Grizz leading 2 to 1 was something I definitely didn't expect. Experts have been writing off the Spurs, but basketball wisdom would suggest otherwise. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker will find a way to get things back on track. Their only problem as of the moment is that their 3-point shooting hasn't been as consistent as before.

Randolph and Gasol are doing their jobs, and will probably do their jobs consistently for the rest of the series. The young perimeter players will probably crack once the Spurs put them under tremendous stress, as can be expected in the remaining games. I think the Spurs will still pull this out in 7.

> Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Hornets (2 - 1)

In game 1, CP3 needed 33 points and 15 assists to carve out a win against LA. Unfortunately for all Paul fans, he will be needing more efforts such as that to have more than 2 games left. Game 3 showed LA flexing their strength underneath and their adjustments on covering Paul. Carl Landry has been a gem for the Hornets but they're really missing David West and his reliable production because outside of those three, points are hard to come by for the bees.

The Lakers will wrap this up in LA after the fifth game. Kobe and company will just execute their defense against the Hornets, and sit back and wait for their opponents. It might be a while before the second round starts in LA.

> Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trailblazers (2 - 2)

This series is finally shaping up to be all it's hyped up to be. Dirk, Aldridge and all those expected to produce have done their jobs. So far, it's been the team with the guy stepping up who has won the game. Kidd and Peja took care of games 1 and 2 respectively. Brandon Roy took over games 3 and 4. So we're probably looking at a seven-game series. Very good for the NBA, very bad for these 2 teams as the Lakers are resting and healing.

Game five will be nuts, simply put. Both teams will go out at all costs and I think the bench guards will determine the outcome. Terry-Barea-Beaubois vs Roy-Fernandez-Mills will determine who takes the lead. I still think the Mavs will pull this series out in 7.

> Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets (3 - 0)

This series has been all about closers - the Thunder's ownership of one of the best and Denver's absence of one. The Nuggets are a great team and that's the main reason why they weathered the whole storm built around trading Melo, but they're in a playoff series and they need that to close out games. We've seen the Nuggets offense struggle in the fourth quarter, and until they can get Nene to go up to that role (since's crushing dunks on the frontcourt of every team), Denver will fall short.

Similar to the Bulls-Pacers series, I think Denver will get hot enough to pull out the next game a home. But knowing OKC and how the organization is shaping up to be, they will not let the series go beyond 5 games. Then, they'll rest and heal up until they visit the Spurs probably after another week.

Back to Blogging: The PBA Expansion vs PBA D-League

2011-01-30T23:07:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday evening, one of the most evenly matched and star-studded Philippine Cup Finals in recent memory is tied at 2-2. The San Miguel Beermen, led by Jay Washington and Arwind Santos, have won games 3 and 4, and look to get that penultimate win on Wednesday. Talk n Text will have to ride the shoulders of Ryan Reyes and Jared Dillinger to gun for the same advantage as well. These two teams were expected to be here, in the finals, tied, and they have not disappointed so far. What is more surprising though is that Olsen Racela and Danny Ildefonso are starting to taste like fine wine once again, and Jimmy Alapag and Jason Castro are seemingly running out of nitro.

With this kind of series, one might say that the PBA is in a pretty good place right now. The product on court has not been disappointing. Even the semifinal series that had Barangay Ginebra and Derby Ace, were also good games that filled up stadiums and made people tune in at home. However, I feel that the PBA still has a problem with their product - especially when we begin looking at the teams at the bottom and the upcoming D-League initiative.

Teams such as Red Bull and Air21, in recent years have been seemingly selling players in lopsided deals. Rumors have it that the cash considerations lumped with trades are being used to simply operate the teams, forgetting about the quality of the team fielded in. While this situation is sad, it is also an undeniable true part of business. Sometimes you have to liquidate your assets to make sure your business survives. This, understandably leads to blow out games against the more financially and talent loaded teams like SMB, TNT, Ginebra, Derby Ace and Alaska.

This downgrade in the quality of games is why I question putting up a D-League in the first place. In the NBA, the D-League was made to keep young, developing talent at home in the US. We, on the other hand, don't have that problem. Our good players aren't being imported (except for the Asean League), so why put them in lesser competition when the top competiton is already lacking in participants. Putting up a D-League would provide more reasons for powerhouses to stockpile talent and weaker teams would once again have to make do with less. The PBA could probably still survive and look like a more competitive league if there were 12 competitive teams playing, not just 8 teams with 2 feeders.

Just to elaborate on the topic, let's take San Miguel Beer as an example. Their depth chart can be seen below:
PG: Cabagnot, Racela, Artadi, Miranda
SG: Hontiveros, Yeo, Salvacion
SF: Santos, Seigle, Tugade
PF: Washington, Ildefonso
C: Pena, Pennisi

Their 4th string PG, Denok Miranda was the starter on the Sta.Lucia team that won the Philippine Cup years ago. If they can afford to keep a starter-quality point guard sitting on the bench, then what's going to stop them from getting good players and hiding them in the D-League for situations such as next year when an older player retires. If the PBA D-League works the same way the NBDL does, they might see sister teams SMB, Ginebra & Derby Ace fielding a team that could be competitive in the PBA itself.

The PBA's games have been struggling for a good quality product when it's not the playoffs. Probably because of the fact that only 2 teams are eliminated at the end of the classification phase. Put 2 more teams in and teams will have to value each game more as more teams can steal spots away from them. Maybe then, we won't have to wait for the playoffs to see good PBA basketball.

Fantasy NBA Mythical Five: Week 3

2010-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Fantasy NBA Mythical Five: Week 3

The Director

Steve Nash (1) - 62.5 FG%, 1.3 3FG, 21.7 PPG, 12.7 APG, 1.0 SPG

The Skywalker

Manu Ginobili (1) - 50.0 FG%, 100 FT%, 3.3 3FG, 21.8 PPG, 1.5 SPG

The Triggerman

Kevin Durant (1) - 1.7 3FG, 29.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG

Captain Lionheart

Carmelo Anthony (1) - 93.8 FT%, 25.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG

Tower of Power

Zach Randolph (1) - 63.0 FG%, 22.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 SPG

Wild how the PG's played this last week. Top 3 players were PGs, and Nash just edged John Wall for the top spot this week. Here are their other stat lines.

John Wall - 1.7 3FG, 16.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 10.0 APG, 4.3 SPG

Russell Westbrook - 28.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG

Fantasy NBA Mythical Five: Week 2

2010-11-08T02:08:00.000-08:00

The Director
Toney Douglas (1) - 100.0 FT%, 2.7 3PG, 22.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.0 SPG
- Douglas has been taking some time away from Felton and has been playing the 2 as well. Being D'Antoni's system, when you're hot, you play. So, we can expect him to play the same minutes this week.

The Skywalker
Jason Richardson (1) - 50.0 FG%, 4.0 3PG, 26.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.7 SPG
- J-Rich stole the show when he delivered the key basket over the Grizz to send the game to OT. He should stay at this level should Phoenix try to stay in the playoffs.

The Triggerman
Rudy Gay (1) - 2.8 3PG, 30.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG
- Rudy Gay took his game to a high level in 4 games this week. Let's see if the numbers stay the same with Zach Randolph back in the line-up.

Captain Lionheart
Josh Smith (1) - 16.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 3.3 BPG
- Very tasty defensive numbers from J-Smoove this week. Could it be that all the trade talk has him earning his keep in Atlanta?

The Tower of Power
Pau Gasol (1) - 23.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG
- Brilliant across the board, Gasol is starting to look like LA's best fantasy player. His overall skill has him delivering across all 9-cats well with 56.1 FG%, 90.5 FT% and only 1.3 TOs

Fantasy NBA 2010-11: Week 1

2010-10-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

And we're back!

The NBA 2010-2011 has officially started with the New Big Three falling to Rondo and his old Big Three. Amare (I still don't know where to place the apostrophe) is in New York. Carmelo is not happy, probably so is CP3. Boozer is hurt again due to the smite of poetic justice. John Wall is overshadowing the now defunct Agent Zero, but big bad Blake Griffin is in LA creating havoc in the paint... All the makings of a good season.

In fantasy world, Durant won top pick over CP3. LeBron and D-Wade might battle for stats in Miami and Chris Bosh has fallen to the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Former 1st round picks Kevin Garnett and Shawn Marion are sometimes left in the FA Pool. It's a different fantasy world too, so expect some changes to happen as well.

Now for the Mythical 5!

The Director

Russell Westbrook (1) - 91.3 FT%, 22.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 2.0 SPG

Manu Ginobili almost cracked the list as SG if Monta is used as a PG, but Westbrook's high FT%, Rebounds and Assists were great, especially from the PG

The Skywalker

Monta Ellis (1) - 66.7 FG%, 2.0 3PG, 30.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 1.0 SPG

We can exepect Ellis' FG% to drop especially with Curry out due to an ankle, but his points can be expected to remain high and close to 30.

The Triggerman

Wilson Chandler (1) - 1.7 3PG, 21.0 PPG. 10.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 3.0 BPG

Chandler, being in his 2nd year under D'Antoni is looking to be their version of Shawn Marion's stat-stuffing back in Phoenix - all from the bench too. This would be a late round-steal.

Captain Lionheart

Danny Granger (1) - 3.7 3PG, 27.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.3 BPG

Granger has been made to operate from the wing for majority of this time as to make space for the improvement of Hibbert. So expect the 3s to be high but the rebounds to go down from last year.

Tower of Power

Joachim Noah (1) - 52.0 FG%,16.5 PPG, 18.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 2.5 BPG

Noah nearly lost this battle Luis Scola, who is feasting on the fact that Yao only plays 24 minutes a game, and is off on back-to-backs. It's curious to see how the numbers might adjust when Boozer comes into the team in December.

Regular Season by Aaron Vicencio

2010-10-01T23:10:00.001-07:00

Run this town from Aaron Vicencio on Vimeo.

UAAP Finals Preview: FEU Tamaraws vs. Ateneo Blue Eagles

2010-09-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

UAAP Finals Preview: FEU Tamaraws vs. Ateneo Blue Eagles

Game 1 of the UAAP Finals will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 in the Araneta Coliseum. As usual, there will be around 20,000 people watching live. Timeouts and halftimes will take longer and definitely, there will be more commercials since it will be televised on ABS-CBN channel 2 for the first time. A lot of things have changed, but not by much really.

For the first time in three years, the Ateneo Blue Eagles will be considered as underdogs (though not by much) in the Finals against a deep and supposedly ripe FEU Tamaraws team. Ateneo has lost the pillars of its two championship runs with Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini graduating to the pros, while FEU on the other hand, has practically lost no one and even added perimeter hotshots Terrence Romeo and UAAP MVP RR Garcia. With so much changing in a one-sided manner, you would think that it is definitely time for a new champion to be crowned. But there is still much to be said...

The UAAP Finals is actually a nicely matched-up series if you think about it.
Garcia vs Salamat
Romeo vs Monfort
Cawaling vs Buenafe
Cervantes vs Salva
Sanga vs Long
Ramos vs Chua
Bringas vs Golla
Nuondou vs Escueta

That's already 8 match-ups deep and we still can't say there's one side who has a distinct advantage over the other. Sure, the awards are pretty one-sided. Garcia is MVP and a Mythical 5 member. Ramos is Defensive Player of the Year and a Mythical 5 member. Romeo is Rookie of the Year. Ateneo will be getting no individual accolades this year. But if we look deeper into the statistics* more of their players are performing at a Top 20 rate. FEU has Garcia at #1, Ramos #3, Cervantes #6. Ateneo on the other hand has Salamat at #7, Salva & Long tied at #12 and Buenafe & Chua tied at #14. So, even the numbers are agreeing that it really is an evenly matched series.

(*based on statistics as of the end of the 2nd round of eliminations)

So what can we expect from this Finals series?

Ateneo will once again gear it's defense towards stopping RR Garcia. Following the strategy employed by many teams against Steve Nash - cut the head of the snake to stop it. Then, they shall hope that trigger happy Tams Cervantes and Romeo will shoot themselves in the foot by forcing up shots against a tough Ateneo defense. FEU, on the other hand, will try to grind Ateneo's transition game to halt and cover all screen-and-rolls of the fluid Eagle offense.

On offense, FEU will still look for RR Garcia and now Romeo to create havoc by playmaking and opening shots for Ramos, Sanga and the rest of the Tamaraw supporting cast. Ateneo will continue to use their defense as their best offensive weapon by creating transition opportunities and scrambles by the FEU defense. Hopefully then, Monfort, Long and Salamat can put in the long ball to open up their inside offense.

So if I were to bet, who would I put my money on?

Being slightly biased but mostly objective, I would still give it to the Eagles in 3. Comparing the Final Four games of each squad, FEU let La Salle hang around too long and put themselves in such a risky spot. Ateneo choked the life out of Adamson early and clearly stated claim that the road to the title would have to go through The Hill in Katipunan. Clearly, the playoff experience and poise of the Eagles stood out against the Falcons. Against a tougher FEU squad, surely the battle will be closer. But, powered by either Buenafe or Salamat as Finals MVP, I would still give it to Ateneo in 3 for the 3-peat.

(Thanks again to Aaron Vicencio for the pics)

UAAP Final Four Prediction: (2) Ateneo Blue Eagles vs (3) Adamson Soaring Falcons

2010-09-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

(2) Ateneo Blue Eagles vs (3) Adamson Soaring Falcons

First off, thanks to Mr. Aaron Vicencio (aaronvicencio.blogspot.com) for the great picture.

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A couple of years ago, the ABS-CBN coverage of the UAAP flashed a pretty interesting graphic. Adamson had not won against Ateneo for 15 years or so already. The last time they had won, Fidel Ramos was president, Gas was P9/Liter and it was P26: $1. Basically, ever since Ateneo got out of its dark ages, Adamson has fallen to the bigger bird.

Adamson has come so close so many times, it has already become heartbreaking.

In 2004, Adamson lost all their nerve, blew a huge lead and succumbed to an Ateneo team riding an emotional wave due to the loss of then captain Larry Fonacier to an ACL injury. LA Tenorio shot the Falcons down with three after three after three.

Back in 2006, UAAP MVP Ken Bono and his crew have literally come within single shots of breaking Ateneo spell over them in the 3 games they faced off. But some how, Ateneo always found a three to save them. Chris Tiu sank a 3 in each elimination game and played decoy to a JC Intal drive in the Final Four to send the Falcons crashing down again.

In the second round of this year's eliminations, Eman Monfort once again shot the Falcons down with a booming 3 late in the game to save the streak and give the Blue Eagles the twice-to-beat advantage.

Somehow, there has always been a game-saving 3 that Ateneo has been able to carve out and extend the Falcon misery. Perhaps, the same story might take place again. But looking at it game plan-wise, the game will be decided by the tandems in the photo above.

The Eagle tandem of Salamat and Salva will have to outplay the Falcons' Alvarez and Camson and vice versa. In the two elimination round games this year, Salva has owned Camson and Alvarez has done likewise to Salamat, but an aggregate of their production has always leaned towards the Eagles. This is indeed the crucial match up to watch as everything else is practically equal. Alex Nuyles will be checked by Kirk Long and Long will basically burn himself just playing defense. Justin Chua and Jan Colina will similarly cancel each other out, and so will each squad's benches.

Salamat and Alvarez are each team's playmakers and a lot is decided by not only their scoring but the situations they create. Lester Alvarez has been going off against Ateneo this year, even scoring 25 in the 2nd round match. Salamat on the other hand has been initiating the Eagles' defense with his ball pressure and timely steals to key the Ateneo running game. Each of these two are expected to perform, and there is almost no doubt that they will.

