In a funk

"Clank!" For the struggling 2x PBA MVP
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Did you know that since the 2008-2009 season, this feared marksman's shooting clip from the three point arc has gone down considerably year after year?

Blame it on off-court drama or nagging injuries, but the honest and brutal truth of it all is that two time PBA Most Valuable Player James Carlos Yap, the "face of the PBA" and San Mig Coffee's on-court leader, is struggling. Three games into the new 2013-2014 season and we're still being (mis)treated to the same old sub-standard shooting performance unexpected from a player of Yap's caliber.

Life after Petron

Different jersey, same game.
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

When Anthony “Jay” Washington first came into the local basketball scene, people noticed him more for him being LeBron James’ “kalokalike” in more ways than one. Not only did he resemble the Basketball Hall of Fame bound NBA superstar, but he also played the game in an almost similar way (with James’ playing it inter-galactic, across the universe, notches higher of course).

So when the Talk’n’Text Tropang Texters (2006-2008) and later on San Miguel Beermen now Petron Blaze Boosters (2008-2013) took him to the fold, you just knew that this guy was special—special in the sense that he could decide the outcome of any game in whatever capacity or role is given him.

A Tall Order

Two year contract/ showcase
for Mixers' Sangalang
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The Philippine Basketball Association's (PBA) 39th season is well underway with all teams having debuted in highly-entertaining games, carrying-over from the last season's success. Already cast as title favorites are the crowd-favorites Barangay Ginebra San Miguel who went from being undersized and being the butt of all "security guard" related jokes to Goliaths of the local pro scene with their towering frontline of Japeth Aguilar JayR Reyes and rookie Greg Slaughter.

Though we only have a game to assess the 2013 PBA Draft's top three picks who all play the big man position, we were more or less given a preview of "things to come."

Greg Slaughter, C, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
36 minutes, 5/9 field goals, 10 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steal, 2 blocks, 1 foul
The number one overall pick is off to a rousing start, looking every inch like the "big man presence" Ginebra has been lacking since Eric Menk fell off the charts due to nagging injuries and veteran acquisition Kerby Raymundo couldn't provide. Truth be told, Slaughter is far from being a polished post player. He's more Zaldy Realubit at the moment than a Dennis Espino. But Ginebra can live with it, given Slaughter's massive 6'11 frame which constantly commands double teams or at the very least-- the help defense to always keep an eye out for any lobs or drop passes which would lead to bunnies. It's going to be hard to convince Slaughter to develop a true post up game, since he'd have to be pitted against guys of equal size to really be pushed to his limits. At the moment, given his nifty touch, Slaughter can easily catch the entry pass (by way of point guard par excellence L.A. Tenorio), face up and shoot over his defenders head. Simple basketball for this guy really until December 25 when he finally meets his rival/ Gilas buddy Junemar Fajardo (or the next conference/s where teams are set to bring in big imports).

The "Other" Ginebra Big Man

Ginebra has another big man in tow
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The first time I saw JayR Reyes, now of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, was at the 3rd year high school prom of one of my exes. The first thing everyone noticed was how insanely tall the guy was as compared to the rest of the evening’s escorts/ dates (myself included and back then I stood a lanky 5”10). From then on I decided to keep an eye out for the guy in case he makes it big in the sport that I love (because, in a world of sports blogger hopefuls, who doesn't).

Because, really now, how many 6”5 and up high school kids living in Manila back in the day were not part of some basketball program?

The next time I heard about Reyes, or got to see him play was when he suited up for the U.P. Fighting Maroons. He was raw as hell, but was in pretty good, athletic shape for a guy his size. He could run with the forwards so that’s a plus moving forward to a possible career in the professional ranks.

The Romance of Terrence Romeo

Rise and tune out the semantics
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

In last Wednesday evening's main game, a GlobalPort Batang Pier rookie decided to make a name for himself. That being said; he didn't make a name by appeasing his many, amateur career haters-- no. He made a name for himself by simply playing the way he has the last few years.

Thy name is Terrence Bill Romeo.

High-octane, fast-paced, fading away, crossover, spin move three, one-on-one, one-on-two... one-on-five basketball. What he gave up on inches, he made up for with grit and a will to win. How many point guards can you name that would nonchalantly drive into the lane and absorb Street Fighter Zangief piledriver style contact from both Junemar Fajardo AND Arwind Santos? He was blocked several times and had his shot altered by Petron Blaze's bloodhounds, but this didn't deter him from who and what he was.

The Blueprint

A man with a plan
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

When Barangay Ginebra San Miguel team manager Alfrancis Chua threw a fit last season just weeks after steering the club to a surprise run at a PBA Commissioner’s Cup 1st runner up finish, it was met with a lot of surprise and apprehension from various camps.

Some circles reported that Chua’s then departure was brought about by the sudden, mid-season changes in his staff, others say it was the nagging player trade scenarios. Others say that Chua simply had enough of the top brass and how things were being run by some choice personnel.

