Post-PBA Bubble Thoughts

The Return of the Comeback in 2021

Happy New Year!

Here's a virtual hug and fist bump to all of our friends who continue to push through and soldier on in spite of the pandemic and this prolonged quarantine. This is probably for the best, although from where we're seated we could only hope and wish that our government continues to improve and learn where it can to be of better assistance to our countrymen. 

Okay, so we kind of blew it with the PBA Bubble Finals prediction. Though I did say that my gut feel was for Ginebra. I simply went with the more logical choice which was TNT who was rolling at the time and Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. who was looking every bit like the PBA superstar we all thought he'd become-- as early as what, four, five years ago?

Unfortunately, Parks, Jr. went down with an injury. The veteran anchor Jayson Castro followed suit and though RR Pogoy put up a valiant effort he was also hit by the injury bug. Ginebra? They stayed the course. Coach Tim Cone went to his trusted leader, L.A. Tenorio, to break down the TNT defense by outclassing his defenders.

Sure, Stanley Pringle and Japeth Aguilar deserve mad props for taking care of business and doing the heavy lifting, but it was clear that whenever TNT wanted to make a run or started taking control of the game or tempo-- Tenorio was there to pull in the reins and lead Ginebra right down the straight and narrow path to the title.

Personally, I also loved the way Phoenix kind of became the new Rain or Shine/ Alaska. They're the new 'dark horses' with that young, fighting core led by Matthew Wright, Jason Perkins, Justin Chua and the reformed Calvin Abueva. I enjoyed watching Abueva playing just for the sake of winning and nothing else. Not pandering to fans, not trying to imitate or instigate. He just played basketball-- get the rebound, score, defense, no drama.

And you know what? The Beast looked every inch like a legitimate threat basketball-wise.

Pwede naman pala e.

Although, I'd be lying if I said that there were instances where I wish he would've started something. You know. Anything. He almost did. Guys were going after him in the Playoffs, but kudos to Abueva and the Phoenix team for keeping him focused.

There were some disappointing runs, most noticeably of the defending champions San Miguel Beermen. They lost the MVP Junemar Fajardo to an injury in the offseason, followed by Terrence Romeo during the early stages of the Bubble. Then Marcio Lassiter had his share of injury concerns, Arwind Santos played like his age, Chris Ross seemed heavier and that was that. The silver lining of course is Moala Tautuaa and how he looks more comfortable now in the box.

Elsewhere, there's the young Alaska Aces frontline. I enjoyed watching them ball out under Coach Jeff Cariaso-- Barkley Ebona, Abu Tratter, Rodney Brondial all moved like true Danny Ildefonso disciples in the paint. Jeron Teng also looked very comfortable playing a point-forward type. Hoping and praying for good things for teams like Alaska, Phoenix, and Rain or Shine, honestly.

The Farm Teams?

TerraFirma has done a great job allowing their young core to just showcase their talents. CJ Perez and rookie Roosevelt Adams are always going to deliver, but we did see a great run by point guard Juami Tiongson. Blackwater? Well, they have the young stars to compete. They were even supposed to be relevant with a 6"9 giant "rookie" who, unfortunately, didn't deliver.

Honestly, we'll give most of the guys a pass because of the pandemic and the situation that everyone was in. We can't really blame these guys for not staying in game shape during the break bawal maglaro e. The priority of course for everyone is and should be family.

From this writer, I wish you all good health this 2021. Usually, I'd always throw in a "good fortune" but right now, health is wealth. Money, job, those things, you can always recover from it if you put in the work and hustle. But health? Family? Take care of yourselves first, so you can take care of others.

God speed and looking forward to the next PBA season!