Unimaginative offense dooms GlobalPort in debut

Kamay ko inalat!

Jason Webb touched on it during the half time break by saying that the GlobalPort Batang Pier, who were in the middle of an ass-whooping from the hands of the souped-up Barangay Ginebra San Miguel squad, have yet to find their identity on the basketball court.

Are they a run-and-gun, fastbreaking, uptempo scoring team or a grind-it-out defensive team?

Well he got 50% of it right. With guys like Gary David, Rabeh Al Hussaini and new recruit Willie Miller, the Batang Pier squad SHOULD be a high-octane team that can hold their own against a team like Ginebra. David's coming off a stellar,nay, supernova-like season. Al Hussaini's finally gotten his chance to shine as the lead power forward, and Miller looks to be in the best shape he's ever been in the last three years.

Ilang tulog na lang...

Kahit si Doug Kramer may Tiu-fever

The Philippine Basketball Association is all set to open shop this coming Sunday with souped-up crowd-darlings Barangay Ginebra San Miguel versus the retooled GlobalPort Batang Pier serving as the Philippine Cup's official opening combatants.

We should expect a slam bang affair, nothing short of a bonafide shootout with reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa, former MVP Jayjay Helterbrand and the bevy of athletic wings they brought in going up against an odd yet exciting pair of high-scoring Gary David and another former MVP Willie Miller.

Here's KKS' top storyline picks for each team.

SMART Gilas: Is the center position still a problem?

The HOPE of Pilipinas Basketbol

With all due respect to Marcus Douthit and his heroic efforts the last few years in basically carrying Pilipinas Basketbol on his lanky shoulders, let's touch on an interesting idea raised by our friend @akosimayco over at Twitter.

Should we get a player of a different position-- say a small forward, to be naturalized since (God willing) we are bound to have bigs like 7"0 Greg Slaughter, 6"10 June Mar Fajardo and even 6"8 Ian Sangalang in maybe two to three years time? Qatar and Jordan did it/ are doing it, South Korea also fielded in a wing at one point years back so why not the Philippines?

You could argue for the guys that we currently have and play the wing position in Gabe Norwood and Jarred Dillinger, but let it sit for awhile. We don't really need a do-it-all small forward, but probably a big time scorer such as the Anthony Johnsons, Champ Oguchis and so on who can score from just about anywhere on the floor (Gabe Freeman doesn't count since his jumper is streaky wretched at best). This way, we can play Dillinger at the 1, Norwood at 3, Ranidel de Ocampo or whichever power forward you want to throw in there for rebounding purposes and one of the three young studs previously mentioned in the paragraph above.

SMART Gilas 2 needs to muscle up

Doug Kramer deserves a look

What's done is done, and yesterday's loss-- no matter how painful, will and should be treated as just another learning curve that our SMART Gilas Pilipinas men's basketball team has to go through to reclaim our once mighty status this side of the world.

Though the loss cost as a shot at the FIBA Asia title, let's all remember that there's still the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships which serves as qualifier for the FIBA Worlds. Let's not get ahead of ourselves now, and just stick to trying to win in Asia no matter the level of competition or play. Here are some guys, Team SMC or MVP, who should or deserve a look when it's time for Coach Chot Reyes et. al. to reassess the team and see where we need beefing up.

Hopefully, when we say "reassess and build," Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan is still at the forefront of our courageous efforts and not divorcing the program like he did with his Alma Mater.

FIBA Asia: Gilas 2 stumbles out of the Finals

There was just nothing
even The Boss could do versus Iran

Following this afternoon's painful 77-60 defeat to the bigger, stronger, highly skilled and cohesive Iranian side, Team Pilipinas will have to make do and salvage third place in the FIBA Asia Cup.

That being said, don't cry for Coach Chot Reyes or any of our proud, fighting patriots who did all they could until they met a team that was just too well-prepared and seasoned to lose on its way to the big stage. There's no shame in losing, definitely not when you're coming off a successful Jones Cup tournament and was able to regain some sense of basketball respectability all across Asia.

In today's match, the outcome was pretty obvious right from the get go. We started slow, lethargic and hesitant. Our vaunted "dribble drive" offense has been exposed as a ploy to increase offensive possessions through hustle plays and rebounding. Iran did an awesome job protecting the ball and getting into their sweet spots on the floor for gimmes. We did an awful job in taking them out of there and played right into their hands.

Pulling for Japeth to make it but...

Hilaw pa din ba si Japeth?