This is why the producton of their mercurial forward counterparts is equally important. Eric Camson and Nico Salva have been on and off this season, so it is almost decisive when one of them shows up and the other doesn't. This can be most clearly seen in their 2nd round match where Salva get back on track after going into a funk midseason, and Camson, saddled with fouls, did not produce his expected double figures.

Salamat can score less than Alvarez, but that is because Ateneo puts almost a 60/40 split on the load between Salamat and Salva. Adamson on the other hand burdens the Alvarez-Camson combo with a 65/35 split. With this close a match-up though, it is clear that whichever 1-2 combination hits harder will decide if we have another Final Four match or the Finals start already.

This is Adamson's best shot of breaking their losing skid against Ateneo. Should the streak extend, Adamson will have a more difficult time in the coming seasons as Ateneo will surely reload due to their recruitment and Ryan Buenafe will take over..

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The FEU Tamaraws slipped passed the DLSU Green Archers earlier to a score of 69-59. I almost got the spread right if not only for the last basket shot by Exciminiano... I could start a rumor here, but I choose to just let that simmer in your minds.

Surprisingly, DLSU was very much in it and almost won in regulation. But, as expected, FEU's maturity and poise shone through with Sanga's game-tying 3 and The team's overall steadiness in the overtime. It important to note that ROY Terrence Romeo has been playing great recently. He's been hitting big shots to supplement the perimeter with teams locking down on MVP RR Garcia.

UAAP Final Four Prediction: (1) FEU vs (4) DLSU

2010-09-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

(1) FEU Tamaraws vs (4) DLSU Green Archers

The Final Four cast of the UAAP is already set. While a lot of things may still happen and seedings could still switch, I'm pretty confident that things will stay the way they are. So here are my predictions for the UAAP Semifinals.
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The DLSU Green Archers were able to pull off a shocker by beating the favored FEU Tamaraws a couple of weeks ago during their second round encounter during the eliminations. That victory was their penultimate win to ensuring themselves a trip to the Final Four this year.

Unfortunately for them, that might be the same win that settles their ouster from championship contention this year.

The Archers technically still have a shot at getting a twice-to-beat incentive during the semis, but it assumes a lot of things. Ateneo and Adamson have to lose their remaining games and has to La Salle win both of it assignments to get the incentive because of the blowout they received at the hands of the Eagles as well. So, if you were on the Archers coaching staff, you should already be thinking about FEU... thinking very hard about how to pull off 2 more shockers.

La Salle may have sealed their own fates with their win over the Tams because of one thing - FEU is a very seasoned and veteran team. Simply put, the Tamaraws should win the title this year or the team should be blown up, and their mindset is that not unexpected losses should happen twice, moreso thrice. Glen Capacio, Bert Flores and the rest of the FEU brainthrust will be looking at every second of their loss to La Salle and break it down. They will not let a bunch of careless or overconfident mistakes cost them the championship, or worse, lose again in the semis. The Tamaraws will prepare and watch so much La Salle game tape that nothing should surprise them come the Final Four.

That is where the Archers did themselves in.

La Salle, putting it simply, has a punchers chance in the match. If they are able to hit hard first and force the Tams to play catch up for the whole game, they may have a greater chance to pull off two upsets. Who knows, just by leading the whole way, they might expose FEU's supposed weak endgame. But, with all the heavy preparation of the coaches and the revenge factor of the players' psyches, they won't be caught off-guard by any new DLSU trick. The Tams will prepare for the full-court trap, for the screens for the Archer shooters and play a tougher game than they did last time out. Basically, FEU will try to bully La Salle into submission.

Unlike the Tams who have RR Garcia, no one on the Archers can really strap the entire team on their back and carry them to the end. Atkins, who leads them in scoring with over 9 points a game, will not attract enough attention from the FEU defense to be able to create for his teammates. Once the vaunted La Salle machine expereinces a hiccup, you may as well say sayonara to their championship chances.

Now, I am not saying that DLSU can't do it. I'm just sure that there chances are definitely slimmer because of that win. So, they better strike first blood or else go through a very tough uphill climb.

FEU by 8 in one game.

Growing Pains of the FIBA Worlds

2010-09-03T03:10:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm back. 4 months is a pretty long time not to blog.

This post is actually for expressing my frustration with the FIBA Worlds. It kind of pains me that it is not getting the same response from the audience as the FIFA World Cup. Yes, I know that the World Cup as gotten its reputation and value from the years and years that great games and tournaments have been played, and the FIBA Worlds is still far from that level. Maybe they have to some things like...

1. Get a catchier name. World Cup sounds better than World Championships just by number of syllables alone.

2. Play in better venues. FIFA has venues built for the games and cities only get to host if they put in the right amount of money. I'm thinking that FIBA Worlds should have audiences like the All-Star game in Dallas.

3. Convince countries to send their A-team every time. Now, I know the rest of the world is still miles from catching up with the US, unlike in football where there is more parity, but a couple of upsets here and there and the world will take notice. Then all the stars will draw the crowds, and it's bigger by miles than what we know today.

This year's Worlds seems to be a bit exciting with all the upsets taking place. However, sad to say, it seems that there are only a few contenders: the US, Spain, Argentina and Brazil (just because they almost tripped up the US). So the real excitement might only take place comes the semis and that just seems kind of sad.

It's the best time of the year and I'm back!

2010-05-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

It's playoff time already.. and I've been so busy that I only start sharing my thoughts and it's already the 2nd Round. What is up with that?!

Anyway, just some thoughts on a couple of things before I get into the 2nd Round of the Playoffs.

1. Fantasy Basketball

I won 2 leagues this year. Better than my previous seasons, and considering I have less leagues too. So, a hgiher percentage probably comes from being able to manage each team better since I had 4 to 6 teams in previous years. Now, for the Fantasy All-NBA First Team:

PG - Dwyane Wade
SG - Kevin Durant
SF - LeBron James
PF - Chris Bosh
C - Andrew Bogut (Surprised? He was more efficient and delivered somewhat similar numbers.)

2. NBA Awards

The list of the regular season awards have been released and I pretty much agree with everything except ROY. Brandon Jennings should've gotten the award simply for winning, considering there are only 2 lottery picks on the Bucks (Bogut and Jennings), compared to Tyreke's Kings (Thompson, Evans, Hawes). But as a recap, here are the awards:

MVP: LeBron James
DPOY: Dwight Howard
MIP: Aaron Brooks
COY: Scott Brooks
6MOY: Jamal Crawford
ROY: Tyreke Evans

3. All NBA Teams

Here are my predictions for the All-NBA Teams. For those asking, I do value winning.

1st Team: Wade, Bryant, James, Durant, Howard
2nd Team: Nash, D. Williams, Nowitzki, Stoudamire, Gasol
3rd Team: Rondo, J. Johnson, Anthony, G.Wallace, Bogut

D 1st Team: Rondo, Bryant, James, J. Smith, Howard
D 2nd Team: Kidd, Billups, Duncan, Hoford, Bogut

R 1st Team: Curry, Jennings, Evans, Collison, Blair

4. Playoffs 2nd Round

East
1. Cleveland v. 4. Boston

I, like many a basketball fan, hope that The Truth, KG, Ray and Rondo can muster up enough fight to make this competitive. We know their veterans smarts and championship swagger can push the Cavs every game, but the question is if it can actually translate to wins. And as for LeBron's elbow, the Celts will hammer that thing so that he'll feel it, but he's strong enough to survive for this round. Maybe we'll see how much it hurts next round.. Cavs in 6.

2. Orlando v. 3. Atlanta

Maybe the best thing that happened to the Hawks is that they hit 7 games with the Bucks. It's been a week since the Magic have played, and maybe they cooled off considering they were playing so well even if Howard wasn't scoring. Plus, the Hawks got Crawford on track. They might stretch Orlando, but I still think that we'll be seeing a rematch... Magic in 7.

West
1. LA Lakers v. 5. Utah

For some strange reason, everybody thinks that the Lakers are more vulnerable this year as the hunger isn't a strong any more. This I think is sort of true, especially on the support guys (Brown, Farmar, etc.), but Kobe, Gasol and Fisher still have it. Unfortunately for Utah though, they're missing a lot of players and Deron and Boozer are dinged up some way. The Lakers will beat down on the Jazz and eventually squeeze out in the series... Lakers in 6.

3. Phoenix v. 7. San Antonio

As a Suns fan, it would only be appropriate that the road to the championship would go through the Spurs (and eventually, if ever, LA). These two teams have been contrasts of each other ever since Charles Barkley and company shot themselves over David Robinson in 1993. For the previous match-ups t's been Offense vs Defense, Flash/Fancy vs Fundamental. This year though, the Suns have improved their defense and the Spurs have more scoring. Pretty interesting ain't it? So, as a fan, I will not jinx the series by making a prediction... 7 games.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 22

2010-03-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 25.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 8.8 APG, 2.8 SPG, 1.8 BPG [6]

Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.3 3FGM, 31.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 BPG [9]

LeBron James (CLE) - 1.7 3FGM, 33.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 9.0 APG, 2.0 SPG [13]

Ryan Anderson (ORL) - 3.5 3FGM, 19.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG [1]

Mehmet Okur (UTA) - 2.5 3FGM, 19.8 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 2.0 BPG [1]

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 21

2010-03-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

It's time for the playoffs! At least in fantasy world, that is... Now owners of sure fire teams better be careful with their players as we might see DNPs more liberally. LeBron started it last week, and the Lakers will probably follow suit resting Kobe some games especially since Bynum is now down for at least 2 weeks.

Now the mythical 5...

Monta Ellis (GSW) - 2.5 3FGM, 27.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.8 APG, 3.5 SPG [2]

Vince Carter (ORL) - 3.0 3FGM, 25.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 7.0 APG [1]

LeBron James (CLE) - 1.3 3FGM, 26.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 8.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG [12]

Troy Murphy (IND) - 3.3 3FGM, 19.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG [1]

David Lee (NYK) - 21.3 PPG, 15.0 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG [2]

On this week's list, LeBron and VC are the only ones who will play on in the NBA Playoffs. The rest will be goin' fishing soon enough. So, we can expect less from these big team players to reserve them and avoid injury. I suggest stocking on some bench talent to supplement your true players. Then, if anybody is injured, add and drop.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 20

2010-03-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Stephen Curry (GSW) - 3.0 3FGM, 20.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.3 APG, 2.3 SPG [2]

Manu Ginobili (SAS) - 2.8 3FGM, 21.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.8 SPG [1]

Kevin Durant (OKC) - 2.0 3FGM, 32.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 APG [8]

David West (NOH) - 28.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 SPG [2]

Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 19.3 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 3.7 BPG [4]

4th Quarter Report: NBA Playoffs Time

2010-03-13T02:27:00.000-08:00

With approximately 63 games done for everybody, the NBA is officially in the 4th quarter of the regular season. Teams on the bubble have less than 20 games to bail themselves out of the lottery and continue to challenge for the NBA Championship. Now let's take a snapshot of what would be the playoff match-ups had the playoffs started today.

East
1. Cleveland (51-15) vs 8. Toronto (32-31)
2. Orlando (46-20) vs. 7. Miami (34-32)
3. Boston (41-23) vs 6. Charlotte (33-31)
4. Atlanta (41-23) vs 5. Milwaukee (35-29)

On the bubble: 9. Chicago (31-34)

West
1. LA Lakers (48-18) vs 8. Portland (40-28)
2. Dallas (45-21) vs 7. San Antonio (38-25)
3. Denver (44-21) vs 6. Phoenix (40-26)
4. Utah (42-23) vs Oklahoma (40-24)

On the bubble: 9. Memphis (35-21), 10. Houston (32-31), 11. New Orleans (32-34)

Personally, I think all Playoff teams should have winning records. This is why particularly, this year's performance pleases me. In previous years, Western conference teams having winning records were booted out even they could have had 5th seed in the East. Somehow, that just didn't seem right.

As it stands now, we're bound to see some exciting series: LeBron-Bosh, Wade-Howard, Lakers-Blazers, Texas Shootout, Mile High-Grand Canyon. But I'm here to take a look at the chances of those teams on the bubble - Chicago, Memphis, Houston, New Orleans.

Chicago

Their fate lies in the hands and more importantly, health of Derrick Rose. He's very banged up. We hear or a hip, a knee, a wrist and all sorts of minor dings to him that we wonder if he can survive the grueling chase to the playoffs. Last year, Rose and Ben Gordon practically shot the Bulls into that thrilling series with the Celtics. But he doesn't have a shot-maker like Ben Gordon or even John Salmons anymore, so we've seen the wear and tear on him this year. If he's healthy, maybe they have a shot of pulling into the 8th spot especially with Toronto never really getting chemistry going the whole year.

Memphis
This picture was just too good to not post. Zach Randolph has been consistent for the Grizzlies the whole year up to the point that he even became a first-time All-Star. But them vaulting into another level of success really depends on Rudy Gay. Gay should be their superstar, the one teams watch and prepare for first before Randolph. He has to pick it up and act like the physical freak that he is or else, it's another lottery pick for the Griz.

Houston
Ariza was forced to become a scorer due to the absence and now, departure of T-Mac. Unforutnately for the Rockets, he hasn't come up to standards. Yao's absence can really be felt even with the herculean efforts of Scola, Hayes, Battier and the rest of their 6'8 and under front court. How they're even contending is actually a thing of roughneck beauty with a scrappy team performing hard every night. But, Ariza has to stop chucking and start scoring if the Rockets want to keep their streak of being in the playoffs alive.

New Orleans
Injury could not have struck at a worse time when CP3 went down. With the Thunder picking up their game, the once-considered contender Hornets now are just struggling to reach .500 with Paul down with a bum ankle. David West and Emeka Okafor have been unable to find a right mix to make things work underneath even if Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton have been playing like vets on the perimeter. Paul coming back isn't soon enough for this team as they seem to be on the way out of the playoffs.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 19

2010-03-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

A little bit late but...

The Director
Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 1.7 3FGM, 33.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 12.0 APG, 2.3 SPG [4]

The Skywalker
Quentin Richardson (MIA) - 4.7 3FGM, 20.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 2.3 SPG [2]

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 1.3 3FGM, 29.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 9.0 APG, 2.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG [12]

Captain Lionheart
David West (NOH) - 16.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 2.7 BPG [1]

Tower of Power
Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 0.545 FG%, 16.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 4.3 BPG [3]

Quick Notes:
1. LeBron will not be next week's player of the week unless he strings up an insane set of numbers. Those DNPs are well-deserved indeed.

2. I said earlier in this series that Q-Rich would never appear again. But, 4.7 3FGM gets him to the place where 5.0 3FGM placed him once before.

3. David West is finally showing his all-star form. The Hornets really need him while CP3 gtes back into shape, hopefully for a push for the playoffs.

4. LeBron's DNPs spell problems for those owners with Cavs, Lakers, Mavs, Magic and Nuggets players. We might see their coaches giving them nights of with their places in the conferences rather set.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 18

2010-03-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Week 18's Mythical 5:

The Director
Chauncey Billups (DEN) - 3.7 3FGM, 26.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.0 APG [2]

The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.8 3FGM, 27.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.8 SPG [7]

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 2.0 3FGM, 30.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 10.3 APG, 1.3 SPG [11]

Captain Lionheart
Gerald Wallace (CHA) - 1.7 3FGM, 23.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 SPG [2]

Tower of Power
Zach Randolph (MEM) - 24.3 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.3 SPG, 1.3 RPG [2]

Couple of things we must note this week:

1. LeBron James is again the best player in fantasy basketball. Numbers, team's record, overall impact all point to him becoming a back-to-back MVP, especially since Kobe sat down for several games. Plus, Shaq going to be out for over a month means more of the monster numbers for the King.

