B-Meg Llamados: Up to the task

No questions asked.
This is Cone and Yap's team now.

Slowly but surely, future Hall of Famer and current two-conference-old B-Meg Llamados coach Tim Cone is taking control of the team as-a-whole. Altering its genetic make-up from the league's isolation-heavy posterboys, Cone has transformed the Llamados into a more balanced squad that puts an onus on team play.

It wasn't easy, but they are starting to reap the benefits of the seeds that they've been sowing at a short period of time. Rookie Mark Barroca is slowly emerging as a great, change-of-pace point guard who Cone doesn't have problems with playing exclusively in the 4th over his starters at the position.


Then there's the disposal of big man Kerby Raymundo, who was taking away from the "team game" that Cone prefers. As skilled as "The Kid" is one-on-one, he remains to be an iffy kick-out passer which undermines the games of the guys around him-- and in case you haven't noticed, the Llamados have a bunch of shooters in the fold.

Roger Yap's "release" to the ASEAN Basketball League also allowed Cone to put in a point guard that simply pushes the basketball and looks for his guys rather than going one-on-one. Yes, Josh Urbiztondo is a jacker. But as long as he's making them, then why not? R. Yap's game thrives on dribble drives to create openings for his teammates-- which is a great thing, but age and an unreliable jumper has finally caught up with the closest thing the PBA has to a poor man's Derek Fisher (okay, that may be stretching it out a little bit, but he is the Fisher to James Yap's Kobe Bryant).

So what has Cone really done other than getting guys who need the ball a little too much out of the way?

- Tag James Yap, two time PBA Most Valuable Player, as the de facto lead star. There will be no questions now, no "Doubting Thomases," James is the guy for the Llamados, end of story.

- PJ Simon's role is akin to Rodney Santos' back with the Alaska Milkmen. Stretch the defense with his outside sniping, slash when he feels like it and ensure that he is ready to shoot when opponents start to zero in on James.

- Recognizing Marc Pingris' game. His offensive skills have improved tremendously from his days as a ring-breaking athlete years ago, but it's on defense where he'll go down as one of the league's best and brightest. Pingris has the height and heart to battle with big men. He also has incredible footspeed that allows him to move side to side which is big when trying to box in smaller, quicker players (ask L.A. Tenorio). With the Raymundo trade, Pingris steps in as the starting power forward where not even Joe De Vance's advanced offensive game can take away his minutes on the floor.

- Joe DeVance, off the bench. Or as KKS would like to think of it with no intention of being racist or anything-- the Black Toni Kukoc. Advantage JDV for the nice ink.

- The steady development of Mark Barroca. He'll never be anything like his idol Johnny Abarrientos, who has the best one-on-one game of any PG in the league yesterday and today, but he's showing flashes of that Ronnie Magsanoc-esque brilliance ala another solid PG, L.A. Tenorio. He knows when to run, to slow it down, and when to take matters into his own hands. His assist numbers are still laughable, but blame the triangle's intricacies for that. Once he figures everything out and slows a gear or two down, the game will definitely be much simpler for him. Truth be told, despite Powerade JVee Casio's mind-boggling 10 assists average, I'd still take Barroca as the better passer and overall PG.

And finally, other than letting certain players do their thing freely on the floor, the Llamados are finally playing some defense. Their starting five doesn't do as much other than the frontline duo of import Denzel Bowles and Pingris, but Cone always makes it a point to have his guards help each other out.

Credit should also be given to James Yap, who has all the tools (size, speed, big hands) to play excellent D in the PBA but never got around it until Cone came to town. Yes, Yap is no Denok Miranda or Ryan Reyes, but from what we've seen so far in two conferences, Big Game James is holding his own at the small forward spot.

Can this team break into the Finals, in Cone's second conference, and crash the Talk 'n' Text party? From the looks of things and based on the standings, the Llamados are definitely up to task and may very well enjoy a championship celebration in Cone's first tour of duty (either this conference or next).