Cabagnot Conundrum

The Crunchman Saveth?
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

A few weeks ago, we felt that it was rather unfair for Global Port Batang Pier's neophyte head coach Pido Jarencio to single out his starting point guard Alex Cabagnot amid their losing ongoing losing streak.

If you walked up to us and said that the Batang Pier lost their first eight games because Cabagnot was averaging 10.38 points to go with 5.88 assists per game, we'd have laughed at your great and admirable grasp of the sport. Looking back at Cabagnot's career since 2005, the man's averaged 11 points and 5 assists.

Yes, he's had incredible, clutch games here and there, but overall, Cabagnot is an 11 points and 5 assists man-- which isn't bad on the PBA level mind you, given the years of consistent play.

7-0 / 0-7

"F this 0-7."
Photo courtesy of Sports5

While the PBA Commissioner's Cup is on pause to give way to the PBA All Star Weekend, let's take a look at two teams that have gone opposite directions this conference. Atop the standings with an unblemished 7-0 win-loss slate are the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters while dead last are the GlobalPort Batang Pier who carry an unenviable 0-7 card.

It didn't take long for the Texters to get back on track with newcomer Nino Canaleta and hard-working import Richard Howell in tow. The Gilas Pilipinas core of Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Larry Fonacier and Ranidel de Ocampo are averaging around 20-22 minutes a piece and contributing as always, while Howell drops a steady 20-20 points-rebounds a game.

The Fireman and his Batang Pier

I never really got to watch the "real" Pido Jarencio. The man, the legend, the UST Glowing Goldie and PBA "Fireman" whose shooting was almost (legend has it) at par as PBA Hall of Famer Allan Caidic.

Instead, my mental image of Jarencio was a short-shorts wearing veteran who would come in to either spell a winded Vince Hizon or Jayvee Gayoso and knock down a "legs wide open" three from the corners every now and then for Barangay Ginebra in the mid-90s. He was out of basketball shape, appeared to be on his last legs, but was just a feel-good favorite because he looked like someone I'd bump into in pick-up games (you know, that village vet who is always hanging by the playground waiting, preying on the young ones).

When he finally retired and resurfaced as a head coach in college, it was during my 2nd year with the Black-Gold, Black-White. He took a team of several unheralded wingmen and a center to the Finals, much to the surprise of the college ranks (and every single Thomasian who weren't expecting much post-Cyrus Baguio and Alwin Espiritu or better yet, post-Aric del Rosario).

Changing of the guard(s)

While the PBA Philippine Cup Finals is on-going (and currently in favour of the San Mig Coffee Mixers given their 3-1 advantage of the Rain or Shine Elastopainters), four teams loosely associated with the San Miguel Corporation umbrella made some "game-changing" trades in preparation for the coming PBA Commissioner's Cup.

We've always said that, if a team is bent in changing it's team's overall philosophy it needs to do only one of two things: 1) trade the token star player or 2) trade the guy with the most clout: the point guard.

You can change coaches all you want, but as long as a certain influencer is on the basketball court, then you'll never be able to truly install whatever offensive or defensive philosophy you want. It works in some cases (mostly in a short period though, think Ato Agustin-Petron), but long term you want to build on new pieces and just have a fresh approach to the game.

Here's our take on the trades that were recently approved by the PBA Commissioner's Office.

The Leading Men of Petronovela

After a fiery start in the PBA Philippine Cup, the Petron Blaze Boosters find themselves looking for religion as they are now down 1-3 to the Rain or Shine Elastopainters in their semifinals duel.

As much as Petron fans would like to believe that this series is still salvageable, and that if there's any PBA team that can come back from the ashes it would be their guys, it's hard to imagine the Elastopainters losing three straight after maybe a ten game stretch wherein they only lost one (Game 3 to the Boosters). To win, the Boosters will need to work as a cohesive unit immune from individual forays and exploits. There was a time in basketball when all you needed was maybe two to three monster players supported by a couple of bums and presto: instant championship parade.

Well, the Elastopainters are made of mostly "bums" save for maybe two or three 1st round picks the last few years, so what's the Boosters' excuse?

PBA GovCup Finals: Game 7

Mukhang nagkakasawaan na tong dalawa
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

It's not every conference that fans are treated to a classic, winner-takes-all game seven in the PBA Finals pitting the conference's best and second-best teams. Somewhere along the course of the excruciating playoffs, one usually bows out to exhaustion and pressure, allowing a darkhorse to come out of the woodwork.