2. Danny Granger again pays the price for becoming a Small Foward.

3. It was a slow week for point guards. Chauncey Billups didn't put up whoa numbers and yet he was the best at his position for this week.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 17

2010-02-22T00:42:00.000-08:00

The Director
Jason Kidd (DAL) - 3.0 3FGM, 15.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 3.8 SPG [3]

The Skywalker
CJ Watson (GSW) - 1.3 3FGM, 24.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 2.3 SPG [1]

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 1.3 3FGM, 32.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 10.0 APG, 2.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG [10]

Captain Lionheart
Danny Granger (IND) - 2.7 3FGM, 29.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.3 BPG [1]

Tower of Power
Dwight Howard (ORL) - 28.0 PPG, 16.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 5.3 BPG [1]

I was surprised to see that this week is only Brandon Routh's (aka Dwight Howard with Shaq being Christopher Reeve) first appearance in the Mythical 5. But after watching the Orlando-Cleveland game, I am able to understand why. Week on week, Howard has been passive with the offense. In that game, he took it to the Cavs bigs over and over to set the tone that he would make them pay. I'm not sure if getting a facial from Shaq helped motivate him, but I'm glad as hell that he showed up.

As for everybody else, I know Granger's spot as a 3 does not help since LeBron has been practically immovable from the Triggerman slot. Thankfully for Durant, he has SG eligibility. Also, Chris Bosh actually had the best averages for this week. However, he only played 1 game and is practically useless compared to 3 or 4 games from the rest.

All-Star Thoughts & Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 16

2010-02-14T02:54:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, All-Star Saturday Night has been a success. There was Josh Smith over Kenyon Martin in a Dominque jersey. Nate Robinson with Spud Webb and his Krypto-Nate garb. Gerald Green with his cupcake. Dwight Howard with the sticker, Superman cape and Phone Booth.

Now, we all know that the crown jewel of All-Star Saturday Night is the Slam Dunk Contest. This year, that gem was pretty much a bust, pwet ng baso. Yes, Derozan and Robinson did come up with good dunks (off the side of the backboard-windmill to the reverse side and off the backboard-reverse double-pump, respectively), but the overall lack of competitiveness and creativity in the field took away all the excitement the other events generated.

Simply put, the Slam Dunk Competition needs people who can bring in the hype and even if they fail, at least the "upset" tag can be used for the result. LeBron, You've been the best basketball player (Real and Fantasy) this year, but I am blaming you.

The Director
Louis Williams (PHI) - 1.5 3FGM, 21.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 SPG [2]

The Skywalker
Stephen Curry (GSW) - 7.0 3FGM, 36.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 13.0 APG, 3.0 SPG [1]

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 1.5 3FGM, 32.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 12.0 APG, 1.5 SPG [9]

Captain Lionheart
Lamarcus Aldridge (POR) - 18.5 PP, 10.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG [1]

Tower of Power
Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 19.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 3.5 BPG [2]

Fantasy NBA Players fo the Week 15

2010-02-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Leading up to the All-Star break, the King claims his throne again... Unfortunately, almost none of his fellow all-stars are coming along the ride. Paul, Roy, Melo, Kobe, KG, Billups are all banged up before the best exhibition game on the planet. Let's just hope they can warm Cowboys Stadium up until Pacquiao beats down Clottey..

This week's Mythical 5:

The Director
Jason Kidd (DAL) - 2.7 3FGM, 13.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 11.7 APG, 4.3 SPG [2]

Kidd has been steady the entire week, and perhaps fits this monicker best among all PGs this season as he's been feeding everybody. We know he could still force a triple-double but he's content distributing to Dirk, Terry, Howard, Marion, Dampier, Gooden, Barea and even Beaubois.

The Skywalker
Stephen Jackson (CHA) - 3.0 3FGM, 28.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.5 SPG [2]

S-Jax has been steady since being traded over. Gerlad Wallace will be getting honors in this year's all-star game, but he's the other half of the Bobcats combo that's keeping them in the playoffs.

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 2.7 3FGM, 35.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 10.3 APG, 2.7 SPG [8]

He's back at it again, and is again the best player in fantasy basketball. There's nothing else to say... The new ad with Big Z takes the cake though!

Captain Lionheart
Andrei Kirilenko (UTA) - 22.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.5 APG, 3.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG [1]

Five years ago when the Jazz sucked, this would have probably been a regular site. But when Deron, Boozer, and Memo got into town, AK47 finally came back down to earth. Too bad his contract was just huge!

Tower of Power
Chris Bosh (TOR) - 30.3 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.7 BPG [4]

CB4 was probably the biggest starter snub this year with Garnett taking his rightful spot. We can expect more concern over his destination after the summer as it's clear that everybody with cap room will make Bosh option 3 after LeBron and Wade.

PBA Quarterfinals: A Different Level of Drama

2010-02-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

I had initially wanted to write this article a week ago when the PBA Quarterfinals just started. I was watching Game 2 of both series wherein both winning teams rallied from late double-digits deficits to snatch victory and take very big advantages in the respetive best-of-5 series. But a week later, here we are Game 5s that are not just simple Game 5s.

The Quarterfinals have been on a completely different level for me than the eliminations and even the wildcard phase. In the eliminations, we could see people probably going to court at possibly 75% at their hardest. Teams were lax and players were obviously avoiding injury, as it is their livelihood. In the wilcard phase, you could see that people were playing to get to their next paycheck. They were playing harder, but not displaying their complete repertoire. In the quarters though, underdogs are scrapping and favored teams are trying to overpower people with their size, depth and ability.

Even before the walkout last Friday, a lot of drama had already been going down.

1) Comebacks

No lead has been safe in this phase as all teams have threatened (and some, even won) after being down double-digits in the second half. A little too lax, and the other teams have been talented enough to burn and eat into leads.

2) Emerging Stars

Intal, Norwood, Mercado, Castro, Artadi - all of them have played beyond expectations as their starters have either been injured or are just in the some slump. All of these have picked up the levels of their games and made the games exciting with new stars being displayed.

3) Veteran Stability

People have been telling these guys that they are over-the-hill, but veteran smarts and savvy have not been lost on these games as the vets have more often than not bailed the young bucks with a crucial basket, play, stop or assist. Menk, Telan, Laure, Roger Yap, Alapag and the rest have been the backbones of their teams for years, and now are unmoveable in their being cornerstones of the franchises.

4) Injury Miracles

Caguioa, Helterbrand, Raymundo , Simon, De Guzman have all made comebacks from on-again, off-again injuries to add depth and quality minutes to their teams. Every team seems to be 1-10 strong again, and if one piece doesn't seem to work, then another gets immediately subbed into that slot.

And then there was the walk-out...

Like most people, I really don't like walkouts. My stand is you always try to win it on the court. If you feel like the refs are cheating you, there's always a way to win still. If they don't call fouls for you, you just bull rush people to the hoop until the refs have to give up slanting calls as it will cost them their jobs. If they keep on calling fouls on you, foul hard. Make the opponents pay for those 2 free throw they thought they'd get easily. Now, I'm not encouraging dirty play, but if it's necessary to have to go through that route, then what choice do you have?

It's a given that the commissioner's office will not side with the team. That's just a fact. The PBA will not admit that their referees are slanted if only to protect the name of the league. We all know that corruption exists in the league and the refs are probably the biggest targets of it. If the PBA admits the ref's errors, they might as well throw away their credibility as a league since they cannot control their own employees. Doing so would just be plain suicide.

So, I'm hoping that Talk n Text plays Game 5. I hope they play hard and cram it down other people's throats so as to prove that aren't crybabies. The same way, I hope Ginebra comes out with a chip on their shoulders to prove that they did not need that gimme win. Same thing goes for Purefoods and Rain or Shine, prove that thye deserve to move on to the semis, that they belong in the quarters and that they really should be in the PBA at all.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 14

2010-02-01T04:50:00.000-08:00

The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 2.3 3FGM, 26.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 11.0 APG, 3.3 SPG [5]

Unfortunately, people, that is this week's best player in fantasy basketball. To think that Paul actually put these numbers up in just 3 games (while the Hornets had 4). So, for Paul owners out there, this stellar week will be the last for about a month or so. He's down with a partially torn miniscus, and will probably miss the All-Star game, leaving the spot open for Chauncey Billups.

The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.7 3FGM, 34.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.3 BPG [6]

Durant creeps closer to LeBron's 7 appearances in the mythical 5 with his sixth. Dropping 45 in his last game of this week, Durant solidifes his All-Star selection (the first of many to come). We have seen Durant play bigger this week with more rebounds and blocks. We can probably expect this continuous shifting for small stats (3s, Asts, Stls) to big stats (Rebs, Blks) to go on for the rest of the year since OKC will probably not get a dominating big before the deadline.

The Triggerman
Gerald Wallace (CHA) - 1.3 3FGM, 27.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 1.3 BPG [2]

Crash is an all-star and is the first Bobcat to do so, an honor he deserves since he's been the only person left from Bobcat Day 1. Always playing bigger than his size, Wallace's rebounding and defense have always been known. Offensively though, he has raised it up a notch this year.

Captain Lionheart
David Lee (NYK) - 24.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 SPG [1]

Probably the biggest All-star snub this year, David Lee finally enters the mythical 5. As if to make a statement against his being snubbed, Lee has evolved into also becoming a playmaker for the Knicks, averaging close to 5 dimes per game. Now, if only an East all-star would get injured, a Knick could be an all-star, the first since... Starbury...

Tower of Power
Marc Gasol (MEM) - 19.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.8 BPG [1]

Pau's baby brother has been playing great this year. Probably just as deserving as Zach Randolph's all-star nod, he has been the slotman for the Grizz's resurgence in the deep, deep Southwest, which has all his teams over .500. has his emergence made the trade with the Lakers any fairer? Still no...

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 13

2010-01-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

The Director
Chauncey Billups (DEN) - 0.909 FT%, 4.3 3FGM, 25.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 7.7 APG [1]

Finally, Mr. Big Shot arrives. Seems to have perfect timing too as the wind-up to the all-star game is right upon the world. Last year, he got the snub even after turning Denver around. This year though, Tony Parker isn't playing as well, so this would seem to be a lock unless Deron Williams creeps into the picture.

The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.3 3FGM, 31.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.8 SPG, 1.5 BPG [5]

He's back. He's been here less than just 1 person. Like almost everybody has said, the Thunder were not supposed to be this good this early. Durant is leading the precocious team with his own advanced-for-his-age numbers, and they're in the playoffs. Who knows, they might even leapfrog Portland as the "Young team the NBA is afraid of." He's gonna be an all-star for sure.

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 2.3 3FGM, 34.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 10.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.7 SPG [7]

As if last week wasn't good enough, he upped himself and beat Kobe and his Lakers too. Mo Williams is down for the next month or so, thus we can expect more of this from LeBron. The best players in fantasy basketball (and real basketball) is on a different plane these last 2 weeks.

Captain Lionheart
Corey Maggette (GSW) - 0.929 FT%, 30.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.0 APG [1]

The conflict of the week! Andrei Kirilenko was another candidate for this slot, with better percetages and defense. But he only played 2 weeks. So, I went with Maggette since he played more games and his FT% was way up there considering the volume of FT he takes.

Tower of Power
Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 20.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 4.0 BPG [1]

He was the number 1 pick, folks, not CP3 or D-Will. Yes, it might have taken him a couple of years longer, but the Australian is here to stay. Tag teaming with a young spitfire in Brandon Jennings, they seem to make each other better. Let's see if this combo heats up the Milwaukee cold.

All-Star Starters Revealed: We Did Not Do Our Jobs!

2010-01-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

You see that picture everybody? Yes, folks. We did not do our job voting for somebody else and this is what we got. Allen Iverson being the first person to be ever seen in the new (and sweet-looking) all-star threads.

It honestly seems similar to the Philippine elections. We have to vote for somebody but there's no one person that stands out, so all the bad people in the world get to elect their bid into power. Aside from Wade, there isn't any real stand-out all-star guard in the East anymore. Alas, we all couldn't unite to find that guard that could oust Iverson. Now, our crime will stare us in the face on Feb. 14 (Feb. 15 Manila time) when the all-star starters get introduced in Dallas. Thankfully, the game is in the West and Iverson will be part of the "visiting" team.

So, for those who haven't read the internet, the following people will be the starters:

East: Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard
West: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudamire

We can't do anything about the stars joining the teams now. It's all in the experts hands, but I have my opinions as to who should be there in Cowboys stadium in front of 80,000 people. Unfortunately, we must follow the traditional 1 center, 2 forwards, 2 guards and 2 utility slots. So here goes!

East:
Joe Johnson (ATL) - Joe is the #1 guy on the East's #3 team. That should speak for itself.
Mo Williams (CLE) - It's sad he's injured, but he should get redemption from the almost-snub last year.
Chris Bosh (TOR) - He's the top 20-10 guy in the NBA right now, enough said.
Paul Pierce (BOS) - Pierce has been the East's best closer this year. Truth be told.
David Lee (NYK) - He's taken the ball D'Antoni gave him and double-doubled with it.
Rajon Rondo (BOS) - Pierce has closed games, but Rondo's been keeping them in games all season.
Gerald Wallace (CHA) - Crash has been with the 'Cats since Day One and should be the first one in an all-star game.

West:
Chris Paul (NOH) - CP3 is the top PG in the NBA in spite of the in juries this season.
Brandon Roy (POR) - Probably the unluckiest star here as his bigs are all down with something.
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) - Best Non-American player ever? Top 3 at the very least.
Kevin Durant (OKC) - We all knew it was coming. But he has finally arrived.
Pau Gasol (LAC) - The big man getting close to 20-10 on the best team deserves a slot.
Zach Randolph (MEM) - Personally, I hate him. But the Griz are winning because of him.
Chauncey Billups (DEN) - The Nuggets, especially Melo wouldn't be West Elite without him.

I agree with people that say that winning is a major part of being an all-star. True enough, most playoff teams (as of the moment) have at least one all-star. Only Chicago and Utah being missed out on. Some teams with good records do have a shortage of all-stars such as Dallas, but that's just because more members of the team are producing while lower teams such as Phoenix were lucky to have 2 all-stars. Luckily for Stoudamire, David Spade helped and he was voted in.

Snubs:
Chris Kaman (LAC) - You're a Clipper. That should be reason enough already. Being the #1 team in LA matters because of the record. That's why Pau gets the nod over him.
Deron Williams (UTA) - As much as I love D-Will, he's been hurt a lot this year, and Denver's better record pushes Billups ahead of him.
Josh Smith (ATL) - blame Allen Iverson
Jamal Crawford (ATL) - blame Allen Iverson
Derrick Rose (CHI) - blame Allen Iverson
Stephen Jackson (CHA) - blame Allen Iverson

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 12

2010-01-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 1.3 3FGM, 18.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 13.5 APG, 3.0 SPG [4]

CP3 is back in the Mythical 5 with his usual numbers. Looks like he, David West and Emeka Okafor are finally getting their acts together, and less scoring is needed from him. Us fantasy people hate that... unless we own Okafor.

