Who's the next Rudy Lingganay?

From the ABL to the PBA

Before being stuck in Bo Perasol's Powerade doghouse in the recently concluded PBA Philippine Cup Finals, point guard Rudy Lingganay was making a strong case for himself as a decent player in the country's premier basketball league.

In 25 games, Lingganay averaged an acceptable 5.16 points and 1.96 assists in only 13 minutes of burn as 3rd string PG in the Tigers' rotation. The only thing Lingganay needs to work on is his paltry three point shooting clip (29%) but other than that, he brings a lot to the table with his hard-nosed man-to-man defense that is almost Derek Fisher-like.

That being said, not a lot of people know that Lingganay's mildly successful leap into the PBA was brought about by his superstar worthy playoff stint in the ASEAN Baketball League last season. Despite not making it to the Finals, Lingganay spearheaded the Westport KL Dragons' playoff campaign alongside current AirAsia Patriots import Nakiea Miller and Filipino Patrick Cabahug.


And though the ABL competition is more on the Filipino NCAA level rather than even being at par with the PBA Developmental League, there are some local names there who deserve to at least be considered by today's PBA teams. Here's our shortlist of who deserves a shot and which team should consider getting their services:

Kung puntusan lang ang labanan,
kay Cabahug na ko pupusta

1. Patrick Cabahug, SG, KL Dragons (13 points, 2 rebounds, 52% fg)
How big does a University's role play in the life of a professional basketball player? Well, considering that streak-shooting small forward Francis Allera of UST is still in the PBA playing the KKS Bataan Bomber's chief back-up, we'll say that the college pedigree says a lot. Cabahug has been widely considered as a great shooter, though a tad bit too skinny, but plays zero defense. This, in my view, is what's keeping Cabahug from being signed to any PBA team. He's a good scorer, but not Gary David-- to the point that coaches will give him leeway not to play defense. But if it's buckets that you're looking for, look no further than the ex-king Falcon.


PBA team: Air21, Alaska. He can play the role of Ren Ren Ritualo under Franz Pumaren, and yes, while Air21 has Ritualo under their employ, he's far from the Rain Man of old. Oh, hey, Luigi Trillo, Alaska looks like they could use another scorer to spell Baguio from time to time. Why not vouch for your old boy at Adamson?

2. Junjun Cabatu, SF-PF, San Miguel Beermen (3 p, 2 r, 1 assist)
What to do with "Jun-jun?" A gifted big man who has all the skills you could possibly want-- can shoot jumpers, post-up, play some solid 3 to 5 minutes worth of defense and is not afraid of crunch time situations. Only problem is, he's a little too big/fat to keep in step with the PBA's athletic wings (Arwind Santos, JC Intal, Gabe Norwood to name a few) and short to slide over to power forward. His ABL numbers are abysmal, but when asked to play 15 minutes or more, the dude holds his own offensively. Now, if only he could be more interested in grabbing rebounds, we'd be completely sold on him.

PBA team: Rain or Shine. Where his great basketball IQ and skills will be maximized under Yeng Guiao's freelancing style. Also, what's another big body to add to Mico Halili's Extra Rice Inc.?

3. Don Dulay, PG, Singapore Slingers (12 p, 2 r, 2 a)
We didn't see much of Dulay, and can't recall a game wherein he contributed heavily or enough to lead his team (Rain or Shine) to victory. Some say he's a Josh Urbiztondo clone, others say he's more "in-control" and not as much of a gunslinger. Undersized for the PBA but a great fit in the still growing ABL, Dulay can be a solid back-up for any professional team.

PBA team: Alaska, Air21. Alaska still hasn't found a backup for L.A. Tenorio (Eric Salamat is a SG) while just about anyone can step in and start over "my stats come first"Paolo Hubalde at Air21.

4. June Mar Fajardo, C, San Miguel Beermen (5 p, 5 r)
Technically, Fajardo isn't a "reject" much like the other guys on this list. Opting to play in the ABL with the Beermen rather than staying with his college team (or entering the PBA draft), the 6"9 Cebuano is on the right path to greatness in my book. Had he chosen to enter the draft, he'd be going up against 6"5 centers who would simply plant their forearms on Fajardo's back to gain leverage on the defensive end. In the ABL, despite playing behind SMB's import Darlon Johnson, Fajardo is able to bang bodies with bigger competition (mostly imports) where he can act and learn how to be a traditional post up player. Something that can't be said for Ateneo's Greg Slaughter who will dominate the UAAP, but will not grow as a player of his position because of the lack of quality competition. As we've said here before, Filipino bigs, those who are 6"8 and above, should be sent and trained overseas.

PBA team: Rain or Shine, Powerade. Fajardo under Guiao would be awesome. The fiery Pampanga native has always been able to squeeze a lot out of his players- none more than his bigs. From young Kerby Raymundo to Davonn Harp to Enrico Villanueva and even Carlo Sharma to today's Beau Belga and JayR Quinahan- Guiao has always allowed his bigs enough freedom to dominate in the post and dish hard fouls.

Canada: PG skills, PBA ready

5. Jerick Canada, PG, Indonesia Warriors (7 p, 3 r, 4 a)
Is it just me, or is the ABL quickly turning into an Adamson Alumni Basketball League? Anyway, during the Trillo years highlighted mostly by the inability of superstar UAAP MVP Ken Bono and Patrick Cabahug to co-exist as perimeter top dogs, Adamson actually had a bevy of solid point guards (Canada, Leo Canuday, and those two other guys during the early 2000s who almost got them over the hump. One guy sported a mophead, the other sported a faux mustache and was just AWESOME but was injured during his final season-- keep forgetting their names, but those guys subbed for each other and were damn good).  Canada is no different. He has the size, speed and court vision needed to run a team. We wouldn't say that he's PBA starter material, but he's pretty decent offensively. Defensively, he still needs some work- say, upper body strength to stop opposing guards from driving to the rim. Also, his shooting is streaky at best.

PBA team: Alaska, Air21, Rain or Shine. Alaska needs a back-up, Air21 has someone who looks like a basketball player but doesn't play like one starting and RoS can't figure out where to put Gabe Norwood (he's a small forward damn it).