Let them know

Babysteps for Alab
(Photo credit: Arvin Lim)

Though we were not able to watch the ASEAN Basketball League debut of Ray Ray Parks (19p 4r 7a) and his Alab Pilipinas LIVE, there was simply no way in hell that we would miss it altogether. So, despite our busy schedule, we patiently waited for the delayed telecast to air (a big shout out to our Middle Eastern cable provider: OSN and our OSN Pinoy Package PLUS) so we could share our thoughts afterwards.

Now where should we begin?

Alab Pilipinas lost 66-71 to the visiting Singapore Slingers; despite the efforts of Parks, Lee Seung-Jun (13p 10r) and Jeric Fortuna (10p). The Slingers were led by imports Justin Howard (22p 20r) and Xavier Alexander (15p) and followed by ABL local MVP Wong Wei Long (17p) and Leon Kwek (11p 11r). It was a solid debut for Alab as they led by as many as 12 points in the first half before losing steam in the 2nd.

Okay, that’s the game in a nutshell. Now, we nitpick.

The Slingers played true to form, going to their big man Howard early and just playing off him all throughout. It was ugly at first as they couldn’t really make shots, but once Howard proved to be too much for Lee and Hans Thiele, things became a lot easier for them.

Alab on the other hand, has a few more things to clean-up before we can crown them as ABL champions right away (being a supposedly dominant Southeast Asian team something, something).
First, head coach Mac Cuan ran iso a lot. We hope that this won’t be the case in the long run, since it really did feel like he was simply letting Parks and Fortuna run the show on offense. Defensively, we saw some basic plays but yeah, overall there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Next, we are not so sure that Lee should be taking 13 three point attempts in a game. That is just absurd. We didn’t see him taking threes for Korea in past FIBA Asia tourneys, so why is he jacking up treys all of a sudden? What? Hindi naman ata kasama sa passport ng mga Koreano yung matik na sila magtititira ng tres ano?

To his credit, he battled Howard in and around the post. Unfortunately, it was like watching DLSU Arnold Van Opstal play defense on UST Karim Abdul.

Other bright spots for Alab were Fortuna and Val Acuna. Fortuna is still the same heady playmaker and if only he were taller or played better defense, he’d undoubtedly still be in the PBA. Acuna played like he always does: a gunner who can blows hot and/ or cold quick. Last night, he was the scorer that Parks needs to take the pressure off him.

Think LeBron James and Delonte West/ Mo Williams/ Kyrie Irving.

Which brings us to Parks.

*Gets a bottle of Haterade. Drinks it in, maaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn*

Built-wise, like we said before, we were kind of expecting Parks to have put on muscles on muscles. Or, trimmed down, Bruce Lee, Gabe Norwood style. Something. Honestly, he looks more like someone who’s doing calisthenics than weight training. Whatever. He didn’t look quicker than before. He didn’t look stronger too. Same old Ray Ray from NU with more hair, ink and weight.

Game-wise, in the 1st half, we thought Parks would blow off for 30-10-10 like it was nothing. He was scoring, passing, rebounding, and even blocking shots at the rim. He started jawing with Alexander, and that probably lit a fire under the American import’s ass in the 2nd half enough for him to dunk on Parks. But there’s nothing wrong with that. You take the poster like a man, because you challenged like a man. Parks didn’t move to the side or cower, he was going for the block.

That’s the life of a shotblocker. Sometimes you get the highlight, others you get on the wrong end of a poster.

In the 2nd half, Parks slowed down. Hard. We’re not sure if he was trying to serve as a decoy (for whom?!?) or if Alexander was locking him up; but yeah, it would’ve been a lot better if Parks continued to be the aggressor. It’s not like there’s another go-to-guy for Alab to take the cudgels for when Parks can’t.

What we saw, in all honesty, was a guy who simply wanted to get his teammates involved and fit in. That’s not a bad thing really, but it’s not a good thing either.

Ikaw yung pinakamagaling jan. Kaya ka nga may NBA DLeague tryout/ contract e. Hindi mamasamain ng mga tao kung magtititira ka jan. Walang kokontra kung magbakaw ka. Walang magsasabi next day ng “sana pinasa ni Parks kay…” kasi alam naming kalibre ng mga kakampi mo. Malayo sayo. MALAYO.

Ikaw yung magaling, kaya ipakita  mo bakit. Pakita mo sa lahat yung layo ng skillset mo sa kanila. No plays off. Dinakdakan ka? Bawian mo ng tatlong ulit. Lintik lang walang ganti. Mata lang walang latay. Yung pinasa mo sa huli? Tira mo na yun. Gagawa ka ng Michael Jordan to John Paxson/ Steve Kerr na play, e yung papasahan mo sentro mong Koreano na 3/13 sa tres? Buong laro nagbabato ng tae sa backboard? Tira mo na yun.

Next game, we are hoping for a couple of adjustments from Coach Mac. If Parks will run the show much like he did versus Singapore, then pair with him some shot-makers/ scorers: Acuna. Maybe dust-off Cawaling. He’s not that quick so best to give him a few high screens to play with. Also, limit Lee’s three point attempts. THIRTEEN IS JUST TOO ABSURD it’s not even funny.

Laban Alab Pilipinas!