The Skywalker
Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 27.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.8 BPG [3]

D-Wade was a defensive beast last week. Sure he gambles and puts his team at risk in the real world, but that doesn't mean jack in fantasy basketball. 4.3 Steals/Blocks per game is just way, way up there for any guard.

The Triggerman
Lebron James (CLE) - 35.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, 3.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG [6]

LeBron was once again the best player in fantasy basketball. He's been here for the 6th week and he even produced higher offense and defensive numbers than Wade. It seems that Cleveland is finally taking some of the load of LeBron, keeping defenders honest and letting LeBron go nuts. If only he'd dunk in the Dunk Contest...

Captain Lionheart
Stephen Jackson (CHA) - 3.0 3FGM, 29.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 3.0 SPG [1]

Here's another one of those "multiple positions saves my ass" types of listings again. I really never knew until recently that S-Jax had PF eligibility. Being in Golden State indeed paid off for some fantasy owners who lucked out on this one.

Tower of Power
Brook Lopez (NJN) - 22.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.5 BPG [2]

He's been the only consistent thing in New Jersey aside from the losses. How those two correlate, I dunno. But, Brook is recently getting outshone by Robin out in Phoenix. Maybe we'll see these 2 get some time to go head-to-head.

Battle at the Bottom - The PBA Wild Card

2010-01-16T23:58:00.000-08:00

The PBA regular season for the All-Filipino Conference is winding down with all teams basically having just one or two games left on their schedules. The race up top between San Miguel, Alaska and Ginebra is exciting but rather immaterial at this point as we are sure to see more of them already. Same thing with Talk n Text and Sta. Lucia, they might not be in contention for the outright semifinal slots, but being safe in the quarterfinals is much, much better than the plight which I am about to discuss.

The Battle at the Bottom of the PBA standings has four teams, all struggling to survive, knowing that even if they were to get through this ordeal, the next one will be much tougher to get through. Let's go through each team's chances, and maybe we can find a way to sort this out.

Burger King Whopper (5-11) - Ginebra, Alaska

Burger King is probably in the best spot among the four teams as they have 5 wins already, 2 games left and they beat the current bottom team, Barako Bull in both their meetings this season. Now, with their wild card bid already set, it's best to look at their possible competition. They're 1-1 against Coke, 2-0 against RoS in close games and 2-0 against Barako Bull in blow outs. It's not hard to guess who they'd like to face in the wild card round.

Of course, with the recent trade of Alax Cabagnot and Wesley Gonzales into their roster, they don't have the same team that won all those games. So, chemistry might be an issue and nothing is really safe even if they seem to been the best among the worst.

Coca-Cola Tigers (5-12) - Barako Bull

Coke is in a rather interesting bind. They have 5 wins, but they have one more game against bottom-placer Barako Bull. Worse, Barako Bull can tie their record and in their first round meeting, they lost to the Energy Boosters. Based on just the math, they too are almost sure-in for the wild card phase, but they can ensure their fate by winning their remaining game and putting Barako Bull away. As for their record against RoS, they're 1-1, so that should be an interesting battle.

Similar to Burger King, Coke too has to figure out how to deal with the trade. Why they did it this late in the season, I honestly do not understand. Chemistry and knowing your teammates is a very big thing during pressure-packed situations. Luckily for them, the trade came with a pressure player in Gary David, so they might be the winners of the trade.

Rain or Shine Elastopainters (4-13) - Alaska

Honestly, the faces of these two guys say everything about the Elastopainters' season. They don't know what is going on and how to deal with it. Early in the season, they are the first ones to defeat then undefeated Alaska, but they never get anything going. One win and done. The team's starters are loaded with talent in Norwood, Mercado, Reyes and Telan, but they can't seem to gel.

Unfortunately for them, they have to go against Alaska, a team with something to lose, on their last game. Alaska will be looking for a semifinal slot and revenge on Rain or Shine, and that doesn't help their cause. Good thing for them is that they blew out Barako Bull in their win against them, which might help if quotients are factored in.

Barako Bull Energy Boosters (3-13) - Sta. Lucia, Coca-Cola

Barako Bull was almost dead and gone last week, but they surprised Talk n Text. So, now, everything is still up in the air even though the numbers are against them. What's fortunate for Barako is that they still have 2 games to hike up their wins. If they can get to 5, they're in as they beat Coke twice. If they only win once, they leave everything in the hands of Rain or Shine.

Regardless, Barako is still the most likely team to be eliminated early. They have no clear leader and no clear star. They win when two or three players have almost perfect games - take note 2 or 3. They have to be that lucky against teams to win. Fortunately for them, Sta. Lucia is already in the quarters with no chance of the semis, so they might get to see a lot of the Realtors second unit.

There we go... A lot of interesting games left in the regular season before the hectic playoffs begin... Let's hope the teams deliver interesting basketball so that fans will come in during the playoffs.

NBA Fantasy Players of the Week 11

2010-01-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

Just when last week I said that everything was getting back to normal in the fantasy world, it gets screwed up again. LeBron wasn't close to 30-8-8, Kobe was shooting left-handed, Nash and Paul were scoring. You could go on and on.

So this is why we have a pretty weird Mythical 5 this week... Prepare to be surprised.

The Director
Monta Ellis (GSW) - 30.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.3 SPG [1]

For some strange reason, the monicker "The Director" doesn't fit when Ellis is your PG. But then again, he's eligible, so ehhh.. But he had good scoring and somewhat good percentages, so we have to give him the spot.

The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.7 3FGM, 30.7 PPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG [4]

Kevin Durant installs some normalcy in this week's mythical five being on the list 3 times prior to this. The points are there, but everything else is down. Must be a really slow fantasy week for all the top players...

The Triggerman
Andre Iguodala (PHI) - 1.0 3FGM, 17.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.7 SPG [1]

Iguodala did his LeBron impersonation this week with an 18-7-7 type of deal. Lebron Lite, as I will now call him, gave us good numbers but nothing that will pop out at you. But his efforts will not be unnoticed as he is not the only Sixer on the list.

Captain Lionheart
Channing Frye (PHX) - 3.7 3FGM, 18.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG [2]

Here's where it begins to get fishy. Frye was previously on this list at center but I had to bump him down in favor of another big guy. Frye was draining 3s as is his role with the Suns and at a high percentage compared to the blips he's been having the weeks prior.

Tower of Power

Samuel Dalembert (PHI) - 1.000 FT%, 15.3 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2.7 BPG [1]
This week's Best Player in Fantasy Basketball is Samuel Dalembert. Nope, I am not drunk not high. Dalembert got this week's nod because of his double-doubles and his high-high percantage. Normally, I'm not a percentage guy, but he had a signifcant number of shots per game and he made all of his free throws. Tough to admit but I can't deny Sammy D this week.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 10

2010-01-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

Just because I wasn't able to fix my line-up and put David Lee in, I lost a week 2-7. Makes me wonder if I should keep him for the keeper league. But since he's an unrestricted free agent, I have to wait and see...

Now, the fantasy world seems to be normalizing based on pre-season predictions... This week's mythical 5!

The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 20.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 9.3 APG, 2.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG [3]
CP3 is back in his place as the NBA's best PG. But, his assists are down compared to when he came back from injury. This is probably because West and Okafor are contributing more to the Hornets cause. The block is a bonus and the steals are where you want them to be.

The Skywalker
Kobe Bryant (LAL) - 2.3 3FGM, 33.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.5 APG [4]

The Black Mamba just killed the Kings for the second game in a row. He's been playing at an MVP pace this year and with Gasol going down to the hamstring, we can expect Kobe to be looking to shoot again.

The Triggerman

LeBron James (CLE) - 29.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG [5]

The King was the best player in fantasy basketball this week with monster 5-cat averages over 4 games. The statement being made in the 48-point explosion in Atlanta. We know he can do this every night if he wanted to, but he's saving energy for the chase for the homecourt advantage and playoffs this early. Yes, this early, especially since Boston and Orlando are right up there in the East.

Captain Lionheart
Chris Bosh (TOR) - 26.7 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.3 BPG [3]

CB4 has finally restored his 20-10 averages after a funk he went through last week. With Hedo going down to injury and Calderon still not back, Bosh will be forced to have these numbers for at least this week.

Tower of Power
Nene (DEN) - 23.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 3.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG [1]

Nene is clearly benefiting from Melo and Ms. Big Shot going down to injury. He has to establish himself as Denver's 3rd option, and seems to be doing so very well. When those 2 come back, we'll see if Nene can keep this pace up.

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 9

2009-12-28T02:07:00.000-08:00

For this week, it was this first time this year that I was in such a hole that I benched my entire team to just try and win turnovers. It's a ploy you almost never want to go through with but sometimes, deep, deep holes leave you with no choice...

This week, the multiple positions eligibility will help me cheat with the top 5 players in the league...

The Director
Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 28.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.3 APG, 3.0 SPG, 1.3 BPG [2]

Cheat #1. Wade is given PG elibigility, so I'll place him here since he ranks behind Kobe in this week's show. Flash is showing his 5-cat prowess once again, and when asked about it in an interview, he said he was playing better because he slowed down. This means he's picking his spots more and better percentages can be expected as well.

The Skywalker
Kobe Bryant (LAL) - 1.7 3FGM, 37.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 6.0 APG,2.7 SPG [3]

If anybody was able to see the Sacramento game the other day, Kobe killed the Kings in 2OT with 2 3s that sent the young Kings packing. He ate Tyreke Evans for dinner too. Kobe, now with Artest gone, can be expected to jack most of the Lakers' 3 attempts now, so be wary of the risks coming.

The Triggerman
Brandon Roy (POR) - 2.0 3FGM, 32.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.5 SPG [1]

Brandon Roy was fantasy basketball's best player this week, and sadly for him, he had to be. The Blazers are so injured right now, it's not even funny. Their coach was injured a few weeks back because he had to complete the 10 people on-court during practice. So, with that many players, we can expect Roy to have to produce at this level to stay afloat in the West.

Captain Lionheart
Zach Randolph (MEM) - .650 FG%, 30.0 PPG, 16.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 SPG [1]

Now, Z-BO is one of the players I hate most in the NBA, not just real basketball or fantasy. I just really don't like the guy. He's a pit for your offense, but apparently, he can put up numbers - and has been for the last few weeks now.

Tower of Power
Al Horford (ATL) - .658 FG%, 19.7 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.3 BPG [1]

J-Smooth gets most of the props for the Atlanta's improvement this year, but Horford has been steadily improving his game too. For the most part, gone are the single-digit scoring games and the bad percentages. He's confident and settling down in the fact that he is their #1 big guy, and he hopes to become a bigger presence to get guys off Joe Johnson.

NBA Christmas Preview

2009-12-24T00:38:00.000-08:00

This year's NBA schedule will feature 5 games, which more or less were desgined to give some family entertainment during the "best time of the year." These 5 games all have interesting backstories behind them and aims to capture even those non-basketball fans because of the hype and telenovela like stories being built up.

The NBA made this schedule even before the season started. Let's see if they got their gut-feels right...

Miami vs New York

This game is simply all about one man. Dwyane Wade is on the free agent market next year, and is probably the 2nd target of the New York Knicks after LeBron James. HE provides the struggling Knicks franchise with a superstar big enough to handle the bright lights of the big city. Hell, even Jay-Z made a comment about Wade in New York...

Boston vs Orlando

Everybody was saying last year that D12 and the Magic were only able to get through the Celtics was because they were missing Garnett and the defensive tenacity he brings to the floor. This year, we get to see it. In the Finals, Paul Pierce even mentioned that he thought that the Magic was a "poodle" compared to the "rotweiler." Unfortunately for the Truth, he'll be observing this Christmas day game as he was diagnosed to miss the next 2 weeks with a knee injury.

Cleveland vs Los Angeles Lakers

With the help of these dudes, Nike has been building up this match since the playoffs started last year. They were hoping it would happen in the Finals, but we all ended up waiting another half year to see it. Individually, I think we cannot contest that Kobe and LeBron are the 2 best players in the league, and they hope to lead their star-studded teams in clash in Hollywood. Just enough of a bright lights, big stage, right time set-up for a primetime, national television broadcast. The Mamba vs the King.

LA Clippers vs Phoenix Suns

Initially, I was supposed to label this match-up as a battle of "failure of the 2009 season" with both teams having stocked line-ups, stubborn coaches and too little wins to get into the playoffs. Then I remembered the crazy stuff their 2 starting point guards do during their free time. Yes folks, that's Steve "Two Time" (MVP, not Tiger Woods two-time) Nash and Baron "Boom Dizzle" Davis. If you can find a clip of it online, these 2 made a video in the style of Will Ferrel's and C. THomas Reiley's Stepbrothers, hence the stupid outfits... Now, on the basketball side of it, The Suns are resurgent and now seem to be contenders in spite of their recent struggles, and the Clippers seem to be getting there. The added bonus of Blake Griffin was supposed to be highlighted here as well, but a broken kneecap has said no.

Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trailblazers

Here's is where the league was bitten in the ass by the injury bug. Oden, Roy, Outlaw, Batum, Pryzbilla, Billups and Martin might all miss the game due to one injury or another. It was supposed to be a battle for supremacy of the US Northwest, and instead it will be Carmelo Anthony vs LaMarcus Aldrigde. Sort of an anti-climactic way to end the night...

NBA Fantasy: Players of the Week 8

2009-12-21T02:03:00.000-08:00

I won all leagues last week.. but forgot to set my team for this week and lost Bogut's 31-18 this week. Uphill battles once again..

The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 19.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 13.5 APG, 2.0 SPG [2]
Chris Paul is back, definitely... And the Hornets are winning. However, his points are down from the previous year's due to the increase in assists. At least we know the ball is definitely in his hands almost all the time.

The Skywalker
Joe Johnson (ATL) - 2.3 3FGM, 26.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.7 APG [1]
Joe Johnson finally cracks the list with a very, very solid week. Now, let's just see if he'll be able to keep some of these numbers consistent since he's still the hawk other teams want to keep from flying.

The Triggerman
Quintin Richardson (MIA) - 5.0 3FGM, 16.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 APG
If there's anybody that matches the "Triggerman" title this week, it was Q-Rich who posted 5 3's a game. Now, we know it's not going to be consistent, so this might be his first and last appearance on this list, especially since he's trying to be Miami's starting stopper this year.

Captain Lionheart
Tim Duncan - 26.7 PPG, 15.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 3.3 BPG [2]
Duncan was fantasy basketball's best player last week with very crazy numbers. Reminds you actually of that Finals series where he man-handled the Nets. Now that Parker and Ginobili are back, Duncan is getting more open to operate. Not bad for the "old guy."

Tower of Power
Marcus Camby - 8.8 PPG, 17.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 3.5 BPG [3]
Camby is back... again! It's his third time on the list and although the points are down, the rebounds are up. His assists are a surprise actually, and a great bonus for all those who picked him up late due to the injury scare.

Coach Tim Cone, Alaska Get an Assist from Coach Siot

2009-12-17T23:25:00.001-08:00

Last week, the Alaska Aces took an overtime decision over the San Miguel Beermen. They withstood an all-out late 4th quarter run led by Arwind Santos who put up 22 pts and 14 rebs. It was a pretty big effort on their end as Willie Miller wasn't playing well. Thankfully, the other half of the league's top backcourt, LA Tenorio responded wth 29 pts and 5 asts. Tenorio has been playing well as of late and some would say is actually a candidate for the Best Player of the Conference and year-end MVP awards due to his much improved and stellar performance this season.

