Express needs chemistry

Coach Franz is living on a prayer
(nagdadasal ng isa pang trade)

While Air21 Express head coach Franz Pumaren continues praying to the Lord Almighty for another trade that would help his cause (his team, with new/ returning team manager Lito Alvarez, did so in the off-season but Coach Franz might not want to push his luck now), we argue that it's not about getting another contributor-- but actually developing on court team chemistry. At the moment, the cellar-dwelling Express look like a bunch of "2nd chance getters" who are looking to pad their stats (think of it as a paid tryout for other teams) rather than to win games.

Wynne Arboleda, John Wilson, Bitoy Omolon, Mark Isip and Yousef Taha. After that there's Bonbon Custodio, Nonoy Baclao and Rob Reyes. The buck stops there. Nothing (or no one) more, and nothing less. Ok, fine, we'll show love to Nino Canaleta but only because he's been drilling threes (still not playing defense though).


These are the guys who have shown that they can play cohesively as a unit and also compete against the other PBA teams who have been together longer. Arboleda has the wisdom, Wilson is a legit scorer/ go-to-guy in waiting, Omolon is a defensive ace with Freddie Abuda-like low post skills, Isip is their best back-to-the-basket guy and Taha is just a joy to watch as a workhorse in the paint. Custodio, though inconsistent, is a bonafide scorer who can get hot fast. Reyes is a legit PBA big with no skills but a lot of height and muscle. Baclao, if he ever works the all the Petron rust off, is still a solid 6"7 forward.

You'd think that a basketball wizard like Coach Franz would figure this out early just like how GlobalPort Batang Pier head coach Glenn Capacio realized that Rudy Lingganay and that Raymundo guy shouldn't be starting in the PBA come their 2nd game.

But instead of working a rotation that is ready to win now, he goes on and plugs in Nonoy Baclao at center versus Alaska. Didn't work even though he was matched up against the smaller Gabby Espinas. Coach Franz then calls in Simon Atkins. Kid shouldn't even be in the PBA and needs to spend 2-3 more years in the PBA D-League (work on your jumper please). Then there's Pong Escobal, who can't guard a tree even if you give him an M-16 with endless ammunition with his life.

So really, instead of wishing for players who may or may not come (it would be fun though if Coach Franz gets his hands on Mike Cortez-- it's not like we can just forget about the past right? Controversy loves cash, plus we'll have a reason to actually watch the whole 48-minute game just because of the strained Coach Franz-Cool Cat dynamic), perhaps Coach Franz and the Express could get their acts together and go with the guys who are ready to win now. That's the whole point why they "upgraded" this off season right? Not to keep building for the future but to win games now.

And for the record, Omolon right now is a better player than Baclao. Give Bitoy the minutes at SF please.