Money's on "Dark" Aces

Bumilis man ang laro,
si Thoss pa din ang Boss

Do the Alaska Aces have enough to crash into the next round and overcome the proud Barako Bull Energy?

This writer says yes.

From a personel match-up standpoint, the Aces are young, quick, agile and athletic-- four adverbs that are lost when asked to describe the Energy's best five. L.A. Tenorio looks to have recovered from the injuries that hounded him last conference, Cyrus Baguio has come out of his slumber and Sonny Thoss is posting his customary double-doubles and acting as the Aces' cornerstone ala the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan.



The Energy, while being a proud, veteran-laden bunch, are old and just fighting on their last wheels. Of the group, only Willie Miller warrants another look from the powerhouse teams. A few are second stringers while the rest are third stringers at best. That's not being harsh, that's just the plain truth. The only reason the Energy won the first game was the sudden re-emergence of Danny Seigle. And true to form, he was unable to sustain it in yesterday's game thus their loss.

See, if you're trying to play for a championship, you don't want to rely on "vintage" performances to carry you through a season. That's just not how it works. You can get lucky from time to time much like the Atlanta Hawks would suddenly look invincible whenever Tracy McGrady finds his legs and drops a cool 10-5-5 stat line.

Back to the Aces and their playoff chances.

Right now, among all the teams, there's no one with the same chemistry as the Aces (other than the lying in wait Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters). The Energy have a new import, the Llamados lost 2 major contributors inside one conference (Kerby Raymundo, Roger Yap) while the Bolts are STILL figuring out a balance between Sol Mercado and Mac Cardona (with the answer being, Mercado taking a huge backseat).

Kudos should be given to head coach Joel Banal for finally ditching the triangle offense full time and giving his guards free control on the offense. Tenorio looks faster in this offense, Baguio more interested, Thoss steady as always and Mac Baracael finally- FINALLY- getting his chance to play at the small forward position where only fellow SMART Gilas 1 alumna Dylan Ababou is his closest match offensively and defensively (with a slight edge basketball IQ-wise going to the Ginebra starter).

What's more delighting/ intriguing is the playing time being awarded to big man project Samigue Eman. While this writer doubted Banal's ability to bring the best out of Eman (wanted Cone to turn Eman into E.J. Feihl part 2), he has asked Eman to concentrate on one thing alone-- to be a big.

Not to score, but to set screens. Not to rebound, but to box out. To make full use of his six fouls and worry about looking cool or good later.

That's how big men should be developed and utilized when they're still learning the game at an elite level. To work on the basics. No one turns into a Kevin Garnett or Dirk Nowitzki overnight, so Eman is on the right path of becoming another Thoss for the Aces.

If they keep hitting their shots and pushing the tempo instead of playing into the Energy's slowed-down pace, the Aces are a lock to advance into the next round and exorcise their abysmal Philippine Cup performance.