What people often forget about that game is that, in a rare moment of negligence, Coach Tim Cone, actually called for Joe Devance to miss his second free throw and allow SMB to rebound the ball with time left and them only leading by 2. The rare error by the multi-titled coach was that he thought the Beermen had no timeouts left and could not advance the ball. This cost them an extra-difficult 5 minutes of additional court time as Dondon Hontiveros received a backpick and took an alley-oop to tie the game.

Wednesday, the Aces seemed to be on the other end of a beatdown from Talk n Text and down deep into the 4th. Jimmy Alapag played the role of Willie Miller as he was absent due to a hamstring injury. Similarly, Mac Cardona rattled off 32 points to play LA Tenorio and carried the team late in the game. Alaska would stage a comeback and with around 2 seconds left, the game was tied and it was Aces ball.

Coach Tim picked up from the brillance of Coach Siot Tanquincen in their previous game and drew up a pretty familiar play. LA Tenorio, similar to Hontiveros, was given a backpick at the elbow and was spotted by Tony Dela Cruz for an alley-oop lay-up! Eeriely familiar? Alaska was up 2 points and they won the game as there was only 0.5 seconds left on the clock.

Now, in the stats, that assist was credited to Dela Cruz. I'd personally give it to Coach Siot.

Thanks to that, Alaska now sports an 11-1 record, leading the entire league.

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 7

2009-12-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

I'm slipping out of playoff contention in 1 league, so I had to shift from playing big to relying on 3's and steals. Let's wait and see...

The Director
Raymond Felton (CHA) - 1.3 3FGM, 14.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.7 SPG [1]

Felton's 6 steal game is the primary cause of his jump up this week. We see that his numbers are not really that impressive, but he's pretty efficient. It also helped that Nash had no defense this week and Rondo was throwing up bricks.

The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 29.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 1.3 BPG [3]

With Kobe dealing with a broken finger, Granger out 4 weeks and Wade missing lots of court time due to blowouts, we could see Durant here for a while. His numbers are stabilizing now and balancing with his defense.

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 3.0 3FGM, 36.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.5 APG [4]

LeBron stays ahead of Durant for the most appearances in this list. He posted these averages over a span of 4 games, clearly establishing himself as the #1 fantasy pick this season so far.

Captain Lionheart
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) - 31.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG [2]

It's been a slow week for the often-considered carries of fantasy basketball - the power forwards. Dirk bests them all with these numbers, but they aren't reall that impressive overall.

Tower of Power
Pau Gasol (LAL) - 17.3 PPG, 17.3 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.0 BPG [1]

Finally, Pau gets to crack this list. He's actually been posting pretty monster numbers the past few weeks, but Camby's defense got in the way. Gasol gave you 52 rebounds this week in head-to-head leagues. We can expect these numbers to be pretty consistent though as Kobe will have less touches due to that finger.

Other notes:
Yahoo actually posted Maurice Evans and Troy Murphy pretty high this week due to their percentages. Now, I'm not really a fan of those stats since it's a weighted average that is used in the head-to-head mode.

PCCL Finals: Ateneo, Jai Cap Dream Season

2009-12-13T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles won their 2nd Champions League title in school history and 3rd title in this year's basketball season. The Eagles also won this year's UAAP and Unigames titles, making it almost equivalent to the PBA's Grand Slam. They won a close 74-70 decision in their best-of-3 series for the PCCL title with the FEU Tamaraws who staged a late rally and took the lead deep into the fourth quarter. However, it was guard Jai Reyes who stood atop everyone as he bailed Ateneo out to tie the ballgame at 70 with his 4th three, gave the go-ahead assist to Oping Sumalinog, and won the Finals MVP award in his final tournament ever in an Ateneo uniform. For Reyes, an Atenean for 17 years, 16 years a varsity athlete, you could not have written a better script - back-to-back UAAP Champions, Collegiate Grand Slam and Finals MVP in his final year. You could say that he can hang up his jersey, that familiar Reyes #5, without any regrets.

Claiming the final gem in their cap this year wasn't just a Jai-namite show though, it took more of a team effort to buck the challenge of the Tamaraws. JR Cawaling, Aldrech Ramos and RR Garcia led a furious rally in the 4th quarter which utilized their superior length and athleticism on the boards to inch their way to the lead. The Ateneo offense sputtered to a halt and almost seemed to crumple to the floor along with Eric Salamat and his cramps. By the way it it looks too, Ateneo will be playing off Salamat next year, and teams will be more zoned in on stopping him to stop the Eagles.

In Game 2, seemingly reading some pages off 40 Minutes of Freedom, Salamat and Nico Salva led a 90 - 67 beatdown with their 26 and 20 points, respectively. Without a doubt, these 2 will be Ateneo's 1-2 punch next year as they are the best inside and outside scorers. But, by losing Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao on the frontline, playing faster will be key for the Eagles whose Grand Slam defense starts the next time they hit the practice floor of the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex. As for FEU, RR Garcia will undoubtedly be the #1 guard of the Tamaraws and we will see them more ripe and hungrier to finally claim the UAAP title they hoped to gain so much this year. For the Eagles though, it seems that big man duties next year will be a job done by committee as Salva, Chua, Golla and Sumalinog have all spent time at the 4 and 5 in this last tournament. Sumalinog will be a crucial piece as he can play at the wing and a bit in the post.

So, that's a wrap for the collegiate basketball season for 2009. Let's just wait for 6 more months until the drums start beating again.

PCCL Finals: Tams could be Best PCCL Team Ever, Eagles could Collapse Again

2009-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Collegiate Champions League has finally reach the Finals. Bucking some unexpected excitement that went on in the earlier rounds, it was still Metro Manila that stood tall atop the tournament. More specifically, the UAAP clearly demonstrated that it is still the number 1 collegiate basketball league in the country. With the Finals being contested by Ateneo and FEU, the UAAP will have it's seventh (7th) championship since the tournament's inception. Simply put, the UAAP has won and will win all the PCCL Crowns to date.

After this year's edition, win or lose, FEU will be the tournament's most successful team. The Tamaraws have won twice ('04 & '05) and lost in the Finals once ('03). With a win later today, they could be the first three-time champions, breaking the deadlock with UE (won in '03 & '06, Runner-up '05). Based on how they were playing earlier, we could see that they should already be favored to win next year's UAAP title. RR Garcia has been great and even without the full participation of the Gilas boys (Ramos & Cawaling), they're already looking like Barroca wasn't lined-up this year.

The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles are the third-most successful team in the history of the PCCL. They won in 2007 against the only non-Manila finalist ever, University of Visayas, and were second to DLSU last year. Now, on the verge of losing another PCCL title with another loss, the Eagles look to tie UE for second-best ever. It's been also very clear that they become pretty lost after winning the UAAP as they begin to transition to next year's system almost right away with their choice not to field their Championship team's graduating cornerstone (Tiu & Al-Hussaini).

Based on the participation of Ramos and Cawaling on the other end, it is clear that Coach Rajko Toroman and the SBP allow the Gilas players to join their mother teams to help validate the tournament. So, it can be assumed that not playing Rabeh is a choice done by Ateneo. They're trying to hand the reins over to the undergraduates right away, but they also keep some seniors (Jai Reyes & Nonoy Baclao) to make sure that they play decently. Their loss in Game 1 of the Finals showed this very blatantly. The gamble didn't pay off this time.

It is crystal that next year's Eagles team will rest heavily on the shoulders of Eric Salamat. While he might not become the Eagle's leading scorer next year (as I predict that Ryan Buenafe will have that role), he will be their playmaker throughout the year. His defense on the perimeter will set the tone and his slashing will be the main weapon on offense. If you're an Eagle fan, you might a bit nervous though as Salamat seems to disappear during the big games. He really hasn't played great in any Finals appearance and that was true again in this year's PCCL Game 1.

Another cause for concern, I feel has been the lackluster play of Nico Salva. With Rabeh out of the games, one would think Salva would begin exerting himself underneath with his high-post moves creating baskets or baiting fouls. He, however, has been very tenative. He's been floating too much to the perimeter, breaking spacing to ask for the ball. Naturally, since he is out of position, giving him the ball often just leads to isolation from the perimeter - the biggest killer of Ateneo's offensive efficiency. His floating to the perimeter 1) leaves Baclao as the only rebounder, 2) get everybody out fo the proper spacing and rebounding schemes and 3) leaves him vulnerable to frustration when he cannot get his offense going. Ateneo fans should hope that he doesn't try to freestyle too much as they can't be careless with their offensive possessions and waste possible scoring chances against this FEU team later today.

My prediction is that the Eagles will tie the series up. They take less shots from the perimeter, less turnovers and better offensive execution can be seen. Look for Salamat to be more present in the lane, kicking out to Reyes and Long for the outside shots. Also, Garcia will probably have Kirk Long in his face for most of the game. So, it could be a grind next game from beginning to end. Ateneo by 4.

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 6

2009-12-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

9-0 in one of my leagues. That's probably the first time that it's happened in 2 years. We saw several injuries take out a couple of key pieces to teams, biggest of which (literally and figuratively) was Greg Oden going down. He wasn't producing much stats-wise but basketball-wise, he was a major part of what they were doing. Honorable mentions include the Pistons wings ad Jrue Holiday (damn you, Holiday!)

I say "Damn you, Jrue Holiday!" because it was your chance to finally get the starter role. The Sixers, I feel would be best with Holiday in the 1 with Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala at the wings. But he conveniently got hurt the same Allen Iverson comes rolling back into town. (Sorry, folks. But I've never been an Iverson fan.) Today, Iverson had 11 points on 4-11 shooting with 5 boards and 6 assists... without his wind or legs. We all know Iverson. With the losing streak at 10, it will only be a matter of time before he starts saying "If we don't win, I'm going to have to play my way" or something to that effect. Good luck to Fantasy Owners of the Sixers.

Going back to the business of big shots... Week 6!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Director
Jason Kidd (DAL) - 2.8 3FGM, 13.5 PPG, 8.5 APG, 2.8 SPG, 1.3 BPG [2]

The man is no longer a walking triple-double, but he still flirts with it every game. In addition to the flirting, he's carrying around things that come in 3's. Pretty good date if you get it 4 times a week.

The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 2.7 3FGM, 32.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.7 SPG [2]

He was the only 30.0 PPG man this week (oddly), and 2.7 steals isn't shabby considering he's primary role in the Thunder is to score the ball. Not crazy about the 0.5 assist-to-turnover ratio though.

The Triggerman
Danilo Gallinari (NYK) - 3.5 3FGM, 18.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.3 BPG [2]

I was actually conflicted with this pick since Rashard Lewis put up close (if not better numbers). But it's a head-to-head league that we play in and 4 games vs 2 for The Italian Stallion. We just hope he really starts hitting his stride so that he can get Al Harrington off his timesheet.

Captain Lionheart
Carlos Boozer (UTA) - .600 FG%, 27.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.0 APG [1]

Boozer put up very good and efficient numbers this week from the field. Thie FT line, not so much though. The 3.7 TOs are a bit of a downer too. But he still delivers, ala the mailman.

Tower of Power
Marcus Camby (LAC) - 10.5 PPG, 18.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 3.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG [2]

Guess what, people? It's him again! He's healthy and doing what he does best. 18 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks are nuts. I'm hoping that Griffin plays a lot at the 3 this year so that they can keep on hammering people on the inside.

Comeback Kids:
Chris Paul (NOH) - 16.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 15.0 APG, 8.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG (I thought he was hurt?)
Kevin Love (MIN) - 2.0 3FGM, 14.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.0 SPG (It has got to be the glove he's wearing.)

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 5

2009-11-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

So what happens when I praise a player for his stellar play, the dude goes down... Kevin Martin, CP3 and most recently, Elton Brand. Dammit! Haha

For the fist time this season though, I was able to post 3 wins of 5-3-1, 6-3 and 7-2. Looks like either my fantasy teams are getting healthy and hot or my opponents have all been hit by the injury bug as well. At the rate the NBA is going though, it's more likely that it's the injuries. I think every NBA team has had a decent fantasy-relevant player miss games this year. I'll look into this in a related post.

Now, the players of the week...

The Director
Steve Nash (PHX) - 1.3 3FGM, 13.3 PPG, 14.3 APG 1.0 SPG [2]

It's been frustrating how the Suns have actually been blowing people out of the water as Nash is getting less minutes to pile on the stats. But even with the decreased minutes, the assists have actually stayed the same. It's just that the points and 3's have gone down. Any week that Nash posts a steal per game, that's a bonus.

The Skywalker
Kobe Bryant (LAL) - 2.3 3FGM, 28.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.3 SPG [2]

Kobe also shows up on this list for the second time because of his consistent play. Known to have a groin injury, he can actually play consistently since he does not have to carry the team every game. Thus, the numbers keep on coming. 3.3 SPG isn't a bad help either.

The Triggerman
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 28.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 1.3 BPG [1]

Finally! I've been waiting for 4 weeks to finally have this guy perform well enough to be on the list. The scoring and the rebounds are very much expected of him in the team. It's his high potential for D that finally puts him up here. 3.3 combined Steals and Blocks per game is great from the offensive machine.

Captain Lionheart
Gerald Wallace (CHA) - 25.3 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG [1]

Crash seems t be the only one among the Bobcats who ha remained unaffected by the Capt. Jack trade from Golden State. Aside from him, the rest of the Bobcats fantasy value has tanked - Felton, Diaw, Augustin, etc. Damn you Larry Brown!

Tower of Power
Marcus Camby (LAC) - 12.0 PPG, 15.5 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 3.0 BPG [1]

The resurrection! Camby again proves that WHEN HEALTHY, he is one of the biggest stats stuffers there is. Defense is what Camby is known for and he did it for 4 games this week. I just wonder how this will figure in when Griffin returns.

Here's a list of who's been able to appear multiple times on the list this year:
3 - LeBron James
2 - Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh

Tainted Basketball - Is the PBA Really Behind Smart Gilas?

2009-11-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

Basketball in the Philippines, as much as we hate to admit it, isn't pure. Just by the sheer number of people carrying interest in it, it would not be surprising that some would try to capitalize on the sport. There's game-fixing, commercialization, governing-body politics, spurned egos and much excess baggage that's tainting the "love for the game" which is so great when one is young.

What drove me to write this is actually something that I had just chanced upon in doing research for another post that I was about to write. I was supposed to write something about how the recent Smart Gilas success comes strangely at a time when they are dealing with a number of things on their plate. Not to take away anything from them, but it seems to be more than just a coincidence.

Here's an outtake from what I was intending to write:

Honestly, as a kid, what made me love Philippine basketball was the PBA, more specifically the San Miguel franchise. I was born in 1986, coincidentally the year San Miguel won the Grand Slam. Growing up, I idolized the man whom the Chinese called was "walking on air" - Samboy Lim. There was something about the athleticism and skill of the guy, the high socks and the brush of the hair before taking a free throw that was just mythical for a kid. I grew up idolozing the guy, wanting to wear the number 9 and wishing that I too could be a skywalker.

Sorry, to the Star Wars geeks out there, but Samboy was way cooler than Luke.

The San Miguel franchise was just awesome to me, and it saddened me that they sold out in their game against Smart Gilas. Not to take anything away from Gilas who played a great game, but I think SMB sold out by protecting their corporate interests over national ones. Somebody please explain to me how, 8 points down and 6 minutes to go, Eman and Calaguio are in the game's final minutes instead of Santos, Hontiveros, Miranda or Pena. The game was still win-able for San Miguel, but the starters were pulled out and Gilas was not tested. They weren't tested by the pro team who could have placed them in a very unique situation - late in the 4th and with the lead, but without your import and against a hot, veteran team pushing and pressing you, hoping that you quit.

