The joke is on us

Showtime L.A.
(Photo credit to the owner)

Earlier this year we wrote about how Manny Pacquiao, playing-head coach of the Mahindra Enforcers, (then Kia Sorento/ Carnival) was a big joke. Granted, we still think that he is a joke when it comes to basketball but his team-- coached by Chito Victolero, definitely is far from being one.

Though they are currently at the bottom of the PBA Philippine Cup standings with a 1 win 3 losses record, the Enforcers have looked like a serious basketball team this season as they did near the end of their maiden campaign. They received a lot of heat from trading away the 2nd pick of the 2015 PBA Draft to Talk'n'Text which they turned into Troy Rosario, but you could hardly tell the effects of the trade since they were able to get instant value right away with the strong performances of Aldrech Ramos (21mpg 13ppg 6rpg) and Nino Canaleta (22mpg 11ppg 4rpg 2apg).

Add to that holder L.A. Revilla (32mpg 17ppg 4rpg 6apg) who continues to flourish as one of the PBA's up-and-coming floor generals and the steady plays of Karl Dehesa (24mpg 11ppg 4rpg 2apg), Mark Yee (11ppg 8rpg) and Hyram Bagatsing-- who no one really thought would have a pro career, let alone shine, coming out of the DLSU ranks.

But what has really caught our attention are the Enforcers' non-first round picks: point guard John Pinto and big man Bradwyn Guinto.

To call these two as studs would be an understatement.

Guinto (27mpg 11ppg 11rpg 1bpg) is already making quite a name for himself as one of the better low post bigs today, owning the paint and basically holding his own versus some of the very best that the PBA has to offer. Truth be told, Guinto looks much like a young Billy Mamaril who was quite a presence the first time out with Formula Shell before he was relegated to Ginebra bench-dom later in his career. What we like about Guinto is that he is not hungry to prove himself on the floor like most young PBA bigs and is just patiently waiting his turn on offense while focusing more on defense and rebounding.

Then there is Pinto, whose wide-body and Wyne Arboleda-esque style has made him an instant favorite while serving as the dimunitive Revilla's back-up. Though his numbers are not as impressive as the others, Pinto has a PBA-ready half court game and built that allows him to keep in step with elite PBA point guards no matter the size or speed. He is also the type of point guard who looks to pass rather than shoot, which already makes him better than previous Revilla back-ups.

Plus, the Enforcers are no longer required to play Pacquiao at the point whenever he makes a cameo.

While we don't really see the Enforcers making a deep run this conference, if they were given a legitimate center for an import (say a returning PJ Ramos), then just look at this possible starting 5:

Revilla, Dehesa, Ramos, Guinto, Ramos.

Holy crap.

Oh, and we are sorry that we did not notice this earlier. But the Enforcers feature a lot of guys standing over the 6"4 mark: Yee, Ramos, Canaleta, Guinto, Kyle Pascual, Rich Alvarez, Papot Paredes and Chito Jaime to name a few.

Coach Manny Chito knows.