Bits on the Bantay Bata All-Star Game

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.

The UAAP Invades the ABL

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...