Like any proud Filipino basketball fan, news of a local wanting to make it to the biggest stage of them all-- the National Basketball Association (NBA), will always be met with nothing but cheer and support. So now that news of 6”10 athlete Japeth Aguilar is trying his darndest to make a summer league roster (via the San Antonio Spurs), it is only fitting that we give him all the love that we can.

Before Aguilar, only two Filipino players in recent memory were really mentioned in the same stratosphere as the NBA. There’s the legendary and iconic Johnny Abarrientos, an MVP point guard who was well ahead of his time, followed by reigning Philippine Basketball Association MVP Mark Caguioa who was rumored as being scouted at one point during his younger years with Ginebra. Of the two, it was the same old story—they were great players, elite probably, but were just too short.

Bring FIBA back to Manila

The country’s hopes and dreams of enjoying (tremendous) homecourt advantage come the FIBA Asia Championships took a blow when the FIBA Executive Committee opted to hold the 2013 event in Lebanon.

And while most would sit and sulk with the loss (imagine our Team Pilipinas boys playing before adoring, smart Pinoy basketball fans who would surely treat each game—eliminations or knockout, like a game 7 PBA showdown between San Mig Coffee and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel) and even question the FIBA Asia Secretary General  Hagop Khajirian’s integrity (he is Lebanese after all), let’s all just move forward from this temporary setback.

Marcus Douthit: The Big Daddy Difference

Thank You Douthit!

With Team Pilipinas a.k.a. SMART Gilas 2.0 looking stronger by the day, even causing greats such as Ronnie Magsanoc and Vince Hizon to call it the "best ever," we should all take time to thank the one guy who has made the biggest transition of all in the name of overall success.

We're talking about no less than naturalized center Marcus Douthit-- the 6"10 pillar of strength that has seen and led two different Pilipinas basketball selections over the last two to three years. The soft-spoken big man with droopy eyes and fundamentally sound finesse low post moves has not only embraced his new country but has quickly adapted to whatever system is presented him.

Back when then Pilipinas head coach Rajko Toroman brought the New Yorker in, expectations were unfairly high on Douthit. The SMART Gilas program was taking quite a while to develop, and though the system was working and our players were being developed-- we were still a basketball doughnut despite having an import named C.J. Giles (who was more athletic than skilled, not too mention him being skinnier than Gabe Norwood *not a complement for a center*).

FIBA Asia: Rack 'em up

Tenorio's brilliant dribbling forays
sets the tone early for Pilipinas

With this evening's win over defending champions Lebanon, Team Pilipinas should make the crossover round with expected (with all due respect of course) victories over Uzbekistan and Macau (countries that are still developing their basketball programs). Not to say that our guys should go on auto-pilot or even field in their little used players, but we should take advantage of whatever rest we could afford our   top guns.

Marcus Douthit redeemed himself from yesterday's frustrating episode versus the young Chinese giants with a sterling 25 points, 21 rebounds effort despite early foul trouble (this is starting to become a trend now, one we simply cannot afford against elite teams). The locals chipped in big time, taking turns dismantling the disorganized Lebanese defense.

If there's anything to really nitpick on then it is our continued struggles from the outside. Gary David, Jeffrei Chan and Larry Fonacier have yet to burn the hoops with back-to-back triples, Gabe Norwood has gone back to his old, hesitant self and Ranidel de Ocampo is on the Gary David system-- just settling and jacking up (and missing) threes when he's outside the painted area.

The Kraken Watch: June Mar Fajardo is growing

The Kraken: Evolving into something scarier

We've been reading live pre-season tweets about the Petron Blaze Boosters and their prized 2012 number one overall PBA Draft Pick June Mar Fajardo-- and it is scary. While the team has been struggling to find on-court chemistry and balance with their redundantly stacked roster, the one constant has been Fajardo's continued growth as a legit PBA big man.

He's been putting up double figure points, being an easy target for all of his teammates-- his hands are quite exceptional (a must for all bigs, something even Kobe Bryant would attest is the biggest difference between dumping the ball to a Kwame Brown and an Andrew Bynum) and he never strays away from the low post which is always a good thing (hi Japeth! Haaay Japeth).

Calvin Abueva: No One Like The Beast

You know how people have this natural tendency to compare today's players with those before them in hopes of properly categorizing or labeling them or what they might end up being once they hit the pros? Well, there are times that the experts get it, and others when they're just way off.

The above FTW YouTube clip featuring Jason Webb, Mico Halili, Miakka Lim and Chuck Araneta is an example of the latter instead of the former. Credit has to go to Halili's exceptional handling of the focus group discussion, but 75% of what came out of their mouths are questionable to say the least.

