Top 10 things to be excited about the PBA Commissioner's Cup

1. Meralco Bolts
- No other team has been busier than the Bolts who opted to drop untested names in their line-up in favor of established stars who long for more playing time. Renren Ritualo and Sol Mercado are two of the better scoring guards in the league (with Ritualo comfortable as a full time back-up given his game and age) while Reynel Hugnatan and Marlou Aquino both provide a solid interior presence. Question marks surround the team as far as sharing the ball is concerned. Will Mercado keep his newfound role of scoring pointguard (as he did with Rain or Shine) and play alongside Cardona in what promises to be an explosive (and bratty) backcourt or will MB head coach Ryan Gregoio slide someone to a "super sub" role and leave the keys to the team to the ever improving Chris Ross (who always had game, but played a little too fast for his own good prior to last conference).


2. Gabe Norwood-Yeng Guiao
- How will the laid-back approach of "Mr. President" sit with the temperamental Guiao? We've already seen changes in the line-up with Guiao opting to add his reliables to the Rain or Shine line-up (Ronjay Buenafe, Beau Belga and Ronnie Matias). Expect a tougher RoS squad anchored on defense and transition offense. Hopefully, Norwood doesn't get traded anytime soon (since most of the star players under Guiao's tutelage almost, always gets dealt).

3. Talk N Text's chances of back-to-back titles
- They have the tools to win it in my book. A grand slam even, considering how young their core is and healthy they all seem to be. Now that we've established that Jason Castro is an elite player, there's no saying just how far they'll go. Adding a defensive minded import also helps since it allows head coach Chot Reyes' to leave the scoring to his locals (which they're quite good at, just ask the San Miguel Beermen).

4. Jay Washington Watch
- Will the "LeBron James of the PBA" ever win big with the San Miguel Beermen? Or will he do a Nelson Asaytono and lead his team to deep playoff/finals appearances conference after conference only to lose in the end? My money's on the Asaytono clip. The numbers will take care of itself, given his overall game and skill, but until SMB makes up its mind if they're a running team or a defensive, half-court one, they'll continue to run into on-court chemistry problems again and again.

5. Alaska Aces
- At the end of the Fiesta Conference, everyone was raving about the Aces' title run and of how they have a young group of guys that have been together for a while and now know what it takes to win. Even in the Philippine Cup, it appeared as though the Aces were on their way to the top of the standings behind the inspired play of Joe DeVance. But an injury to JDV and a couple of half-assed efforts later, the Aces soon found themselves out of the title picture. Will this be their conference? Is L.A. Tenorio ready to take the lead? He better, because I just don't see that "fight" in JDV or even Cyrus Baguio (who is a fellow UST alumna but what he has in style, he lacks in substance).

6. Who ends up dead last; Air21 or Powerade
- The smart gambler would put it on Air21, since they finished 2nd to the last and were a game or two in front of the lowly Barako Bulls. But you could make a case for Powerade-- a team that relies heavily on Gary David's MVP-like brilliance night in and night out and starts rookie Jai Reyes who tries his best but isn't exactly the 2nd coming of any of the PBA's elite Hall of Famers. What I like about Air21's chances this conference is that they got a scorer for an import, a new coach in Bong Ramos, and a solid frontline of Rabeh Al Husseini, Noy Baclao and Jay-Ar Reyes. All they need now is for Wyne Arboleda to find the Fountain of Youth and you're looking at a potentially dominant, young team.

7. Air21 VS Smart Gilas
- Don't tell me that you've forgotten about that little episode involving Wyne Arboleda and JVee Casio? I also wonder if that dude who was on the receiving end of Arboleda's "love tap" would also appear at courtside.

8. Which ABL-er will be the first to suit up for a PBA team
- My money's on Air21 who is in dire need of a point guard. Egay Billones, Froilan Baguion and Rudy Lingganay all deserve a look. Alex Crisano is also available and could be an option for frontline-weak teams such as Barangay Ginebra, B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados and Rain or Shine (although I doubt Yeng Guiao would even tolerate being on the same bench as the aloof Crisano-- then again, we've seen weirder things happen this side of the PBA).

9. Barako Bulls sells its franchise to MVP outfit
- I don't believe in the team behind the Barako Bulls (who promised a third conference return). The league's better off this way, with nine competitive teams and a guest squad that is playing for the title and not just for an exhibition. We've already heard rumors about how players traded to the Bulls were still being paid for by their older teams, so I wouldn't be surprised to see BB just call it a day and stop wasting the PBA fans' time.

10. Who's going to be the first to punk out Chris Tiu?
- Just for fun. And though Chris Tiu is someone who I'd want my future son to grow up into, I absolutely wouldn't mind watching PBA veterans act like complete douchebags and try to punk out one of Ateneo's favorite sons. Money's on Ronald Tubid, Paul Artadi and or Marc Pingris.