On Mercado-Cardona not working; Alaska's new style and Gabe Norwood's slump

Rumors of a lospided Air21 trade of 2010 top draft picks Rabeh Al Husseini (shoo-in for this year's Rookie of the Year plum), defensive specialist Noynoy Baclao and guard Rey Guevarra to San Miguel for 2011 draft pick, Joseph Yeo, Mick Pennisi and Danny Seigle aside; here are a couple of things we've picked up after a week's worth of PBA Commissioner's Cup action:

Mercado-Cardona duo not working for Meralco
For what it's worth, you'd have to commend the Bolts for acquiring Sol Mercado from Rain or Shine. Credit will always be given the team that got the widely-recognized "better" talent in any or all trades in my book, and that's what Meralco did in the off-season. The problem is, Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio hasn't found the balance between Mercado and franchise scorer Mark Cardona. In two games (both losses), Cardona has led the team in scoring while Mercado struggles to find his touch. It should be noted though, that both players are jacking up a ton of shots that would make 2001-era Allen Iverson proud. Can this marriage work? I don't see it happening anytime soon. Not with both players needing the ball in their hands too much. Unless of course, someone learns to defer and hand out passes (onus is on Mercado since he did play "point guard" by name for Rain or Shine) OR gets shipped out.

Gabe Norwood AWOL
No one told me that Norwood's swagger was traded alongside buddy Sol Mercado. In two games, I've seen Rain or Shine play better and more fluid with Norwood seated rather than on the floor. The minute the flashy wing comes in, he tries to takeover with useless one-on-one plays instead of getting his points within the offensive set (which isn't that hard in head coach Yeng Guiao's system wherein the only bad shot is the one you don't take). Hopefully, Norwood will be able to bounce back. If he doesn't, I don't see why Ronnie Matias can't come in and take his spot on the floor.

Yeng Guiao's genius
Finally (hope we're not speaking too soon here) rid of stupid/shameless franchises that trade away top-tier talents for financial flexibility, Guiao has led the new-look Rain or Shine Elastopainters to a nice 2-0 start with quality wins over B-Meg and Meralco. While it doesn't hurt to have NBA veteran Hassan Adams as an import, Guiao has done it again and brought out the best in otherwise lesser-known talents as Beau Belga, Ronjay Buenafe and Ryan Arana (who I've said before is a more solid and fundamentally-sound player than the over-rated and recently traded Sol Mercado). From a Barangay Ginebra-wannabe of Norwood-Mercado at the forefront, the RoS team now plays like Guiao's Batang Red Bull Thunder teams of old (the Torion-Lordy-Harp ones, not the Rico Villanueva era).

LD Williams, Hassan Adams early favorites for Best Import
Adams' is the "Mr. Cool" of all the imports I've seen so far, knowing when to come in to takeover (must be the NBA pedigree) for Rain or Shine while L.D. Williams simply brings it for the Alaska Aces. The guy can provide highlight-worthy dunks, play within the system AND defend. Special mention goes to Barangay Ginebra's blue-collar import whose name I can't seem to recall but can pass as teammate Willie Miller's kuya.

Talk N Text suffers from championship hangover, loses to Smart Gilas
Can Smart Gilas really beat solid PBA teams? Or was this game a simple bigay by SG's Kuya TNT? That remains to be seen. But take nothing away from the SG boys since they played their hearts out in that game, executed their gameplan and kept TNT at bay with timeley baskets and ice water for veins at the free throw line. Marco Lassiter's Philippine TV debut came as a good one, with 16 points and a nice, feathery touch from the perimeter. At a listed height of 6"6, I can almost see Air21 drafting him in 2011 or 2012, before trading him in that same year for cash and warm bodies to the highest bidder. One factor why TNT lost? How about Ryan Reyes not scoring the entire evening and playing in spurts? If this were a playoff match, you just know that Reyes would've hounded Tiu, Barroca or even Lassiter non-stop. Oh, and Ranidel de Ocampo's defense on SG import Marcus Douthit is unacceptable, laughable even, for a Pinoy big man.

Alaska Aces' new style
Am I watching the Alaska Aces? Or a B-Meg/Ginebra hybrid? Tenorio and Baguio are easily the best backcourt combo since Helterbrand-Caguioa, complimenting each other on the floor. At present, the Aces are built to run instead of long time head coach Tim Cone's preferred half-court Triangle sets. Unloading Reynel Hugnatan to Meralco may hurt in the semis when teams need a veteran presence to keep everyone locked in, but there's no telling just how far this team can go now that even on-and-off Bonbon Custodio has found his niche as Tenorio's chief reliever (and the 2nd unit's designated scorer).

Powerade wins (over B-Meg)
Finally! They have too much veteran talent to be stuck at the bottom (and winless). All they really need is a point guard and one of those wing players (Fil-Am or otherwise) to compliment Gary David's scoring prowess and Rob Reyes' slow-improving low post game.