FIBA Asia: Pilipinas bows to young China

Three early fouls plus China's giants
were too much for Big Daddy 

Everything seemed to be in place: Team Pilipinas coming off a superb Jones Cup championship romp, China opting to send a bunch of wide-eyed kids who haven't grown into their man-bodies yet (most of whom will probably form the core of their 2016 FIBA Asia medal-round squad) and overall team chemistry that has made it to must-see YouTube television.

But instead of staying true to our newly-placed "dribble drive" offense, the team settled for an absurd amount of long balls that did them in 71-68. If you shoot 6/35 from deep, chances are you're just not going to put yourself in a solid enough position to win games. The team's resident gunners-- Jeffrei Chan, Gary David and Larry Fonacier were a combined 4/21 from the three-point line while Ranidel de Ocampo-- who was probably assigned to pull his defenders (a bunch of 6"10 and 7"1-3 Chinese giants) outside, going 0/5.

Why Gilas 2 is better than the 1st

Oppa Gilas Style.

Ray Ray Parks, Jr. is The Natural

Ray Ray Parks, Jr. is the future

Is the reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player ready to make the jump to the Philippine Basketball Association?

This was the hot topic raised the other day following Parks' explosive 32-point outburst that propelled his National University squadback into Final Four contention over the revived De La Salle University program. Parks was making everything look easy, thus this writer's proposed moniker for him. Pretty sure that Quinito Henson or Mico Halili will definitely come up with something cheesier, but what the hell.

On offense, yes, Parks does appear to have that superstar game necessary to be relevant in the pros. He can definitely score from all angles and has nifty handles for his rare combination of size and speed. Defensively however, Parks still has a long way to go to even be considered as an elite basketball player.

Racela's Team... Or Not

Coach O and "assistant" Coach T

It's only fitting that a team packed with superstars but have yet to discover their true identity on the hardcourt would have two "voices" hollering from the sidelines. There's the "official head coach" of the Petron Blaze Boosters in Olsen Racela and his trusty "assistant/ team consultant," Serbian coach and International basketball guru, Rajko Toroman.

Based on basketball pedigree alone, it's pretty obvious which one should (and would) take the lead as far as handling the team is concerned. It's pretty doubtful to believe that Toroman will just play assistant while Racela, though a winning amateur coach in international meets, takes charge and draws up last-second plays. The San Miguel organization has proven before that they don't really care much about their coaches' feelings or mentality (asking Jong Uichico to "co-coach" with Siot Tangquincen at Barangay Ginebra San Miguel was disrespectful in everyone's view save for San Miguel brass), so it's probably more like keeping a budding and promising mind like Racela in the family (before Team MVP swoops in and asks him to coach Ateneo or a professional affiliate) while milking Toroman's genius within the context of keeping the Basketball Coaches' Association of the Philippines happy.

Asi moves on to ABL

ASI!

Sing no sad songs for the 6"9 Fil-Tonggan who captivated the hearts of many the minute he stepped on a local basketball gym-- dimpled smile, faux blonde hairdo and all. Yes, Asi Taulava will no longer be part of the Meralco Bolts or even the Philippine Basketball Association this season. The self-christened "Rock" has opted to sign with the ASEAN Basketball League's San Miguel Beermen in hopes of bringing the Filipino squad its first title in only its sophomore year.

Was this the right move going forward for Taulava?

Yes. The Beermen play only once a week (as is the schedule of the ABL) as compared to the PBA's grueling schedule. They enjoy cable television coverage which is always hard to argue against (despite the fact that we were made to watch the whole of the ABL Season 3 Finals Game 3 between the Indonesia Warriors and the Beermen in bloody red color setting). It's San Miguel. Plus, Taulava is already 39 years going 40.

Pilipinas sends Jones Cup core to FIBA Asia

Marked men: Norwood and Chan
(and Tenorio)

After all the drama following the highly successful 34th William Jones Cup campaign where Pilipinas finished with the gold medal, we will be sending the same group of players to the FIBA Asia Cup this September 14 in hopes of better preparing ourselves for the FIBA Asia Championship next year.

The road won't be any easier from here on out, with Pilipinas being put in the same group as China (though they're "only" sending their B team), Lebanon, Macau and Uzbekistan while the other group features Chinese-Taipei, Iran, Japan, Qatar and India FI. Okay, only Lebanon poses a real threat it seems in our group since Macau and Uzbekistan's basketball programs are still developing.