Oh no, it's NOT Johnny: Mark Barroca is his own star

When Johnny Abarrientos dominated the league in 1996, leading his Alaska Milkmen to the highly coveted Grand Slam, talks about him being NBA-caliber and how he's the first of a new breed of Filipino PGs became rampant.

True enough, every time a new PG made the headlines be it in the amateurs or pros, comparisons would be made with the one time MVP. No matter how much his career dipped in the late 90s entering the new millennium (accusations of substance abuse-- which was junked the moment then PBA commissioner Noli Eala called for an all-out campaign over druggies and gambling/ cock-fighting-- which stuck), every Filipino basketball fan who was fortunate enough to have watched the "Flying A" in action would concede that there's no one else like him and that he may go down as the league's best point guard (could run offensive sets, anchor the defense, is clutch when called upon AND beat his man one on one).

The future is here

Ladies and gentlemen... the Flying B! (I'm sure Quinito Henson
will come up with something cheesier at some point).

This season, with Abarrientos' long time coach Tim Cone moving over to the B-Meg Llamados (and re-uniting with his prized guard at the bench) talks about a "new Johnny Abarrientos" have captured the imagination and fancy of fans around. How could it not, when the "heir apparent" comes from the same Alma Mater (Far Eastern University), is cat quick, heady and fearless-- oh, and he wears #14 as a tribute to his idol as well?

Mark Barroca, a 5"10 point guard who has won over fans with his tenacity from playing for FEU and the SMART Gilas men's basketball national team, has been given all the tools to succeed as the new "Flying A." Of the players' we've seen the last two decades, the closest "heir" would be the guy who is widely recognized as the best PG of this era-- Jimmy Alapag. But even Alapag's mighty deep threes and courageous international feats fail to measure up to Abarrientos-- who played every game all-out and took matters in his own hands regardless of what Coach Cone says (which drew the American's ire plenty of times while also freezing out equally/ more clutch teammate Jojo Lastimosa in 4th quarters).

Back to Barroca, who is not only being coached by Cone, but also has the luxury of being mentored firsthand by Abarrientos. And, while Cone argues that Barroca reminds him of a young Abarrientos, this writer argues that there'll never be another "Flying A," let alone a "Flying B."

Flying A VS Flying B

The difference between Abarrientos and his young protege Barroca: Abarrientos, apart from the former's great command of his teammates and running set plays, is him being a great one on one player. The left to right crossovers while at full speed, fade away jumpers taken off a Michael Jordan game tape and kanto swagger all made Abarrientos legendary in the eyes of basketball fans. That, plus the fact that at the time, there was no other PG who played like him-- not Ronnie Magsanoc (a great court general but didn't have half Abarrientos' speed), Bal David (played with a lot of heart to make up for his average talent), Richie Ticzon (Master by Eskinol, sikreto ng mga gwapo! three point shooter) or even the King Davao Eagle Euguene Quilban (who would've been his rival had he not been sentenced to obscurity).

Barroca thrives more in a team game. He slashes into the paint by finding openings rather than creating his own driving paths. His pull-up jumpers are textbook, but again, nothing out of the offense. Not to say that Barroca isn't a great basketball player, but compared to Abarrientos, he's more on the safer side of things. Think Chris Calagio (great textbook/ almost robotic shooting guard) versus Mark Caguioa (flashy, unpredictable, fiery competitor).

To Barroca's credit, he's shown that he can dominate games when called upon by his coaches (SMART Gilas' first tour of PBA duty which was sadly ended by Wyne-gate). But even then, his numbers were a byproduct of set plays (double high picks at the top arc for isolation cuts/ kick out passes-- a ploy now being used by the Meralco Bolts for star guard Sol Mercado).

Anything to help

In the ongoing Philippine Cup, Barroca is averaging 6.86 points, 1.71 rebounds, 0.57 assists, 1.14 turnovers in 14.43 minutes per game. Those are acceptable numbers for any rookie in the PBA, but not for someone with Barroca's overall pedigree and hype. The statistic that disturbs me the most, is that he only averages 0.57 assists which is quite appalling to see from a point guard.

Granted, Cone's triangle offense doesn't allow guards to be assist-numbers happy (which is sad for ex-Cone protege and now the league's #2 PG L.A. Tenorio), but you'd figure that with all the knock down shooters at the Llamados' disposal (PJ Simon, Roger Yap, James Yap, Joe DeVance), Barroca would have averaged at least 2 assists per game.

I'm not saying that Barroca won't be one of the league's better PGs someday, but right now, he's far from being an Abarrientos. Hell, he's more like a jump-shooting version of a fresh-out-of-C.M. Recto Paul Artadi (quick as a cat, knows how to run the offense but is too fast for the game).

In yesterday's win over the hapless Shopinas.Com Clickers (I'm sorry Ms. Lina, but why not try getting guys from Liga Pilipinas to enforce this team? Say, Claiford Arao?), Barroca enjoyed 30 minutes of burn and scored 13 to go with 5 rebounds. Cone lauded his rookie PG and said that the kid was "everywhere." And there was no denying that Barroca, when playing long minutes, is at par with other PBA guards (nowhere near the Cabagnots and Tenorios, but definitely above the Artadis and Labagalas).

Right now, Cone is making the game simple for his young PG. Call your own number as long as it's within the system-- which is great because it would certainly help build Barroca's confidence. Will Barrroca be able to live up to his mentors' dreams for him? Who knows, Mike Cortez was once hailed as my generation's Abarrientos but that relationship quickly went sour. The thing that seems to be going for Barroca is that, Cone and the rest of the BMeg management are willing to wait and aren't rushing him to take the keys from veteran teammates Roger Yap and Josh Urbiztondo.