Ninong Knows...

The power to surprise
(Photo credit: Sports5.ph)

... and that's not a joke.

Get it?

Daniel Orton sure did.

When Manny Pacquiao, global boxing icon, sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer and whichever title he'd like to be added next to his name from here on, opted to throw his gloves hat into the Philippine Basketball Association by way of expansion team Kia Motors, it was met mostly in a negative way.

Here's a guy who thinks he can just buy his way into the PBA, make himself head coach and worse-- skip the years of basketball training and education and actually don a legitimate basketball jersey with the letters PBA patched on it as compared to those who keep trying their luck in ballclub tryouts and the annual draft again, and again, and again.

Well, while the team finished their campaign with a paltry 10 wins vs 24 losses, they proved to one and all that they're not here just to feed Pacquiao's insatiable thirst for the spotlight. They showed everyone that they are in the PBA to compete, just like every other PBA team (okay, except for maybe that ONE team).

How does their marketing campaign go again?

"The power to surprise."

Sure, Kia looked pretty horrible at the end of the Philippine Cup with a 1-11 record and their then assistant head coach Glenn Capacio opting to go elsewhere. But the team quickly regrouped and followed that with an improved 4-7 mark in the second conference with 7"0 import PJ Ramos, then later in the 3rd conference finished with a decent 5-6 slate powered by Hamady N'Diaye and Jet Chang.

They still lost, but boy did they put on a show and turned so many heads.

Credit goes to Pacquiao, as early as the first conference, for accepting the fact that he's the team mascot and not really forcing himself on the team-- be it as coach or player.

The same goes to assistant Chito Victolero, for succeeding Capacio with the same set of players and finding ways to win with a more fixed rotation. Sure, Capacio didn't have 7"0 leading the way, but he sure didn't know what to do with Revilla early and tried his damn best to do a Yeng Guiao and play every guy on the roster (which at this time, is a luxury they can't afford given the talent level).

Under Victolero, L.A. Revilla blossomed into a bonafide PBA star point guard in only two conferences-- providing shades of a young L.A. Tenorio with his speed, ball-handling and clutch shooting. The rotation looked set, Kia started to buckle down and know how to play off their imports. With Ramos, they knew that had a dominant big so they gave the keys to Revilla to run the offense from the perimeter. With N'Diaye, a defensive player, the locals went on the offensive and we started getting solid games from ABL-worthy names like Hyram Bagatsing and Joshua Webb.

On to next season then.

More Revilla. Unleash him on the PBA. As long as he stays healthy, there is no reason for Coach Chito not to play him, nourish him and turn him into the face of the franchise other than Pacquiao. They have the 2nd overall pick in the coming draft, and should they choose to stick with it, could land either Moala Tautuaa or Troy Rosario-- 6"7 guys who could be cornerstones for years to come.

Revilla with Tautuaa? Money. Like an Ateneo Tenorio - Enrico Villanueva dream combo. Revilla with Rosario? Pick and Roll, Pick and Pop all the way to superstardom.

So in the end of the "Carnival" season 1, Ninong did know, after all.