The Cellar Dwellers

Walang aayaw! Think positive!
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Every one saw this coming with the PBA choosing to expand from 10 to 12 teams this fresh PBA season. That the newcomers, Kia Sorento and Blackwater Elite, will have to go through the dreaded "transition" phase and suffer losses (and blowouts) here and there before they are able to get the right tools to start making waves in the pros.

But to say that we all thought that it would be THIS bad, throw in perpetual bottom feeder Barako Bull Energy Cola, would be an understatement given the supposed "abundance" of available basketball talent in the country (okay, someone pry Patrick Cabahug and Jerick Canada off newly crowned ASEAN Basketball League champions Hi Tech Bangkok City already). Some games, they're in it, others, fans feel like they were robbed of their hard-earned money. This is how a league loses supports on long tournaments and conferences. People do not want to see teams getting blown out of the water on a regular basis. We want to see action, competition-- we want to see fireworks.

Here are our thoughts on the three teams that are currently languishing at the bottom of the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup standings:

Kia (1-5)
If not for that opening day victory over fellow newcomer Blackwater (which no one actually expected given the roster), this team would be stuck in the "are we here to compete, or are we here for Kia and Manny Pacquiao to make more money ad-wise?" Right now, slotman Reil Cervantes (14 ppg 5 rpg) and point guard Rudy Lingganay (8 pgg 2 apg) are leading the charge but you'd want more from the two based on those above mentioned stats. Cervantes, for a big man, is averaging a measly 5 rebounds a game while Lingganay, a well-traveled backcourt operator, is only good for 2 assists. That's borderline silly all things considered but perhaps not as silly or ridiculous as guard Karl Dehesa eating up the most minutes (30 mpg) while shooting a measly 23% from 2-pt and 29% from 3-pt territories. Yes, the Sorento has done an amazing job competing in games and have surprisingly shown a lot of discipline on court (thank you assistant head coach Glenn Capacio) despite the distraction that is playing head coach Manny Pacquiao (the boxer, yes), but one has to wonder if and when they'll ever get their rotations right or maybe start racking up wins. LA Revilla and Hans Thiele have both done a great job in maximizing their minutes on the court and should play some more. Since it's the Philippine Cup and all, why not go "all in" and play small ball with Revilla, Lingganay, a small forward who can shoot, Cervantes and Thiele all together?

Blackwater (0-5)
We're a little disappointed with the Elite only because between them and Kia, they actually made logical basketball moves in terms of personnel. Not to mention that the team already has a winning history in the amateurs and even went out of its way in the off-season to train overseas to help prepare for the PBA season. So... what happened? Well, the team is off to a rocky start with no legit go-to-guy. To salvage the situation, the coaches are opting for a "spread out" team philosophy wherein every one gets a shot. Bam Gamalinda, Paul Artadi and Bryan Faundo are killing it in terms of this team actually looking like the Team MVP version of Team SMC's Barako Bull. But then you have guys who we feel are underperforming-- say, sophomore Alex Nuyles. We expected a lot of the former Adamson Falcon since this is the fresh start that he needs after a forgettable rookie year being forced to learn to play off the ball with Rain or Shine. Blame it on minutes and or touches, but Nuyles is being vastly outplayed by the guy who replaced him on the RoS roster, fellow Adamson buddy and rookie Jericho Cruz at this point. Silver lining for the team is the presence of JP Erram, who basically every one slept on, and how he's having the PBA career every one envisioned for Nonoy Baclao. The tools are all there, just need someone to break through the glass ceiling (Gamalinda or Nuyles) en route to PBA stardom.

Barako Bull (0-5)
Really? Really? Really? Denok Miranda. Dorian Pena. RR Garcia. Maybe a JC Intal. And still no wins? We can only hope that when the Energy face Kia and Blackwater sometime this conference, that this hodge podge collection of PBA veterans are able to secure two wins at least before it all ends. Are they officially #TankingForFirstRoundPicks this early? Really? Really? Really Mr. Lina? Really Mr. Chito Salud? How long are we going to let this team get away with this shameful mockery of the PBA? The least they could've done, since they're not bent on winning, is to have renewed 2x PBA MVP Willie Miller's contract for another year so the fans could be treated to his jolly ways. Seriously though, while we're big fans of the "minutes for all" game plan, we feel that instead of going with guys who are in rhythm or can win games, this team is spreading out the minutes to help "showcase" certain players for other teams. We're not going out to say that they're deliberately losing games in hopes of helping Player A or B get noticed by the bigger teams, but we're not stupid either.

Which of the three teams do you feel will be able to turn it around this conference? This season? If Kia lands Ron Artest or any NBA player as an import thanks to Pacquiao's connections, all bets are off. Definitely.