Barako Bull: Old and proud

Tubid: one of the best 2-way players today
(pag hindi naka flop mode)

The aging ensemble of discarded veterans collectively known as the Barako Bull Energy has proven us all wrong (specially this writer, who placed his money on the young Alaska Aces in this afternoon's do-or-die quarterfinals Game 3) and is moving on to the semifinals to meet powerhouse Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters.

Perhaps in a move to further shed "expansion team/ we trade stars to the highest bidder" tag, the Energy all but sealed the deal the minute coach Junel Baculi decided to stick Aces' star L.A. Tenorio with mercurial guard Ronald Tubid.


Now, for all the fans who despise Tubid for his flopping and overly dramatic on-court antics, the guy is a legit two-way player. Offensively, he can slash to the basket, make threes and even score fadeaways every now and then. Defensively, when he's not in "flop mode," there's no one quicker to hound opponents.

With Tubid draped all over Tenorio, the Aces were forced to run like headless chickens and call their own numbers each time down. Yes, they still had some assists in the box score, but they couldn't establish any rhythm the whole game. They ran, but without Tenorio, it slowly proved to be quite futile.

Cyrus Baguio did his best to carry the fight, but Sonny Thoss was slapped with early fouls while Bonbon Custodio suffered yet another big game no-show to further bury the Aces' hopes. Import Adam Parada came through with a better showing this time around, but couldn't get any touches in the second and third quarters where they could've stopped the bleeding.

How did the Energy win?

They ran.

Yes. The old folks, icepacks, BenGay and all, pulled through and won over the young Aces by *gasp* running.

With import Gabe Freeman leading the break (usually going coast to coast, because coach Joel Banal opted to keep Custodio on the floor instead of going exclusively with Mac Baracael at the three spot), there was just nothing the hapless Aces could do. Their bigs were too slow, their guards (other than Tenorio) too soft. End of story.

On the other end of the floor, whenever the Aces tried to run (which they kept trying to do in the first half) their progress was met with a bunch of hard fouls that best embodies the 90s style of play. Things got physical early, Tenorio almost blew a gasket and kudos to Arboleda for keeping his Zen intact. Great defensive scheme by

That, plus Ronald Tubid caught fire early and carried that hot hand well into the second half. Cyrus Baguio scored, but couldn't D up. Tubid played the game of his life on offense, and pretty much went "Vintage, UE Red Warrior, Tubid" on Tenorio the whole afternoon.

Overall, it was a great win by a proud team.