When you wish upon a STAR

Keep on
(Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

Other than Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Japeth Aguilar, we have grown fond of mocking and ridiculing STAR Hotshots head coach Jason Webb at every chance we get on social media. To be clear, we are making fun of them NOT as human beings, but rather as ill-equipped basketball personalities.

Aguilar being the “has all the athletic gifts of an NBA talent but the IQ of a JV player” and Webb, well, let us talk about how Coach Jason’s first season as a legitimate PBA head coach went shall we?
To recap, STAR finished the season with a 10 wins and 19 losses record: 4-7 in the Philippine Cup, 5-6 in the Commissioner’s, and finally 1-6 in the Governor’s. It could very well be concluded that the mid-season acquisition of RR Garcia, Rodney Brondial and Jake Pascual distorted whatever mediocre-level chemistry was present in the team. Sure, Garcia suddenly emerged to play big minutes, but it is not like they gave up any of their core rotation guys to acquire his services (they traded away rookies Mark Cruz and Norbert Torres if we remember correctly).

Should everything be blamed on Coach Jason?

The Revival

Calling the shots
(Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

We owe TNT Katropa head coach Jong Uichico an apology.

For a while there, when Coach Jong appeared to be running everything through Jayson Castro reminiscent of how his mentor Ron Jacobs rode “Da Bull” Nelson Asaytono in the late 90s at San Miguel, we started to believe that this guy was nothing more than a relic. A relic who insists on running outdated hero/ isolation plays in an ever-evolving sport of spread-out offenses and taller three-point specialists.

What made it even worse is that, he seemed to be changing the philosophies and culture of the very team that pioneered and mastered this new, Euro-style of play in the PBA.

Again, we owe him an apology.

The Challenge

Big Mac attack
(Photo credit: philstar.com)

Just when our FIBA ranking went a spot higher (from world-ranked number 28 to 27), here we are shooting ourselves in the foot by not sending our best players (be it in the pros or the amateurs) to an international meet.

Ang kulit naman, oo.

An entirely new set of players will be donning Gilas Pilipinas jerseys in the FIBA Asia Challenge Cup in Tehran, Iran on September 9 to 18. While some are proud alumni of the Gilas Cadets squad, the Gilas 5 team is missing quite a lot: naturalized center Andray Blatche, proven PBA veteran stars, amateur standouts Bobby Parks Jr. and Kiefer Ravena, and more importantly—head coach Tab Baldwin.

Back on track

Sol Train cometh

Historically speaking, we have always been pretty hard on Barangay Ginebra San Miguel's Sol Mercado. If you were to check our Twitter posts about him, we almost always critique him for being the same damn player today as when he entered as the 5th pick in the 2008 PBA Draft.

But that is only because we saw a lot of tools in the Biola University product which could have made him one of the premier players in the league. Hell, he even looked like he was ready to break through the glass ceiling that one season with the Meralco Bolts before they inexplicably sent him elsewhere. Last year with Ginebra, we thought that he could contribute under then head coach Frankie Lim. Not a lot, but there is always some use for a power guard in a league that is known for its physicality.

Graduation day

The Future is NOW.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is your Gilas Pilipinas 5.0 24-man pool: amateur standouts Mon Abundo, Mac Belo, Kemark Carino, Carl Cruz, Ed Daquioag, Russel Escoto, Kevin Ferrer, Alfonzo Gotladera, Jonathan Grey, Jiovani Jalalon, Chris Javier, Ray Parks, Jaymar Perez, Von Pessumal, Roger Pogoy, Kiefer Ravena, Arvin Tolentino, Mike Tolomia, and Arnold Van Opstal; PBA players Yutien Andrada, JP Erram, Matt Ganuelas, and Almond Vosotros; and the ABL’s Matthew Wright.

With the FIBA Asia Challenge Cup all set for September and the PBA locked in its season-ending Governor’s Cup, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) have opted to send amateur stars mostly from their Cadets training pool. While no Olympic berth is at stake in the Tehran tourney, the top five teams in the FIBA Asia Challenge Cup will earn an extra berth for their subzones (i.e. Southeast Asia for Philippines, Thailand, etc.) in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup. 

Four-man race

TNT's Teen Titans

When was the last time that the PBA had four neophytes all going neck-and-neck for the season’s top rookie plum?

It’s almost always a two-man race: Kelly Williams and Arwind Santos, Gabe Norwood and Jarred Dillinger, Junemar Fajardo and Calvin Abueva, with a darkhorse or two coming out of the woodwork. But four guys? The top four picks all delivering in the minutes given to them right away?

We have: TNT Katropa’s Moala Tautuaa (20mpg 11ppg 4rpg 1apg) and Troy Rosario (24mpg 13ppg 5rpg 1apg), Rain or Shine’s Maverick Ahanmisi (21mpg 9ppg 4rpg 3apg) and Meralco’s Chris Newsome (28mpg 12ppg 4rpg 3apg), all engaged in a tight stats battle. They play different roles for their respective teams, but there is no denying that they have already made a name for themselves in the pros.

Supernatural

Peerless.

We have simply run out of adjectives for TNT Katropa’s Jayson Castro at this point.

From averaging 32mpg, 19ppg 4rpg 4apg in the first two conferences of the PBA season, the FIBA Asia recognized “Best Point Guard in Asia” has gone absolutely berserk in the ongoing PBA Governor’s Cup with a 25mpg 23ppg 6rpg 8apg clip. Let those numbers sink in for a minute. Castro has been so good that he has helped his team go undefeated in four games despite the insipid play of import Mario Little.