That should be a very important scenario to the national program when we have to face off against Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Korea and other Asian powers - all winning, veteran teams who will push, pressure and are relentless. It could have been a real learning experience, but it wasn't.

I was supposed to write the peace above in greater detail, present some numbers that would help me drive my point. During the TV coverage, they kept on harping about how impressive Chris Tiu's game was. He supposedly scored 24 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 11 assists. Now, I know all the Tiu fans are going to hate me, but Chris isn't that good yet, especially playing against Hontiveros, Cortez, Racela, Tugade, Santos, et al. He shouldn't be able to put those numbers up, and I checked the PBA's official website to get the real statistics from the game. But lo and behold, they weren't there. I checked the other Gilas games since the decision to render the games as "no bearing" and no stats either. This seemed a bit off to me, especially since 3 of those 4 games have been Gilas wins.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, I just thought that maybe it was the National Program's way of keeping the Gilas team a secret to surprise other countries. (Something completely irrational since other countries will scout us wherever the hell we may try to hide.) So, I checked the rest of the PBA's site, and there is very little mention of Gilas, except for results, the schedule and some photos. For me, there just seems to be something very wrong about that.

If the PBA, as it says, is completely behind the National program, shouldn't it help in helping them improve basketball-wise and making people believe in the Gilas Team?

Gilas entered into the PBA tourney to get better on-court and get more people's attention to support and drum up some excitement about the team. The team was supposed to grow up in front of our eyes like some telenovela and then lay it all out in battle during international competitions. However, I honestly believe now that the PBA (no longer just individual teams) as a whole is protecting it's interest as a professional league more than the national purpose. Sad to say it, but as I mentioned at the beginning. tainted basketball isn't surprising in the Philippines/

I think that the following pieces of evidence lead me to believe that PBA support to Gilas is half-assed:

1) The PBA nullifies all games played by Gilas.
2) They protect Arboleda roughing up Gilas, which eventually led to the mayhem with the fan. (Not to mention, Arboleda was only penalized was attacking the fan, but never his on-court actions more than 2 unsportmanlike fouls).
3) They chose not to control their teams, and allowed their teams to waive the white flag early to protect their players.
4) They do not make the public aware of the Gilas team's achievements since it comes at their expense. by news and statistics.
5) They continue to separate themselves from the concerted effort by focusing more on the entertainment rather than the basketball.

It seems to be that the PBA is becoming selfish with their resources. They have the best competition the country can supposedly offer, and yet they do not provide it to the team every night. They are trying to protect the brand from being upstaged by Gilas just because "they're the pros." In short, they really aren't fully behind Gilas after all.

To quote some lines from the Panatang Makabayan, hindi ba dapat

Ako'y kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan upang maging malakas, maliaya ay kapaki-pakinabang...

Tutuparin ko ang mga tungkulin bilang mamamayan...

Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at buong katapatan...

Sisikapin kong maging isang tunay na Pilipino sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa...

PCCL Day 2: CSJL vs DLSU & ADMU vs. Lyceum

2009-11-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

I finally was able to catch the PCCL games today and it's time for some thoughts on the games:

Letran vs La Salle

> Both teams played with about just 70% of their mother league line-ups. Letran was missing Jazul, Guevarra and Dela Paz, while La Salle didn't have Mangahas, Malabes and Co. (Not that La Salle was actually going to use this guys ever anyway.

> I was hoping that Franz would put the 4 RP Youth Boys (Tolentino, Marata, Banal & Andrada) some decent burn together and probably put them in with Bringas so we could see what DLSU has in store for the future. But it didn't happen...

> Somehow, Franz looked a bit disinterested in coaching what they were hyping to be his "last game." One of the commentators slipped too when he said that Franz would come back after the elections. We all know he's coming back anyway. If he weren't, DLSU would be in some deep trouble because they wouldn't be able to recruit.

> Belencion hits 10 threes. Damn!

> I don't know if anybody noticed but Jameson Cortez seemed to be wearing a different color uniform because his seemed a darker shade of red than everybody else... It's either a different colored uniform or the dude just really sweats a lot!

> New PCCL Champion!

Ateneo vs Lyceum

> I was expecting that Ateneo would actually not play Baclao since he's on duty with the Philippine Patriots, but they didn't have Al-Hussaini instead. For some reason, I was hoping that the Gilas boys would actually be present during games. Hopefully, they had practice or something, and that's why they missed attending the game.

> It was funny how Norman Black was put into a tight spot by Job De Leon. He was revealed to have not prepared at all for Lyceum. I bet he even forgot that they played them in last year's PCCL in the same game.

> As expected, Ateneo dominated the game, and was a bit careless in the latter portions. But again, too much talent for Lyceum to handle.

> Lyceum actually qualified because University of Manila fielded in ineligible players for the Zonals. They should be penalized by SBP just to send a message that they wouldn't be taking anything lightly from any team.

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 4

2009-11-24T02:26:00.000-08:00

I got my first convincing win (7-2). My two other leagues are pretty competitive, as I sported 4-5 and 5-3-1 records. As with all leagues, the manager who is able to take advantage of injuries and suspensions with timely pick-ups and drops will succeed more often than not. Normally, that's the case... For my league though, it was a messed up pick that somehow made it's way into the starting 5...

The Director
Louis Williams (PHI) - .929 FT%, 2.3 3PM, 24.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, 2.3 SPG

Williams surprises this week with a signifcant bump up in scoring and steals. With the their shortage of big men due to Speights' injury, the Sixers are playing a fast pace with their already energized offense.

The Skywalker
Kobe Bryant (LAL) - .941 FT%, 29.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 6.7 APG

The return of Pau Gasol was actually beneficial for Kobe. Not that his numbers increased, but that the Lakers not leaning on him allowed him to play through the groin injury. Also, with the number of free throws he shoots, 94% will already carry you through the week. His 0.3 3's are a downer though.

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 1.8 3FM, 34.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 9.3 APG

Delonte West has now been put into the doghouse, and seemingly will no longer get consistent minutes. Thus, LeBron has had to take on more playmaking duties, thus the increase in assists. However, the turnovers are also getting higher.

Captain Lionheart
Elton Brand (PHI) - 19.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.7 SPG, 3.7 BPG

Speights, please do not come back! In one of my leagues, where yahoo disconnected me from the draft and I ended up with Elton Brand from the big board. I dear hope that Speights does not come back if Brand keeps on pace like his injury-free Clippers self.

Tower of Power
Brook Lopez (NJN) - 18.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, 4.0 BPG

There have been only 3 good points for the Nets this year - Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts and that they were able to ditch VC's contract. Sideshow Bob's twin brother is bringing it consistently and they're hoping he, Harris and Jay-Z could lure LeBron to Brooklyn.

Milo Warrior 3-on-3 Championship

2009-11-19T23:19:00.000-08:00

The team over at patayangbutiki brought this tournament to my attention with their blog post linked. This is in connection with the Chris Tiu-Jayvee Casio ads we've been seeing all over tri-media recently. I first got some inclination of this when I played over at the Ateneo College Covered Courts over the weekend, and it seems that there was voting done to pick the teams for each school. Voting is now done, and they're all playing at the Blue Eagle Gym in Ateneo on Dec. 1 @ 1 PM.

The teams are pretty interesting as their's a healthy mix of team B players for some exposure. Also, the imports from Africa are now being revealed to the public with NU and UP parading them in the tournament. The only exception being FEU, which nominated a line-up of Team A players + the UAAP juniors MVP, and will send a Cervantes-Sanga-Garcia combination.

The first thing you'll notice is that Milo has chosen to hold the tournament for UAAP Schools only. Since we all know this is a marketing tool, this might be just a target market deal kicking in. Not to be derogatory, they're probably targeting the A, B and C economic brackets, that's why they chose not to include the NCAA schools. Of course, I could be very wrong and this might just be a matter of convenience or sanctioning by the league.

Second, La Salle is the only UAAP school not participating. Why? We can conjure up a number of reasons why, but I'd rather not (to avoid sounding like a hater). I just think this is an unfortunate event that they didn't chose to participate simply because of the experience and exposure it could have provided to their young players. 3-on-3 is very, very different from a UAAP game, but just familiarizing themselves with possible UAAP opponents (like the FEU boys), could have been a direct benefit from the tournament. Also, what makes this more sad is that Jvee Casio is the co-endorser of the product along with Chris Tiu. The tourney snub from your alma mater would kind of hurt if I were him.

Well, there goes half of Milo's target market...

40 Minutes of Freedom by the NBA

2009-11-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

I know this layout doesn't take well to embedding videos, but what the hell...

The whole point of this blog was verbalized from 0:23 to 0:33... 'Nuff said.

(this was the NBA on TNT's video for the 2009-2010 NBA Season)

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 3

2009-11-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

Still no big wins or losses for me. 5-4. 4-5, 6-3. The way this is going, I might be limping into the playoffs for the whole year and just win that way. Possibly an underdog story in the making?

It's time for week 3. Fantasy-wise, the biggest news would have to be that Chris Paul (consensus top 2 pick) is out for the next 2 or 3 weeks with an ankle sprain. It's been a bad week for Paul, losing his coach and getting injured. Now, for owners, we have to see how long these events will cause his fantasy output to decrease. The new coach/GM might use him differently and Collison might take away some minutes... In spite of this, CP3 still posted great numbers... But he isn't this week's Director...

The Director
Brandon Jennings (MIL) - 4.5 3FGM, 43.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 7.0 APG
> This probably establishes that he will be the bar rookies measure up to this year. That one yearin Europe did him mighty well and he seems seasoned already. But, no steals???

The Skywalker
Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 33.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 3.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG
> Possibly a better 5-cat man than LeBron this year because of the clear dedication to the D that generate steals and blocks. Anderson Varejao has felt how much Wade can sky-walk. Boom!

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 30.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.7 SPG
> These are the numbers LeBron should be putting up. Ok, maybe a couple more rebounds and assists and he should be at that level, but a cut down on TOs boosts his stock.

Captain Lionheart
Tim Duncan (SAS) - 1.00 FT%, 22.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.0 BPG
> Great numbers after coming back from an injury. Pretty strange that Duncan perfected the stripe this week too.

Tower of Power
Andrew Bynum (LAL) - 0.67 FG%, 22.0 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 3.0 BPG
> Making a strong case for the C spot in the west ballot, he's making the most of Pau being out. Could we see an adjustment with the Lakers going more to Bynum while Pau is still warming up to the season?

Bits on the Bantay Bata All-Star Game

2009-11-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of notes on this year's UAAP vs NCAA Bantay Bata All-Star Games:

> The NCAA, as the commentators kept on reitarating, outworked the UAAP. Why? Simply put, the 2 people who most dictated the UAAP's games with their effort throughout the game weren't in the line-ups - Nonoy Baclao and Elmer Espiritu. More than the 5 or 6 blocks lost, the deflections, intimidated shots and just overall consciousness allowed the NCAA boys to feel confident around the rim. These 2 are bad, bad men around the rim and "Bad Boy" John Wilson and Jimbo Aquino better thank the gods they had Patriot duty.

> Kish Co was not an all-star!!!

> At first I thought that DLSU gave the whole Bantay Bata games a snub, I read in the papers that they were trying to qualify for the PCC in a zonals competition. Good job, La Salle. At least, we know now that there was no politicking involved here.

> The Smart Gilas Boys were holding back. You could see it in the way they were playing that they were protecting themselves from any injuries, so they were very sloppy. Also, I think Norman Black never fielded all 5 of them (Ramos, Ababou, Cawaling, Al-Hussaini, Buenafe) together. They're forgiven in my book.

> The San Sebastian Staglets combo of Salamat, Lee and Buenafe didn't do much actually. Naturally, everybody's bigger so they can't run people to the ground anymore. Kind of sad how they're recruitment suddenly died down. (Sorry, Delgado isn't a legit college prospect.)

> As usual, the match up was the UAAP's execution and the NCAA's run and gun. With the turnovers (and overall lax approach to the game), the UAAP's 20+ turnovers did them in.

Dwyaaaaaannnnneeee Waaaaaaade!

2009-11-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

Wade is my personal favorite of the vaunted 2003 NBA Draft Class. He is also the man with the most success among all of them. He has a championship and Finals MVP Award, aside from the Gold Medal he shares with Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James. Now, we could go on and on about it, but I think the most admirable thing about him is that he doesn't hold back... The video clip speaks for itself.

After this season, Wade will join the free agent fiesta, but he has a particular bargaining chip that none of the other free agents have. The Miami Heat will have enough cap space to sign 2 Maximum contract guys - a luxury no other team in the NBA will have. Yes, people, even the crazy spenders in New York can't get 2 guys anymore because of the decreasing salary cap. Although there have been no final arrangements, Wade has been stressing on how great a city Miami is to live in, and it sort of points to him staying.

So, question is, who will he convince to come over? My predictions...

1. LeBron James
LeBron is basically dictating how the Cavs spend their money. He asked for and got Shaq, but unfortunately, their slow or short mix of players will not push them over the hill. Perhaps, the only thing that would hold him back is perhaps that same fact. Whoever LeBron asks for, he will get. Unfortunately, the Cavs can't get him Wade.

Jordan's 23 is retired in Miami and Mario Chalmers better think of another number because he's going to have to give up that 6.

2. Chris Bosh
The cast in Toronto is weird, and it doesn't seem to be powerful and funded enough to really challenge for a title even with Turkoglu, Calderon and Bargnani all improving and making significant contributions.

3. Joe Johnson
In same type of situation as Bosh, Atlanta is a playoff team, but not elite. The cast around him is good, but he isn't a superstar. He could be Ray Allen to Wade's Pierce if he would come over, and I think having him as a #2 option would be a killer combination.

I think Jermaine O'Neal wouldn't be foolish enough to ask for the same type of money next year. I would bet that he'd be willing to step back on the cash if it meant a ring. Whoever he may get though, Wade has more than shown that he is worthy of being the Air-apparent.

Coach's Carousel: Bye Bye Byron

2009-11-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

It was announced earlier today that Byron Scott, head coach of the New Orleans Hornets, has been fired for the underperformance of the past 2 seasons. Two years ago, the Hornets seemed to have carved themselves a seat in the upper echelon of the NBA with the emergence of David West as an All-Star, Chris Paul as a perrenial MVP Candidate (and fantasy beast) and the frequent showing of the CP3 lob to Tyson Chandler on Sportscenter. They were up and ready to take on the Lakers for the West title, but they busted before they even got off the ground.

It's unfortunate to think that this pink slip for Scott is actually very similar to how he parted ways with the Nets.

1. After playoff success, the team falls meteorically. (Nets-Finals twice; Hornets-West Semis)
2. Hall of Fame point guards ran the show on the floor (Kidd; Paul)
3. Very little scoring consistency from the wings. (Kittles-Van Horn-Jefferson; Peterson-Stojakovic-Posey)
4. Overrated big man who got a bloated contract because of Guard's briliance (Martin; Chandler)
5. Extremely shallow benches
6. Cash-strapped franchises

As bad as his record seems, we actually have to give Scott credit for a couple of things. He didn't win 2 Coach of the Year awards by just doing nothing. As "bad" as a coach he might seem, we have to give him credit for letting the reins go on his point guard. He knew that he had a great point guard, one that could take the team places. So, rather than impose himself and a system completely, he gives his 1's the freedom to call sets, be flashy, entertain and make his players better. Unfortuantely for him, a point guard without great finishers do not win titles.

