Learning curve

In a PBA Philippine Cup preview this writer previously wrote for SolarSportsDesk.Ph, we noted how Barangay Ginebra San Miguel was still a work in progress and even went as far as to rate them lower than their would be semifinals conquerors, the San Mig Coffee Mixers who had to "settle" for the 2nd overall pick (Ian Sangalang) in the 2013 PBA Draft compared to their 1st pick (Greg Slaughter).

We were chastised, called out and even swam the murky waters of blasphemy. That how we suddenly turned "haters" overnight and that Ginebra is THE team to beat given their towering frontline and supposedly retooled, more potent wing position.

This went on all throughout the conference (and rightfully so) thanks to Ginebra's run at 1st place of the standings. Athletic 6"9 beanpole Japeth Aguilar finally had his chance to showcase his talents while Slaughter showed everyone that while he wasn't on rival giant, Petron Blaze's, Junemar Fajardo's level yet, he was going to be a force in the paint for a long time. Throw in veterans L.A. Tenorio who was coming off a banner year and former PBA Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa and yeah, Ginebra fought for every win and deserved to be the number one seed.

Scripted

Maybe we should all just stop with the conspiracy theories and just enjoy the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals as non-fans of both Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Coffee Mixers.

It is a disservice after all, to the hard-working men who wake up in the morning, endure several exhausting routines and drills, and get a cheap shot in the rib or an elbow right on the kisser by day’s end. These are our modern day action stars, nay, heroes. They fight for the names printed on their jerseys, and the adoring masses who take an hour or two of their precious time to cheer them on.

So to the PBA players, fans and our readers, to you we sincerely apologize with all the “scripted” semantics.

The Leading Men of Petronovela

After a fiery start in the PBA Philippine Cup, the Petron Blaze Boosters find themselves looking for religion as they are now down 1-3 to the Rain or Shine Elastopainters in their semifinals duel.

As much as Petron fans would like to believe that this series is still salvageable, and that if there's any PBA team that can come back from the ashes it would be their guys, it's hard to imagine the Elastopainters losing three straight after maybe a ten game stretch wherein they only lost one (Game 3 to the Boosters). To win, the Boosters will need to work as a cohesive unit immune from individual forays and exploits. There was a time in basketball when all you needed was maybe two to three monster players supported by a couple of bums and presto: instant championship parade.

Well, the Elastopainters are made of mostly "bums" save for maybe two or three 1st round picks the last few years, so what's the Boosters' excuse?

Why Manila Classico SHOULD go the distance

Where's Japeth?

Sports-entertainment related conspiracy theories aside, one cannot deny that the on-going semifinals slugfest between sister teams Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Coffee Mixers is worth its lofty box-office hype billing.

After all, on one side you have a "reborn" franchise, looking to re-establish itself among the upper echelon of Philippine basketball teams and on the other, an already proud yet "under the radar" dynasty thanks to the unwritten pecking order in their own corporate umbrella. While Petron Blaze/ San Miguel and Ginebra have long been established as Team San Miguel, the "glamor boys" of the PBA are lost in the mix despite just being a few titles short of Petron Blaze/ San Miguel's (Ginebra doesn't even belong in that "who's got more rings" discussion among the sisters).

In Game One, we saw the Mixers lording it over a hapless Ginebra squad which were probably tired from their quarterfinals match-up with the Alaska Aces. The Mixers, thanks to their veteran line-up bannered by 2x PBA MVP James Yap, PJ Simon and Marc Pingris not to mention Hall of Fame coach Tim Cone, simply out-smarted the young yet green Ginebra.