PBA All Star Friday: Some Stars, No Fans

The PBA All Star Festivities opened with a whimper, yesterday Friday, with the SMART Araneta Coliseum not even being close to a third of being full. And to think that this is the first time after seven years that the nation’s capital was hosting the prestigious annual showcase.

So what went wrong?

As a marketing professional, allow us to share some insight since this is part of what we do when we are not busy sharing our thoughts on the local basketball front.

adidas releases D Rose 7

adidas D Rose 7

As Derrick Rose prepares for the bright lights of New York City, adidas Basketball starts the next chapter of his signature series with the D Rose 7.  Inspired by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the D Rose 7 is a tribute to Derrick’s beloved hometown of Chicago and the city that raised him.

The D Rose 7 echoes the resilience of Rose’s passion for the game and perseverance through every challenge. The silhouette introduces unique elements of strength and for the first time, incorporates full-length BOOST through a design inspired by fire and one’s willingness to rise from the ashes.  Built for unmatched flexibility and comfort, the D Rose 7 is designed to harness the raw energy of Derrick’s style of play, including powerful strikes against defenders in traffic and speed at both ends of the floor.

“Chicago’s always been my home and this shoe represents the city that made me the man I am today. From how I play the game, how I live my life and how it’s prepared me for my next step in New York,” said Rose.  “It’s the perfect tribute to the city and fans that helped raise and support me.  It’s built for my game and gives me an added incentive knowing that I’m carrying my city with me on every play.”

Straight outta patience

#wenotme , definitely.

Because we are ‘hood like that.

Seriously though, it must be tough to be an Alaska Aces fan these days. The system that is being run by coach Alex Compton obviously works thanks to the four PBA Finals trips but you cannot help but question if your team is actually good enough to win it all.

Good enough; if only Coach Alex would play certain guys longer, or maybe not choose to sit down whoever’s having a near-career night, maybe go younger, and so on.

“This is Alaska! We are #wenotme ! You are not allowed to play 35 minutes, score 30 points and grab 15 rebounds unless you are an import! Sit down! Where’s Tony? Ref, suuuuuubbbbb...”

You get the picture.

Starpower

Encore
(Photo credit: Aktv)

While we have always been critical of the PBA All Star Game format for some of the players who are voted/ selected, we will be the first ones to admit that we don’t mind a fun-filled weekend wherein we are able to see our favorite players ham it up, dance, dribble and dunk with the 4th d, defense, being the last thing in play.

Voted as the North All Stars starters are:  Terrence Romeo, Mark Caguioa, Calvin Abueva, Marc Pingris and Japeth Aguilar. They will be joined by Jayson Castro, Alex Cabagnot, Gabe Norwood (Marcio Lassiter’s replacement), Paul Lee, Ranidel de Ocampo, Stanley Pringle and Troy Rosario, and coached by Rain or Shine’s Yeng Guiao.

For the South, it will be San Miguel’s coach Leo Austria and starters James Yap, Scottie Thompson, Greg Slaughter, June Mar Fajardo and Joe Devance. Coming off the bench are Jeffrei Chan, JR Quinahan, Jericho Cruz, Chris Ross, Mark Barroca, RR Garcia, Carlo Lastimosa and Asi Taulava.

Do we like the rosters?

The Mightiest?

#PUSO... wait, what?
 

Before we proceed, let us first congratulate the Mighty Sports – Philippines team that swept the recently concluded 2016 William Jones Cup en route to the gold medal.

We would like to commend Al Thornton, Vernon Macklin, Zach Graham, Migchael Singletary, Hamady N’Diaye,Dewarick Spencer, Troy Gillenwater, Jason Brickman, Jeric Teng, Leo Avenido, Sunday Salvacion, Larry Rodriguez, TY Tang and head coach Bo Perasol for a job well done. They opted to wear the “Philippines” on their jerseys, and they did not embarrass us in any point of the tournament.

They did however, directly or indirectly, send a few wrong messages.

Starting over again

Say hello to Cyrus Baguio, shooting guard for Phoenix Petroleum.

I remember the first time I saw Baguio play. I was studying in LSGH, rooting for the back-to-back seeking DLSU Green Archers in the 1999 UAAP Finals. I didn’t know much about the UST Growling Tigers as my understanding of the sport was still developing, but from Games 1 to 3, I knew that Baguio was special.

He was a high-flyer by trade, an unstoppable slasher who would (and did) dunk on sleeping fools with no hesitation. He is basically cut from the same cloth as a Terrence Romeo. Pass? Just give them the ball and get out of the way.

Adidas unveils James Harden PEs Crazylight 2016 Liberty

Inspired by the great red, white and blue and James Harden's freedom to create on the hardcourt, adidas recently unveiled an
all-new Harden PE, the Crazylight 2016 Liberty edition.

The white and gray surging camouflage upper is set upon full-length BOOST, which is housed by blue and red herringbone-styled traction rubber and a loaded spring plate in the outsole. The laces continue the theme as a red and blue blend sit atop a blue mesh tongue with Harden branding at the top. A blue heel cup hosting red three stripes rounds out the silhouette, culminating in a shoe built for the game’s fastest players.