Kidd made Martin, Jefferson, Van Horn and Kittles all borderline all-stars and Paul did the same to West (actually became an all-star), Chandler and revived Peja. But they could naturally only do so much. When teams would attack them, they would stop everybody except the PG and the guard would then try to win it by himself. We all know that's never a plan for success, and true enough, collapses took place.

Honestly, I don't think Byron Scott deserves all the blame for their drop offs. Yes, he can take a brunt of it since he has to develop his players into becoming deserving 2nd and 3rd options for his PGs, but we've seen him run practices and he isn't easy on them. It, however raises the question of "What if he didn't have an awesome point man?"

I think the front office of the Nets and Hornets have themselves to blame as well. Not enough talent was provided, and the teams sputtered. Thus, their demise inevitable. Think of placing Michael Schumacher behind a Kia Pride. The driver can push the hell out of the car, but it can only run so fast. Those are the parts Byron Scott had to work with.

So, there's no true escape on this. It's just unlucky for him that he doesn't do the hiring and firing.

UAAP All-Star Anomaly

2009-11-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks, to Mr. Rick Olivares for providing the information in the link found below:
UAAP Line-up to the Bantay Bata All-Star Game

You, sir, are a great writer. So much passion for sports in general.

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If you read through the UAAP line-up 2 things will probably pop up at you:

1. Where are Nonoy Baclao, Elmer Espiritu, Val Acuna and Khasim Mirza?

> Simple answer is they will be on duty with the Philippine Patriots of the ABL. Games are played on weekends, and if I'm not mistaken, they will be in Kuala Lumpur to take on Rudy Lingganay, Tats Bandaying and Roel Hugnatan.

2. With all due respect to the guy, but...

What the crap is KISH CO doing on the All-Star Team???

The team has 4 Gilas boys and the top gun of all 7 other UAAP teams, and DLSU fields Kish Co?!? I know this might sound like I'm being a La Salle hater but where are the RP Youth Boys Bringas and Marata, PBL Draftee Bagatsing, Joshua Webb. C'mon... It only seems that there can be 2 things concluded from this - a) La Salle has completely lost all understanding of basketball thinking that CO is their star player or b) There's some scheme brewing in their camp not to send their building blocks for the future. Why would they do that? The hell should I know..

As a very big advocate of the fact that basketball is formative (both to the audience and the players), I really think that this move is a slap in the face of the kids that will benefit from the game. It's a charity exhibition game, yet they choose not to send players who will draw more onlookers and thus generate a bigger charitable contribution. I don't know, but that's just wrong... It sends the message that "we choose to keep our interests first instead of the growing needs of our nation." Selfish much?

Seriously, man. Kish Co, an all-star???

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week 2

2009-11-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

I didn't do too well this week again. All my teams were either escapes or slim losses, part due to bad drafts and some injuries.. Unfortunately, unlike real life, some Fantasy seasons can actually be broken in the first few weeks. Thankfully, I haven't been murdered yet.

Now for this week's players:

The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 2.0 3Pt FGM, 26.8 PPG, 11.8 APG, 1.5 SPG
> Maybe the Rondo scuffle woke up CP3.

The Skywalker
Kevin Martin (SAC) - 4.5 3Pt FGM , 38.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.5 SPG
> Too bad he's out for 6-8 weeks after he broke it wide open.

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 28.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 7.0 APG, 2.3 SPG
> The LeBron NY Circus closed the week, and he was worth the hype. TOs, not so.

Captain Lionheart
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) - 27.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 2.0 BPG
> 29 points in 1 quarter then 14 for a game. Inconsistent much?

Tower of Power
Chris Bosh (TOR) - 62.9 FG%, 26.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.3 TPG
> Numbers are "down" from last week. Contract year effect?

The Fallen Score-first Point Guards

2009-11-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

Flashback: Washington, D.C., 2001 - the East All-Stars defeat the West 111 - 110 behind the efforts of game MVP Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Vince Carter and Dikembe Mutombo. I remember then, they called them "Dikembe and 4 midgets" as they were going against Duncan, Garnett, Webber, Kobe and Kidd. It was an improbable come-from-behind win, and it was supposed to impose on everybody that height doesn't dominate as it used to... Later that year, Iverson wins the MVP and leads his Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals, only to lose to the Lakers in 5 games.

Flashforward: Memphis, Tenn., 2009 - Allen Iverson leaves the Grizzlies to attend to "personal matters" in his home in Atlanta. Most recently, Iverson has been in conflict with Head Coach Lionel Hollins about his coming off the bench and lack of playing time, which he considers to be the lynch pin for more victories. Stephon Marbury, on the other hand, has most recently been spotted being escorted out of Madison Square Garden. He had previously admitten to using drugs and consuming various other substances in his video blogs.

Boy how much have things changed...
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Back in 2001, Iverson and Marbury were seen to be prototypes for what people thought to be the evolution of basketball. Small, but fast, strong, and fiery Score-first guards who would dribble their way into and rip apart defenses. Despite their size disadvantage, people claimed that the amount of fight and heart in their bodies more than made up for their lack of ceiling. It was your classic David vs Goliath-Underdog story.

Then, Iverson, sporting his trademark cornrows (which are back, by the way) would score over 30 a game. He would quarrel with similarly hard-headed coach Larry Brown and drive then GM Pat Croce on the verge of going insane. In spite of their bickering though, they found a way to lead the Sixers to the NBA Finals that year by bringing Mutombo aboard, and taking out comback-mates Allen and Carter in the East playoffs, each in 7 games. He would win the MVP and high-step over "AI Simulator" Tyronn Lue in Game 1 of the Finals, but Shaq eventually beat them down.

Starbury, on the other hand, was on his way home. He was to sign a big contract (which only ended last year) with his childhood New York Knicks. The boy from Coney Island would play under the lights of the Garden. Many New Yorkers thought he would usher in the true Knick renaissance after the departure of Patrick Ewing and make the much dramatic Sprewell- and Houston-led team during the lockout season a usual occurence. If Iverson had his mean crossover, Marbury had his trademark football carry and hop-step combo, and defenses couldn't stop him either.

Unfortunately, all that hype was nothing more than a flash in the pan. Once teams got down to it, both men's careers have tapered off. Now, they are nothing more than talented subs who could still change games had they been able to accept their roles. The point guard position is back to what it should have always been - floor general running the offense and setting-up teammates while also being the first line of D.

Honestly, it's sad and tough to see both of them still thinking it's the beginningof the millenium. They did actually give an alternative option to the game. They gave us a breed to cheer for and idolize as they brought so much excitement in spite of their frames. No one can discredit them for their accomplishments back then, but it's 2009 and the game, to some extent has normalized. Teams with great bigs have gone deep into the postseason and won, and more importantly, stars sacrificing for the team - something both AI and Starbury have yet to accept.

Saturday Night Bites

2009-11-07T11:03:00.001-08:00

> Johnny A is playing again. C'mon Ginebra, c'mon PBA. You have good young players. Make them improve in practice and give them the minutes on-court instead of an over-the-hill veteran. Philippine basketball needs to move to the future. Hey, even Allen Iverson now has to sit.

> Smart Gilas won its first game in the PBA. Could it be a coincidence that it happens right after the league renders these games as no-bearing? Ok, maybe it's too soon to think of a conspiracy. After all, Coke isn't really that good anyway.

> Glen "Big Baby" Davis want to be an NFL player. I say bolt the NBA already, man. It doesn't need another big ego with too little talent to back it up, not to mention too little brains as well. Get your thumb fixed and realized that you only made that game-winner last year because they intentionally left you open. Thumbs up?

> Michael Jordan's son costs his entire university a sponsorship for breaching a contract with Adidas. I pity the guy. First, he can't play basketball without being compared to his dad. Second, he just stays loyal to his family by wearing his dad's shoes. Then, he becomes the bane of all the other athletes in his school. Damn, that sucks...

> A player from the Singapore Slingers gets into a staredown with Jerwin Gaco after Gaco steals the ball from him in an ABL game this afternoon. He obviously does not know who Gaco is and the beating he could give him on-court if he gets pissed.

Pido Goes to the 'Dogs

2009-11-05T05:23:00.000-08:00

I was able to read in the Business Mirror today that Pido Jarencio is moving from the head coach spot of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers to the National University Bulldogs. He replaces Manny Dandan who has been there for the greater majority of ten years (Rico Perez coached for a year) and was able to lead NU to it's only appearance in the Final Four in 2002. He did this with the leadership of Alfie Grijaldo, Jeff Napa and Froilan Baguion.

This move comes as a shock to me, personally, after Coach Pido led his 2006 Cinderella UST team to the UAAP Championship during his rookie year. He was such a proud Goldie/Tiger back in his playing days when he was trading threes with Allan Caidic of UE. He brought that fiery approach to the PBA and had his best days with the Ginebra franchise. As a coach, he still carried that swagger, preaching his three P's of Pride, Puso and Palaban to his Tiger teams. There has been so much history with Jarencio and UST that it would just seem wrong not to see him in the black, gold, black, white, especially with 400 years of UST coming up. (Perhaps the only UST coach more deserving of that honor would be Aric Del Rosario, but he can't coach anymore because of his ailing heart.)

This leads us to two questions - 1) Did UST give up on Pido after falling short these last three years? 2) Were there greater forces that convinced him to move to NU? Let's go deeper...

1) It seems so sad that the school would give up so fast on a man who has rendered has service to the school with such passion and loyalty. Pido took the job in 2006 and won the title. He made the postseason all but one year, and made Jervy Cruz and Dylan Ababou into MVP's. Not pretty bad considering he also boasts of so many classic performances as a player. Not to mention, the gamut of emotion he displays in game is such pure entertainment and candidness. Could it be that some disgruntled alumni supporters are the ones actually calling for his ouster?

2) On the flip side of things, could it be that NU, boosted with the budget for the Sy's of SM have been able to buy some space into the coach's future? Players in the UAAP are tough to recruit, and these days, schools can't win without the budget to bring in some key players and provide for the "athletic and academic" needs. Maybe the coach thinks that he can build a winner with the support system he now has...

Of course, these are just things I ask. Who knows if they're real or not... This also then leaves the question, who's coaching UST? Ariel Vanguardia and Louie Alas are free agents...

PCC Struggling for Validation

2009-11-04T04:40:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Collegiate Championship is now in its sixth year, and it is a much improved version than what started back then with the Collegiate Champions League. Previously, during the CCL days, it was basically Metro Manila schools and a couple of guest teams from Visayas and Mindanao. Now, it has grown to a much more credible tournament with schools winning to get in. The seeded Final Four teams from the UAAP and NCAA won in their respective leagues in one way or another, and champions of the "secondary" league also get a slot. Those who do not fall into this category have to qualify via the Zonals days before the actual March Madness style tournament. So, teams don't just get in because they're a big name school.

Although the format has made the tournament design to be more competitive, the results tend to prove otherwise. It is no surprise that a big school (specifically a UAAP) school has won the title all the years it has been held (UE & FEU twice, Ateneo & La Salle once). Naturally, recruitment muscle, superior grassroots programs and some would say better coaching all come to the forefront to show that the UAAP is still the best collegiate league in the country.

Aside from this lopsidedness of results though, it is validation that the PCC is struggling with. Schools and players do not provide it with the respect the organizers, including the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas, desire. Understandibly, this is part of the growing pains fo the league. To the schools, their collegiate championships mean more to them and have more tradition to substantiate the win. Think about it, 6 years as compared to 72 and 95 seasons for the UAAP and NCAA respectively. So, instead of featuring the best collegiate teams and players into the country, it is morphed into something resembling more of a "Pre-season" tournament for 2010 rather than a post-season tournament of the highest stature. Schools field next year's line-ups, elevate some team B players, lose star players to the PBL, PBA or ABL and even some head coaches to commentary. Not a nice way to draw credibility as a tournament and fans if you ask me...

Now, naturally, the bigger leagues are being stiff since they have the "most to lose" due to these extra games. Injury does not pick tournaments after all. There is also the lame excuse that students should be "focusing more on their studies." C'mon. You can't expect us to believe that. Unfortunately, we can't blame them. These bodies do have heaploads to lose and no monetary prizes (yes, there are folks) can compensate for the risks underlying another league.

What the SBP should do though is provide some other form of incentive to the schools and the players. The right to compete in Serbia in behalf of the Philippines that DLSU won last yearcan be a sweet prize just as long as some training budget comes along with it. So, what I would suggest is that they scrap the outirhgt cash and instead reform it into "training budget." All schools need the expense relief anyway. Also, another suggestion I'd have is to officially name the winning school as the "National Champion" or "Philippine Champion" instead of "PCC Champion" (yes, it's redundant, I know.). There's just more substance to it, not to mention it estblishes a tradition worth keeping.

Bottom line, the PCC is experiencing growing pains, and hopefully, the leaders can get the mother leagues and teams on the train as it has the best potential as of the moment to follow in the footsteps of March Madness. On our end, maybe we can support the league more - watch some games, discuss on online forums, watch on tv even. Just helping create a buzz for it could accelarate the pace for Philippine basketball development in general. Let's go, one country!

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On a side note, the Ateneo Blue Eagles won the Unigames Basketball Championship over the sem break. Congrats to the Blue Eagles! They did it without Jai Reyes, Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini in the line-up...

Fantasy NBA: Players of the Week

2009-11-02T01:54:00.000-08:00

The NBA started about a week ago with a kick-off by Eastern Conference contenders Boston and Cleveland. The Celtics gave the Cavs a beating, and I think they will raise banner 18 this year (if healthy).

In a parallel basketball universe though, Fantasy Basketball Season has started. Here, the intensity and intangibles don't matter. It's all about the numbers... I'm starting a feature here ala Rick Kamla and will give you my starting 5 as well as fantasy surprises for the week, given a PBA-twist though... And now!

The Director (Point Guard)!
Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns) - 1.00 FT%, 2.0 3Pt FGM, 18.4 PPG, 14.0 APG
Nash posted back-to-back games of 20 and 18 assists this last week, confirming that indeed the run and gun Suns are back. Naturally, with that pace and his aggressiveness, there is a risk of high turnovers (4.3 TPG). But, the bad comes with the good, and you live with the TOs. Hey, Nash even managed to sneak a game-winner this week over the Clippers.

The Skywalker (Shooting Guard)!
Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) - 3.3 3Pt FGM, 21.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG

The Celtic captain has a lot of talk to back-up after he called the Lakers and Magic a german shepherd and a poodle during the Finals. So far, he has backed it up with the Celtics posting an undefeated record and his stats establishing again that he is just as important to banner 18 as Garnett is. The steals are what sets his averages so far apart as he is known to be a good defender, but it has not provided the numbers. So far though, they're there.

The Triggerman (Small Forward)!
Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) - 1.0 3Pt FGM, 37.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.3 APG

Carmelo has been making a statement that he is all-world by showing the heart and effort which people often criticized him about when compared to draft batchmates Wade and James. Possibly the most versatile scorer in the league now, Melo has been doing it all over the floor for 37.7 PPG - 3's, mid-range, high-post, low-post. For those that missed it, look for his poster on Paul Millsap on youtube.

Captain Lionheart (Power Forward)!
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) - 1.0 3Pt FGM, 31.0 PPG, 14.7 RPG, 2.3 APG

CB4 is probably the best NBA video-maker, and he is also a free agent this year and people predict he will be the one bolting to tag team with Wade or LeBron. He is making no jokes and instead a statement so far that indeed he is worth the cap space by posting crazy averages in the first week. Of course, people are still asking more from the D (1.3 combined SPG and BPG), but I would take his 30-15's any day.

