The road so far

How long can The Rock carry NLEX
(Photo credit to the owner)

It is never easy being the youngest in the family: sure, you get spoiled from time to time being, literally, the "new kid in town" but it also means that you are probably getting a lot of hand-me-downs from your older brother/s or sister/s. We cannot speak for the affluent, but for us middle to low class citizens, that means having to deal with wearing your big brother's signature basketball shoes for the majority of your basketball-formation age.

Until of course you actually can ball OR is old enough to really throw a huge selfish fit that your parents have no choice but to buy you your own kicks.

Well, that is what Coach Boyet Fernandez and his NLEX Road Warriors had to deal with their first time out in the PBA. They were given a broken down team, with spare parts coming by way of sister teams Talk'n'Text and Meralco, and really did not stand a modicum of a chance at competing fairly against the powerhouse teams.

This season however, Coach Boyet is making it work (currently with a 4 wins and 5 losses card) thanks to Sean Anthony (35mpg 19ppg 13rpg 4apg) and the ageless Asi Taulava (33mpg 20ppg 13rpg 2apg) leading the way. Both of whom could be called as "hand-me-downs" if you will, but don't tell them that. Hell, you could even say that their old teams would probably want them back in the fold in some manner (both TNT and Meralco could use a lot of Taulava, even Anthony)


Earlier we mentioned that the Road Warriors needed to come to terms regarding what playing style they want: halfcourt that favors their veterans or run and gun for their blue chip rookies.

Well, it seems as though Coach Boyet has opted to maximize the "Taulava Years" recognizing that today's PBA is coming down to having a dominant center patrolling the paint. While Taulava serves as the anchor, Anthony comes in as a freelancing offensive force while also crashing the boards in a new age Rudy Hatfield fashion. Honestly, Coach Boyet is utilizing Anthony an Taulava the same way he did with Dennis Espino and Kelly Williams over at Santa Lucia years back.

The team is also benefiting from having a surplus of guys to run the point: Jonas Villanueva (33mpg 1-ppg 4rpg 4apg), Kevin Alas (25mpg 7ppg 2rpg 1apg) and Simon Enciso (8p 2r 2a) have all taken turns running the Road Warriors' offense. Last season, it was all up to the oft-injured Villanueva and whichever warm body Coach Boyet could use in the position. Now, Alas is making a case for himself as a legit PBA support guard while Enciso is creeping/ flirting into stealing both Villanueva and Alas' spot in the rotation as a prototypical US-bred attack combo guard.

A few things we would like to see from the Road Warriors is for their guards to continue hitting their outside shots, with some increased airtime and touches for our boy Garvo Lanete (12mpg 2ppg). Sorry, but we will never be sold on Mark Borboran the same way we are not into Aldrech Ramos. The team also needs a bit more youth in the interior, as Taulava's chief backups are "only" the worn-out Enrico Villanueva and Rob Reyes.

On a last note, Coach Boyet is not a big fan of Mac Cardona (12mpg 5ppg) huh?