First seed Petron Blaze Boosters versus the second seed San Mig Coffee Mixers for the right to be called the 2013 PBA Governor's Cup champions.

There are no darkhorses here.

Certified: Arwind Santos, PBA MVP

Game recognize game
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

I done kept it real from the jump
Living at my mama's house we'd argue every mornin'
Nigga, I was trying to get it on my own
Working all night, traffic on the way home
And my uncle calling me like "Where ya at?
I gave you the keys told ya bring it right back"
Nigga, I just think it's funny how it goes
Now I'm on the road, half a million for a show

- Started from the bottom, Drake

The odd jobs, countless afternoons and evenings spent in minor basketball leagues playing on pavement where hustling for the basketball means a sure chipped tooth, scraped knees and a boat load of cheap elbow shots to the mid section—all that has come to this moment.

When the Petron Blaze Boosters’ Arwind Santos was hailed as PBA Most Valuable Player, fans were divided. Some cheered while others jeered. Other names were thrown around with their own merits and arguments. Some enjoyed a better season than Santos, some put up eye-popping stat-lines that would solidify their claim. Hell, some would even argue that Santos’ best seasons came in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

But none of them can lay claim to having done the same things, at a very high level, as Santos who has proven himself worthy of being an MVP frontrunner since his 2006 rookie season.

PBA GovCup Finals: Petron deals first blow

If Game 1 of the PBA Governor's Cup Finals is a preview of things to come, then we're going with Petron Blaze's Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter when they said that they'd prefer a sweep of San Mig Coffee.

Lutz and Lassiter proved to be
a handful for San Mig Coffee
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Riding on the hot hands of Chris Lutz late (12 points) and the superb triple double effort of import Elijah Millsap (35 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), Petron Blaze had control of the game save for a mini San Mig Coffee run in the 3rd canto. The disparity in personel became quite obvious early when Petron Blaze's 6"10 rookie Junemar Fajardo was pretty much having his way inside versus 6"5 counterpart Marc Pingris.

San Mig Coffee tried to address the Fajardo conundrum by fielding in little-used 6"9 big man Yancy de Ocampo, but he proved a little too skinny. Also, instead of pulling Fajardo out of the paint by staying by the high post to three point line area where he is more effective, de Ocampo went with his pride and opted to challenge the youngster mano-a-mano (in which he failed rather miserably).

PBA GovCup Finals: Family Feud

Like most family feuds,
it's going to be ugly
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Did you know that the (established) San Miguel Corporation PBA franchises: Petron Blaze, San Mig Coffee and Barangay Ginebra have a grand total of 36 PBA championships among them? Petron Blaze is lording it over with an astonishing 19 titles while the little brothers—SMC and Ginebra are trying to create separation from the other with 9 and 8, respectively.

With Petron Blaze and San Mig Coffee being armed to the teeth (both possess arguably the most star-studded and star-heavy eight-man rotation in the whole PBA), it’s going to be mighty interesting how the series turns out. We explore the match-ups and who has the edge overall:

PG Alex Cabagnot/ Chico Lanete vs Alex Mallari/ Mark Barroca

It’s going to be Cabagnot’s heady play and clutch shooting taking on the ultra aggressive Mallari and the cerebral and efficient Barroca. Quite frankly, we’re not loving the match-up for Cabagnot since he’ll be asked to chase either of SMC’s guards against a bunch of brush and flare screens. Don’t be surprised if the Fil-Hawaiian point guard lands in foul trouble early or if we see Denok Miranda make some early appearances just to give Petron a different look.

Adv SMC

A Gargantuan Task

Beat Petron? Tall task for RoS
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The Rain or Shine Elastopainters and their fiery mentor Yeng Guiao are in a bind.

Down 0-2 in their PBA Governor’s Cup Semifinals matchup against powerhouse Petron Blaze Boosters, the Elastopainters are finding it difficult to defend the crown they won a season ago behind a roster of no-names and journeymen. Forget that the games have been surprisingly close until maybe a late 4th quarter breakaway (Boosters’ Elijah Milsap going HAM in Game 1), the Elastopainters are one win away from being eliminated.

