The Top 10 story lines in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Part 1

Author's note: My sincerest apologies to all of our friends who were expecting about 11 more 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Previews prior to the start of the conference. See, we just relocated overseas and though this writer was able to finish the previews-- he did not save them on any other medium aside from MS Word on his trusty, old Macbook Pro. The very same Macbook Pro which is operating minus a serviceable battery, and, just two days ago, lost its hard drive for good (read: system crash, with mounting error which is the killing blow really). Why this writer is writing and referring to himself in the 3rd person, is quite stupid. Entertaining, humorous, but stupid. Happy reading from the beautiful Gulf Coast!

More teams, more competition. The Gilas boys are back with their respective teams so don't pencil Purefoods in as repeat Grand Slam champions just yet. Here are a few other things that we feel are the conference's top story lines:

Para sayo ang jumpshot na to!
Photo courtesy of Sports5

10. Manny Pacquiao, playing coach
You do realize that sooner than later, we'll just have to embrace the fact that somehow, an individual with no adequate training to play the sport of basketball on the highest level whatsoever, made it into the league simply by his non-basketball yet other-worldly credentials. As an athlete, Pacquiao is undoubtedly as fit (if not fitter) than the likes of PBA athletic specimens Jayson Castro, Calvin Abueva and whichever cross fit crazy name you'd like to throw into the discussion. As a basketball player however, despite his claims of playing the sport constantly-- his shot mechanics alone pretty much shows how good he really is on the hard court. The only time Pacquiao is allowed to score in an actual PBA game is in the All Stars, other than that, whichever player allows Pacquiao to score on him should be revoked of his professional license and will forever be known as an embarrassment not only to himself but to the sport in general.

9. #LetAbuevaBeAbueva
We're not claiming to be privy with Abueva's contract terms, but as far as we know he's on the last year of his rookie deal which can only mean one thing: he's out for blood. Like most players angling for a bigger pay, keep an eye out on The Beast this season and do not be surprised if he is either playing more than his usual 25 minutes, grabbing headlines and wanting more touches or he somehow goes out to the media and destroys the whole #wenotme rainbows and candies slogan of the Alaska Aces if only to put himself on a better position negotiations-wise. Other things we'd like to see from Abueva so he could make that one, giant leap into PBA go-to-guy superstardom: improved handles and a reliable jump shot. In an All-Pinoy conference, expect Abueva to go berzerk on both ends of the floor.


8.  The Next Jun Limpot
Jun Limpot, for those too young to remember the 90s, was a PBA player way ahead of his time. He didn't win much in his PBA career, but daresay there was no greater PBA talent than him during his prime. He was a 6"6 small forward, with exceptional range, handles and legit post game/ post fade away. Mr. 72 looked, for a great time, a lot like a Pinoy Michael Jordan. His defense was shaky, but offensively, wow. Just wow. Had he been more explosive, he'd probably be the first pure Filipino in the NBA. Today, a lot of guys are coming out who want to play the same way. A lot of small forwards could be categorized in the Limpot mold- skilled, athletic, but most of them lack one thing: fundamentals. That's where we step in to name the guy who we feel could rise into the next Limpot: none other than Purefood's Ian Sangalang (who is on the last year of his rookie deal). He is as fundamentally sound of all the young bigs in the PBA today, he has the range, he has respectable handles and most of all-- he's not afraid of pressure or big game situations. This year is going to be big for Sangalang and Purefoods-- will he choose to stay with the team and wait his turn alongside Mark Barroca until the Big Three of James Yap, PJ Simon and Marc Pingris are willing to pass on the mantle, or will he opt out to be "The Man" or at least be part of the main cast?

7. Blackwater and Kia - farm teams or not?
Dury's out on this one, though Blackwater is already making a few transactions with Team MVP (Meralco Talk'n'Text and NLEX). We've come to question BW because of the way the PBA Dispersal Draft panned out and of how they went about their business afterwards. Shady. Just shady. As for Kia, we wouldn't be surprised if teams were actually duped by this team at some point to give up stars, knowing that Pacquiao has the shrewdest handlers/advisors this side of the country. Hopefully, both teams are able to compete on a high level this season despite being neophytes and do not tarnish their franchises with questionable deals much like that other franchise. At the very least, not yet.

6. What's next for Gilas
Okay, this has nothing to do with the PBA season or the new conference but it should be very well considered. Will PBA teams let the best players in the country play for flag and country with no conditions or drama? Is it back to the drawing board for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas? Will Gilas head coach Chot Reyes be fired? Will we ever see a non-Gilas, PBA superstar come out in the open and say-- "hey I want to play for Pilipinas" ???

To be continued...