Tower of Power (Center)!
Channing Frye (Phoenix Suns) - 4.3 3Pt FGM, 19.7 PPG, 2.0 SPG

Stepping in for the departed Shaq and the injured Robin Lopez, Frye converts unconventional stats for your starting center. He shoots 3's and does not come up with blocks. He is definitely benefiting from the Suns offense and playing with Nash, making people think "Why did the Knicks give this guy up?" Now, he has a chance to make a name for himself, and he is a great complement to Amare if they want to try for a playoff run.

For the Surprise of the Week, we go to New York!
Danilo Gallinari (New York Knicks) - 6.0 3Pt FGM, 22.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG

I don't know about you, but 6 3's a game is no joke. The Italian Stallion (all pardon to Rocky Balboa) is making New York seem like a viable option for James, Bosh and Wade as he shows that they are not rebuilding. The obvious beneficiary of D'Antoni's Seven Seconds or Less, Gallinari will be starting at PF in place of Al Harrington, so we can expect him to be posting numbers consistently, making him and David Lee the most fun white boy combo in the NBA.

And those were the Fantasy studs this week. Can we expect these numbers to be this high consistently? Maybe not as teams will tune in to them, but if you're still waiting on some drafts, they might be worth getting before anybody realizes their value. More on these next week, and hope to see your teams alive come Week 24.

PBA Getting Selfish

2009-11-01T00:52:00.000-07:00

It's been recently released that the PBA will no longer count games against the Smart Gilas National Team against all the PBA teams' records. This means that all games with Gilas will purely be exhibition and for seasoning.

I think this is a bad idea... And I believe that the PBA is getting selfish in doing so. Why?

1) Pro teams will hold back their starters against Gilas since the games no longer matter.

Let's face it. Once you get to the pros, basketball becomes a business and you logically decrease the risk in your assets (players). So, teams will hold back on fielding their best players in the game. They'll just put them in long enough to ensure the win and then, it's bench mob time. Naturally, less minutes on-court means less time for injuries. The exposure to second- and third-stringers is no push-over task still for the Gilas boys, but the progress they will gain will be significantly decreased. Thus, those minutes are lost opportunities for Gilas to get better.

2) The PBA would like to lessen untoward incidents between their players during Gilas games.

This is the PBA's way of becoming preventive, I would guess after the Arboleda incident. What I say is let them play it out and exert their own discipline. Yes, PBA players having chips on their shoulders, roughing up the Gilas boys might be temptations for suspensions, but they are already professionals. It's part of their job to stay under control or else face the necessary sanctions. Let them learn their own discipline.

Also, the international game is filled with physical play. Being unused to this is what did in Philippine teams of old and even the United States years before thier Redeem Team program. Let the Gilas boys be roughed up and let them learn that they have to push back. Maybe this is only when the team would start gaining a swagger and confidence that's needed in the international game.

Bottom line, I know that the PBA is running a business, but to get back to our status as an Asian basketball power, we all need to pay our dues as a country. Being the best league in the country, I hope that the PBA starts seeing that they should be leading the way. Their players might no longer comprise the team, but the "kanya-kanya" attitude does not help at all. We're all just under one flag, one nation...

The UAAP Invades the ABL

2009-10-27T03:58:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the Philippine Patriots won 74 - 61 against the Thailand Tigers at the Ynares Center in Pasig City. As usual, the contributions of the Philippine locals brutally outmatched their Thai counterparts as the imports virtually cancelled each other out.

Perhaps, more important than the final score (which expected that the Patriots would win) was the debut of three of the UAAP's biggest stars in the Philippine Patriots' line-up. Nonoy Baclao (Ateneo), Elmer Espiritu (UE) and Val Acuna (UE) all debut as new additions to Louie Alas' line-up. I am not sure if this meant that Hafer Mondragon, Mark Andaya and Christian Coronel (who started last time) are off the team, but it definitely gives the team an upgrade defensively and more importantly, star power.

Louie Alas, as proven by his Letran teams year after year, is probably one of the toughest defensive coaches in the country. His teams come to battle every game are not afraid to carry scars from the fight. This is why we probably see that in the Patriots' wins, the defense has been great, whether it be in the half-court or full-court. Even in their loss, they poured it on with their full-court trap which put even Al Vergara fits. This is why I am not surprised that Alas jumped at getting the three UAAP gems. Baclao and Espiritu are known for their highlight stoppages of many who dare drive the lane, being awarded the last 2 seasons' Defensive Player of the Year respectively. Acuna, on the other hand, is an underrated defender with speed to handle guards and length to handle bigs. On the defensive end, these 3 contributed immediately and will be a great asset as the season comes along.

However, I think that more than their defense these people provide the Star Power that the Patriots so direly need. If you've seen the league, small venues are not even half-filled and this is because there are no stars so far, only imports who are fed the ball because of their athletic gifts. With Baclao, Espiritu Acuna and Khasim Mirza, the team now hopes to gain the following of other UAAP schools and other hoops followers, possibly even sponsors. Let's see if there's any difference in the team's next game on Sunday at the San Juan Arena.

In relation to this, I sure would hope that the ABL would coordinate with the PBA on their playing schedule. We are a basketball crazy country and we'd like to root for anything Philippine basketball-related as much as we could, but the ABL plays every Sunday at 4:00 PM, going head-on against the PBA's first game. I think that the ABL has to be realistic in that they cannot battle the PBA's popularity and star power, so I would wish that they just play on Saturdays when there is only 1 PBA game. TV ratings wouldn't have to cannibalize each other and gate sales as well.

Also, I think that the Patriots did not get very good imports. Powell, being straight-out of college is still very immature, not to mention playing out of position, and Dixon seems to be out of shape. I'm honestly glad that they are not completely dominant imports as the locals can contribute significantly, but they would be 3-0 if they got better imports.

Anyway, thats the buzzer for this entry...

Contra: Best Game Ever

2009-10-22T01:01:00.000-07:00

For my first non-basketball post, I would like to pay homage to the very first video game that I developed a passion for: Contra (see bottom of the site)

I came across a Flash version of the game to share with everyone, and I was reminded of the game's perpetual greatness and unwaivering influence. As a kid, I think I made believe that the Terminator was the guy in blue and Rambo was in red when in reality they were just player 1 and player 2. Haha!

Anyways, enjoy the game, people. Stick to S for spread bullets, and unfortunate news, up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-A-B doesn't work here.

Where in the PBA is...?

2009-10-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

After a week of PBA action, we've seen all teams in action already. There have already been some surprises like San Miguel being winless, Red Bull winning it's first game and (sadly) the biggest headline of them all Wynne Arboleda of Burger King being suspended for the rest of the season (more on this later)... But perhaps, the first surprise we all encountered was "(Player Name) is already with (Team Name)?!?"

Yes, the has been a huge amount of player movement during the off-season, some of which we did not even hear about in the broadsheets. (Sort of makes you wonder why the professional league of the country doesn't get much press. Haha) Nevertheless, this entry is dedicated to helping you, the fan, find out the new faces in the 10 teams in this year's PBA season. For all teams, I've also placed their current records and where their new players came from. Now, alphabetically...

1. Alaska Aces (2-0)
Mike Burtscher (Bacchus)

2. Barako Bull Energy Boosters (1-1)
Bryan Faundo (Letran)
Bruce Viray (San Sebastian)
Ben Fernandez (FEU)
Ogie Menor (San Beda)
Aris Dimaunahan (Burger King)
Chad Alonzo (Harbour Center)
Yousif Aljamal (Talk n Text)
Orlando Doroya (Arellano)
Paolo Hubalde (San Miguel)
Donbel Belano (Talk n Text)
Alex Crisano (Ginebra)
Gilbert Lao (Talk n Text)

3. Ginebra Gin Kings (2-0)
Celino Cruz (Purefoods)
Kevin White (PBL)
Enrico Villanueva (Purefoods)
Rich Alvarez (Purefoods)

4. Burger King Whoppers (1-1)
Ronjay Buenafe (Coke)
Ronnie Matias (PBL)
Carlo Sharma (Red Bull)
Richard Yee (Purefoods)

5. Coca-Cola Tigers (0-2)
Chris Ross (PBL)
Ken Bono (San Miguel)
Marvin Cruz (Burger King)
Dennis Espino (Sta. Lucia)
Larry Rodriguez (Red Bull)
Wesley Gonzales (San Miguel)
Norman Gonzales (Sta. Lucia)

6. Purefoods Giants (1-1)
Rico Maierhoffer (La Salle)
Rafi Reavis (Ginebra)
Paul Artadi (Ginebra)
Jonathan Fernandez (Harbour Center)
Marc Pingris (San Miguel)
Chris Timberlake (PBL)

7. Rain or Shine Elastopainters (0-1)
Jeffrei Chan (Red Bull)
Marcy Arellano (UE)
Jervy Cruz (UST)
Mark Telan (Coke)
Mike Hrabak (Red Bull)

8. San Miguel Beermen (0-2)
Arwind Santos (Burger King)
Dennis Miranda (Sta. Lucia)

9. Sta. Lucia Realtors (1-0)
Ardy Larong (Alaska Aces)
Joshua Urbiztondo (PBL)
Gabby Espinas (Red Bull)
Chito Jaime (PBL)
Jason Misolas (Coke)
Charles Waters (PBL)
Chris Pacana (Ginebra)
Mark Benitez (La Salle)

10. Talk n Text Tropang Texters (1-0)
Nic Belasco (Coke)
Mark Isip (Sta. Lucia)

With all the common shareholders in the teams (Ginebra-San Miguel-Purefoods and Burger King-Talk n Text), you would think trading would be more difficult if the non-sister teams would strangle the teams for better pieces for being third parties, but Red Bull, with it's limited budget, has become the Memphis Grizzlies of the PBA and they have taken all offers it seems.

Contrary to what was expected though, teams which stayed almost intact or did not have lots of new faces have actually been the ones that have succeeded so far - Alaska and Talk n Text. Naturally, team chemistry and familiarity is becoming an issue as of the moment. Maybe the other teams will round into shape come the latter portions of the tournament. However, I still predict that these 2 teams will probably get the semis incentives after the eliminations and prove thar solid teamwork can beat a band of mercenaries.

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In related news, Burger King will be short one point guard as Wynne Arboleda has been suspended for the season, losing close to Php 3 million in salaries and fines. He will not be allowed to participate in any games, practices and other leagues. This somewhat resembles the Malace at the Palace NBA suspension of Ron Artest.

This kind of surprised me, but then again, with the PBA trying to get credibility back as a top league in Asia, it was a right decision. The PBA is not a place for 6-foot and above bullies to bare down on simple fans. To the PBA fan though, hurl all the insults you want at the players, but please stay away from their families (like in the Marlou Aquino incident). You deserve your rights as a paying patron, but you have to know your limits just as much as the players do.

Behind the Scenes: Fr. Martin's Cup II

2009-10-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, the semifinals of the Fr. Martin's Cup II was held in the FEU Gym in Morayta. The league has been going on quietly for a while, under the radar with all the UAAP and NCAA hype that's gone on. For those unfamiliar, the Fr. Martin's Cup II features the Team B's of major colleges. Often you can see future Team A recruits serving out their residencies and familiarizing themselves with the school's systems... This year is no different.

The semis match-ups were FEU vs UP and Arellano vs Ateneo, and the finals will be some time next week.

Results:
FEU def. UP by 30+
Arellano def. Ateneo by 8

Some notes:
> FEU features another African, not mention great recruits from all over the country. They'll be loaded for the next couple of years, so they should be considered as the title favorites for next year (again).
> UP also featured its own African recruit as well as their prized Fil-foreigner recruit. Expect them to improve on this year's UAAP performance, assuming their players and their coaches get their act together. Something's not right in the land of State U.
> Following the "Sam Ekwe Trend," Arellano also had 2 African recruits - both raw and super athletic - hopeful for inclusion in next year's NCAA still. If they don't, I wonder how they could manage keeping the two.
> Ateneo (which does not have an African. hehe) played with the 2 players Norman Black mentioned to be in consideration for Team A - Escueta and Erram. For Blue Eagle fans, you have to hope that Norman Black can develop these boys alongside Salva, Chua, Burke and Golla because they aren't ready to resemble Baclao and Al-Hussaini's roles. You have to hope that Salamat and Buenafe can carry the team to the Three-peat.

Next week, the Unigames will be played in Iloilo. I'll try to get some info on what happens. But for now, you have to expect a UAAP or NCAA school will champion this meet. After all, everybody needs all the good press they can get in preparation for the PCC.

ABL - New Kid on the Block

2009-10-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously, I will give a look at the ABL, the ASEAN Basketball League.

(Sorry, I'm not crazy enough to preview the Ateneo Basketball League which most Filipinos will probably be familiar with.)

The ABL is a five-nation (one team each) league for the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a political/economical association of the region. Eventually, two (2) teams will be allocated to Indonesia and Philippines due to the population size and wide-reach of basketball in the countries. It will be played on a home-and-away format with four (4) teams making the playoffs. It's been sanctioned by FIBA through SEABA, so performances in these tournaments will help boost a country's rating. Any wrongdoings will also be noticed naturally.

It's supported by big companies in each of the home nations, and media partners are present from all countries to boost the league as well as make it a vehicle for other cultural communication.

Each team is allowed 5 imports - 2 international, 3 ASEAN - to play on their rosters. So, if you've been watching, here's a list of the Filipinos imported by other nations.

Rensy Bajar (Satria Muda BritAma) - formerly from Shell and Alaska
Al Vergara (Singapore Slingers) - formerly from Purefoods and Harbour Centre
Kiko Adriano (Brunei Barracudas) - formerly from Red Bull and San Miguel
Leo Avenido (Brunei Barracudas) - formerly from Coke and FEU
Don Camaso (Brunei Barracudas) - formerly from Red Bull and Purefoods

If Jason Castro's contract (Talk n Text/PCU) would have pushed through, we might have seen him go up against the Philippine Patriots.

But who are the Philippine Patriots? Here's the roster...

Coach: Louie Alas
Warren Ibanez
Christian Coronel
Rob Wainwright (c)
Mark Andaya
Khasim Mirza
Jerwin Gaco
Hafer Mondragon
Froilan Baguion
Erwin Sta. Maria
Brandon Powell (i)
Jason Dixon (i)

Their schedule for the next few weeks can be found below. Maybe we could all go out and show some Pinoy Pride!

vs Thailand (Oct. 25, 4:00 PM; Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig)
vs Brunei (Oct. 31, 4:00 PM; Fil Oil Flying V Arena, San Juan)
vs Singapore (Nov. 7, 4:00 PM; Fil Oil Flying V Arena, San Juan)

Tip Off

2009-10-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

First entry time... So why 40 minutes of freedom?

For those non-basketball fans out there, 40 minutes is the regulation length of an amateur basketball game. If you've heard of FIBA rules, that's it!

So if you haven't figured out by now, this will be a basketball blog (most of the time). But I will post and link up anything that I feel is worth noticing. You might see some videos, some scouting reports, etc. I'll try to keep the rumors to a minimum though so that this would have some credibility. Hehe

Anyway, I'll probably skip the UAAP since it's done, and everybody's written about it already. If there's something I hear for the Philippine Collegiate Championships though, I'll drop something about the UAAP and NCAA schools without hesitation. Watch out for my PBA predictions and news while we're all waiting for the NBA to kick-of again. I'll also try to look into the ABL (ASEAN Basketball League) and give you a heads-up on what's going on there.

Now, time for tip-off!