And it seems that there’s just nothing they can do about it.

PBA GovCup Semis: Petron vs Rain or Shine

Which Gilas player will shine
brightest this series?
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

With all the PBA Governor's Cup 2013 title favorites able to make short-work of their playoff assignments (save for San Mig Coffee), let's move on to the semifinals and take a look at how the match-ups will unfold. First up are the league-leading Petron Blaze Boosters versus the defending champs, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters:

PG: Alex Cabagnot/ Chico Lanete vs Paul Lee/ Chris Tiu/ Jonathan Uyloan/ TY Tang

Perhaps the only chink in this rejuvenated and re-fueled Petron Blaze attack in this semifinals match-up is the guard position, wherein Rain or Shine's knack of playing about four (even five) guys at the point guard spot can easily disrupt the opposing team's scouting report. Cabagnot will put up the stats given the minutes, but this match-up will depend on what we'll see from reigning PBA Rookie of the Year Paul Lee.  If Lee comes in with the mindset to attack, Cabagnot will be on the defensive and Petron might need to dust off little-used defensive hound Denok Miranda. Tiu, Uyloan and Tang can all stay in front of Lanete and put up points.

Adv. Rain or Shine
Just confirmed news that Paul Lee is out for 3 weeks with a muscle tear. Shit just got harder for Rain or Shine. Petron with obvious advantage now at PG spot.

Petron SMASH!

Even new recruit Doug Kramer's bought
into the Petron system
(Photo courtesy of PBA InterAKTV)

Hell hath no fury like a couple of scorned Gilas hopefuls

That was the message sent by the Petron Blaze Boosters last night en route to their 122-88 trashing of heated rival Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters. The Texters, which boasts of four core Gilas players (not to mention the brain/financial thrust) , were never really in it no thanks to the Boosters' unforgiving defense and high octane, sweet-shooting offense.

No more drama (?)

Uh-oh. They're bringing the "back hand slap" back!
(Photo courtesy of PBA InterAKTV)

Picking up where they left off pre-choke gate, the Petron Blaze Boosters are humming like a well-oiled machine (sorry, couldn't help it) in the on-going PBA Governor's Cup with an impressive 4-1 win-loss slate.

Newly-installed head coach Gee Abanilla and co. have done a tremendous job in evening out the minutes and assigning roles in their solid nine-man rotation which features import Elijah Millsap, Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos as their steady 30+ minutes guys to end-guy Chico Lanete playing for about 12. This, after former coach Olsen Racela would constantly introduce change looking for a "winning line-up" once they were without NBAer Renaldo Balkman (Millsap is good, but there's a reason he has yet to make an NBA season roster).

And nobody does it better... Eala reassigned

Photo courtesy of sports.nfo.ph

In an obvious public relations damage control effort, San Miguel Corporation opted to "reassign" their trusted Basketball Operations Consultant Noli Eala following the intense social media backlash brought about by vexed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel fans in the aftermath of their head coach's, Alfrancis Chua's, resignation.

The move to reassign the one-time PBA Commissioner comes not only at the heels of Chua's resignation but also after Eala's hit-and-miss performance since he came on board early in 2011. The then Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas head was brought into Team SMC after a "falling out" with the SMART Gilas Pilipinas men's national basketball program (here's a quick link to our idol FireQuinito's old entry) bankrolled by Team Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) and was bent on helping all three of Team SMC's Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams to acquire premium talent albeit at the cost of overall team chemistry.

Don’t cry for Olsen

And then... there was none.

It’s official.

After weeks of speculation, the Petron Blaze Boosters have decided to drop rookie head coach Olsen Racela in favor of the more seasoned Gee Abanilla. This, after Racela’s failed Philippine Cup campaign and the huge “what if” that clouded the Boosters’ Commissioner’s Cup stint.

From what we’ve gathered, Racela has been moved to sister team San Mig Coffee Mixers and “demoted” to assistant coach under Hall of Famer Tim Cone and alongside his peers Johnny Abarrientos, Jeffrey Cariaso among others.

Tenorio for PBA Commish Cup BPC

It's Caguioa's team. But Tenorio's show.

Lewis Alfred Tenorio is a winner.

He's won in high school, he's won in college and ultimately, in the professional ranks. When he was (surprisingly) traded to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, he not only became a winner, he instantly became a house hold name.

