Meralco exorcises the ghost of Marlou Aquino

Pretty sure that Meralco Bolts team manager Virgil Villavicencio is patting himself at the back, succeeding in where his predecessor Buddy Encarnado (of the now defunct Santa Lucia franchise) failed-- ridding his team of one Marlou Aquino.

Granted, Aquino was the country's marquee big man for about six-eight years (from his PBL Stag Pale Pilsen and PBA Ginebra stints; the moment he was dealt to Santa Lucia, everything went downhill after a year or two) but the guy has been an absolute ghost. Trust me, I've been a fan of the "Skyscraper" at one point, and he is the epitome of the word "lazy" and best embodies the type of players who would dominate one year, get a huge contract, and coast the rest of the way (or until a renewal is around the corner).

In case you haven't heard, Meralco traded Aquino, slow-footed point guard Pong Escobal, rookie Khasim Mirza and their 2012 first round draft pick to farm team Barako Bull in exchange for solid power forward Mark Isip and volume scorer Reed Juntilla.

The trade allows the Bolts to commit to a more uptempo approach-- similar to their head coach Ryan Gregorio's old Purefoods teams. It opens up the floor for Chris Ross-- who is starting to blossom (by simply slowing a step or two down) and athletic bigs Hans Thiele, Gabby Espinas and even Beau Belga.

Another silver lining is Juntilla, who could develop into what PJ Simon is for James Yap. It's no secret that Mac Cardona is "THE MAN" on the Bolts' roster, but the team clearly needs a 2nd and 3rd option to go to (with Espinas being the only consistent player around).

As for Aquino, either he provides the Bulls with an interior presence and shows that he still has somet left in the tank OR he fades into obscurity, never living up to what he could've been (or was once was)-- a crafty Pinoy low post player complete with skyhook, kili-kili shot and goggles.

The "Dynamite" is back

Much can and probably has been said about the San Miguel Beermen's recent success in the PBA Philippine Cup (despite losing in tonight's game against Alaska, 92-89, after a courageous 31-point deficit comeback). One can attribute it to the team's loaded line-up, Jay Washington's continued stellar play, Alex Cabagnot's steady quarter-backing, head coach Ato Agustin and even Olsen Racela's inspirational play despite his old age.

But another factor that hasn't reached the headlines just yet is the steady play of veteran Danny Seigle. With an injury-riddled career averages of 17 ppg and 6 rpg, I've always looked at Seigle as being a solid player (but never one who should be labeled as a superstar, the same way James Yap is right now- solid, but not great). These days, Seigle is averaging around 11 ppg and 4 rpg in only 20 minutes of burn-- which is as good as it gets for a vet who's coming off the bench behind arguably two of the league's top three small forwards (Washington and Arwind Santos).

In today's game against Alaska, Seigle did what he has always done in the past-- bully smaller opponents to get easy buckets for himself. Once Tony Dela Cruz sat, Seigle did a lot of damage and got his 19 points against guys like Mark Borboran (too thin) and Joe DeVance (who probably doesn't know Seigle's game, giving him so much space out in the perimeter- enough time for DS to set-up his low-arc jumpers, and, well, JDV doesn't play defense at all to begin with).

There was even a Seigle dunk sighting mid-game!

Nostalgia aside, it's always nice to see a veteran (specially one that is injury-prone) being able to do his thing against some of today's "questionable" stars.

P.S.

Yes, it was that hard to find a "Seigle in action" picture that I had to Google for a much older picture (see Talk N Text's old blue uniform and Meralco's Pong Escobal and Yousif Aljamal on the TNT bench).

What we’ve learned so far (NBA)

While I’ve grown to become somewhat reliant on statistics, it’s nice to just kick back, relax and write about what we see on the tube from a fan’s perspective (in other words, I’m game to write about the basketball games I’ve seen on tv, but is just too lazy to do added research and will leave that to the experts). That being said, here are a couple of things we’ve learned so far about the league that we all love:

Spurs up!

The San Antonio silver and blacks are back atop the NBA with a nice 13-2 slate thanks in large part to a number of key offensive adjustments. 1) Manu Ginobli is starting and playing five more minutes per game, more than making up for Tim Duncan’s diminished production 2) Richard Jefferson has finally learned how to play the “Bruce Bowen” role, sinking in corner 3s while doing his own thing on the break 3) Matt Barnes is shooting an insane clip from downtown and 4) everyone’s HEALTHY.

Blake Griffin IS better than Dwight Howard

In case all you’ve seen of the Clippers’ prized rookie are the highlight, Youtube worthy dunks, take time to really dissect his style of play. He can play with his back to the basket, rebounds has acceptable handles for a big and plays adequate defense. Granted, his team is at the bottom of the standings, but that’s what you get when your team is waiting for its’ once franchise point guard (Baron Davis) to get in shape. Think Amare Stoudemire’s offensive game (minus the jumpshot) with Dwight Howard’s strength but with Charles Barkley’s tenacity.

King Dwyane, Queen James and court jester Chris

If they ever get their acts together, this is still a championship-caliber squad with an orchestrator (James), a solid role player (Bosh) and a closer (Wade). So what’s a little drama here and there? Like it or not, Miami’s less than stellar win-loss record is more of a reflection of LeBron James’ transition than anything else. He’s being asked to shoot less (or shoot more but provided that it’s in the paint), pass more (in this case, making the extra pass and not the “assist” pass) and learn to play solid defense. He has frowned on playing heavy minutes and playing “point guard” full time, but if Erik Spoelstra can lead him to the right direction, then James could and probably would be on his way to another MVP-worthy run. As for Dwyane Wade, the player I admire no longer looks like the “Jordan-esque” Wade of old. If anything, the guy is clearly deferring to James and is content in riding his spotlight (which is ironic considering Wade made his switch from Converse to Jordan to help build his “brand”—so how can he if he’s clinging on someone else?).

Lakers’ slump

Kobe’s doing it again. He’s out to prove that he’s the best, and in doing so, derailing what was once a fluid offensive game plan for the Los Angeles Lakers (give the ball to Gasol, play in-out basketball). It’s not enough to convince me that this team won’t be in the Finals yet again (unless the Spurs remain healthy all season long which remains to be seen), but it is enough to maybe, just maybe, say that Kobe is no longer the Lakers’ best player—given the rule changes, opponents and circumstances. Think about it. If you took Kobe out of this team, the Lakers would still win based on the composition of the team alone (solid on all positions). If you took Pau Gasol out, then the Lakers would be in the same boat as maybe, Denver and Oklahoma (solid PG, scorer, no inside presence).

Detroit’s dilemma

On some nights, the Pistons have arguably the best offensive line-up in the NBA with known scorers Charlie Villanueva, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey and even the ghost of Tracy McGrady at their disposal. On others, they look just as lost as having a natural shooting guard masquerading as a point guard (which would work if they surrounded him—Stuckey, with role players, not scorers). personally, I believe that this team is a young, solid point guard and a championship diva-less (Rip Hamilton) away from where they want to be.