Whatever it may be, there were a lot of compromises and concessions made which ultimately led to Chua’s return (and promotion) while also appearing to have “free hand” over team decisions (which is the role of a manager anyway) and how Ginebra would move forward as they slowly transition away from the storied “Mark Caguioa Era.”

Top 10 Story-lines in the PBA Philippine Cup

Doesn't get any bigger than this
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

As we are still waiting for all 10 PBA teams to make their finalized 16-man (14 active plus 2 reserves) rosters public, we would like to take this blog space to discuss the more intriguing story-lines going into the new season.

Be it through off season trades, rebuilding efforts, PBA Draft shockers or free agency acquisition, we rattle off the "Top 10 story-lines going into the PBA Philippine Cup."

10.  Barako Bull Farm Team a.k.a. The Henry Sy Watch
The team "fired" their world champion-level "consultant" just days before the PBA Draft. They then proceeded to prostitute their way out of that same draft by opting to let go of ALL of their 1st round picks. At one point in the off season, the team had over 20 players and maybe about five or six point guards. The owners have denied "tanking" the season for better picks next year. Rumors have it that Henry Sy will finally make his PBA entry through buyout (his Banco de Oro team is already in the PBA D-League to maybe "test the waters"). One thing's for sure, this team is going to have a difficult time in winning games versus the top-tiers of the league.

Widening the Gap

Dating back to the inclusion of the sport of basketball in the South East Asian Games in 1977,  the Philippines has successfully brought home the gold medal in every single edition held save for 1989 wherein we lost to host country Malaysia (2005 was held in the Philippines but scrapped owing to our FIBA suspension while in 2009 Indonesia nixed the sport due to lack of facilities).

So there is some truth when Filipinos proudly declare that the country is the "Kings of Southeast Asian Basketball."

Dynamite.

Danny Seigle, recognized as Philippine basketball’s “Dynamite” for his incredible scoring prowess and for redefining the Filipino small forward position, is almost a clear example of life imitating art. Drafted in 1999 and an annual candidate for PBA Most Valuable Player, Seigle is almost at the twilight of his illustrious basketball career peppered with a myriad of injuries.

Why do we say that Seigle's case is "life imitating art?" In 2008, director Darren Donofsky Aronofsky and writer Robert Siegel teamed up for a brilliant sports-drama film “The Wrestler” which starred famed actor Mickey Rourke. The piece was astutely moving and heart-wrenching in the sense that it was raw and brutally honest recounting the life of an aged sports entertainer still clinging to all the glory of his now lost youth.

He was hanging and carrying on despite his advanced years—if only for the love of entertaining his adoring fans. Or angling for one last paycheck. Or simply because it was all he had left.

One. More. Match.

A Necessary Evil

Fan or not, you have to feel for these two
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

At present, there are over twenty names on the Barako Bull Energy roster including their late draft picks Jeric Fortuna, Carlo Lastimosa, Darwin Cordero, Jett Vidal and Mike Silungan not to mention new recruits through draft day trades Denok Miranda, Willie Miller, Magi Sison and Mark Isip.

We’ve considered all angles and arguments for and against this much-maligned franchise which, if it hasn’t been before, has been branded as a clear-as-egg-white “San Miguel Corporation farm team.” We’ve already touched on how this team was a darkhorse contender during its early years in the PBA, now there’s just no denying how it’s only in the league for the best interests not of its players or fans but for its benefactors.

The Kraken Effect

Here’s a question: “how many centers does it take to stop Junemar Fajardo?”

You know, the 6”10 Petron Blaze Boosters’ incoming sophomore center who ran roughshod against any and all defenses in the recently concluded 2013 PBA Governor’s Cup and expected to do even more damage the coming year? The kid who is being mentored by no less than 2x PBA MVP teammate and sure fire, first ballot Hall of Famer Danny Ildefonso?

All 10 PBA teams had this in mind going into the highly successful and entertaining 2013 PBA Draft, with most opting to fortify their frontlines first before adding talent of any kind. This is pretty much how a “project” big men like Isaac Holstein and Justin Chua went ahead of steadier and more accomplished names such as Nico Salva, Jeric Teng and Alex Nuyles among others.

Here we try to break down each team’s “Fajardo Stoppers” going into the 2013-2014 PBA Philippine Cup wherein the Cebuano giant is expected to further solidify his claim to big man greatness.

2013 PBA Draft Results

The Big Men Cometh
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

We will work on the post analysis in a bit, for now we'll borrow some copy from the InterAKTV website because we're simply too lazy to retype the damn thing.

In our honest opinion, all hell broke loose after the "given" Top 3 Picks.

First Round

1. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel – Greg Slaughter
2. San Mig Coffee Mixers – Ian Sangalang
3. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – Raymond Almazan
4. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (from Barako Bull) – James Forrester
5. GlobalPort Batang Pier (from Barako Bull via Petron) – Terrence Romeo
6. GlobalPort Batang Pier (from Barako Bull) – RR Garcia
7. GlobalPort Batang Pier – Isaac Holstein
8. Alaska Aces – Ryan Buenafe
9. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – Alex Nuyles
10. San Mig Coffee Mixers – Justin Chua