"The best point guard in all of Philippine basketball TODAY wears jersey number 5 for Ginebra."

Not a lot of people could argue with that. Jimmy Alapag? He's up there, he used to hold the throne-- but that was when he could play a full 40-45 minutes non-stop without any injuries to think about. Alex Cabagnot? He had a brief run with the crown. Jayson Castro? Still too quick for his own good at times. Our idol Paul Lee? He's a (extra half-rice) combo guard.

What if Choke-gate never happened?

What if Balkman kept his hands to himself?

Would the Petron Blaze Boosters be enjoying a nice, comfy seat in the semifinals waiting for the Ginebra-Rain or Shine winner instead of Talk 'n' Text? Would everything that has gone wrong for the Boosters the last one and a half conference be forgotten and dismissed as mere "growing pains"-- justified and vindicated by the team's success?

And finally, was the ouster of Renaldo Balkman really that big of a deal considering their opponent, TNT, changed imports just as much as they did?

From a team chemistry standpoint, on the floor at least, yes. Balkman was that versatile four that Arwind Santos forgot to play like and Jay Washington never was. He brought intensity and hustle that allowed his teammates to just feed off it. Rookie center JuneMar Fajardo was left to fend for himself (with much success) as the team's anchor at the five spot guarding imports his size or bigger. Balkman was not an established scorer ala Air21's Mike Dunnigan or Meralco's Eric Dawson, but he sure as hell brought it night in and night out with tremendous energy and passion for the game.

Into the PBA Commish Cup Playoffs (Part 2.1)

All eyes on Fajardo

Petron Blaze Boosters (3) vs Talk n Text Tropang Texters (6) vs 
To dismiss this Playoff match-up as just another "game on the schedule" would be a disservice-- borderline criminal even. We know the on-court rivalry which is shadowed moreso by what's going on off-court. What we have previously coined as "The Silent War" lives on; albeit toned down somewhat for the sake of Philippine basketball. But make no mistake about it, once the ball is in the air bodies will start getting thrown with reckless abandon and the bonus checks and other perks will be handed the winning team despite this not being for all the marbles just yet.

PG Jimmy Alapag/ Jayson Castro vs Denok Miranda/ Alex Cabagnot
The yardstick of all Filipino pointguards and his bull-strong, cat-quick understudy versus the guy who crashed the "Best PG discussion" a season ago (only to fall back down to earth) and a defensive-minded pitbull. Yep, this series will be ultimately decided by whichever backcourt will be able to dictate their team's tempo. We all know that Petron is a better team on the run while TNT (under coach Norman Black) prefers the old school, halfcourt grind-it-out approach. Castro vs Miranda will be interesting since it will push Miranda to the hilt and test his reputation as being one of the league's premier defensive guards. We know he has the body to match with Castro, we're not so sure if the same can be said about his speed. Alapag versus Cabagnot would be a masterful lecture on "Clutch 101"-- Cabagnot's been under a lot of heat for his hero-balling ways, but what do you call Alapag's ballsy long treys? Aren't those "hero ball" plays as well? Difference of course is that Alapag makes them. Cabagnot, after 15 seconds of dribbling the air out of the ball, just jacks and prays.

Adv. TNT

Petron proves there's life after Balkman

Sonny Thoss can kiss his default
"Best Center in the Philippines" title goodbye

In their first outing after the whole Renaldo Balkman episode that has reached global proportions, the Petron Blaze Boosters finally looked like the team that they were supposed to be considering their elite local starpower.

Playing in front of a sold out Panabo City crowd (controversy, as the years will tell you, creates monetary opportunities for all), the Boosters were able to take solo 2nd in the ongoing PBA Commissioner's Cup by beating the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, 87-79. At the forefront of the victory were rookie Junemar Fajardo who finished with a stellar 20 points and 13 rebounds output and sophomore Marcio Lassiter who chipped in 14 points (12 in the deciding 4th quarter to finally breakaway from the E-Painters).

Why can't we be friends

"Una siya naging akin!"
(Photo courtesy of Spin.Ph)

And just when we thought that at least for a conference, we've seen the end (or stoppage) of the dreaded (slightly over-rated) Petronovela starring the Petron Blaze Boosters, we are treated to a meltdown of epic proportions that have even PBA legends barking and back on some Internet headline.

We're talking about what transpired between the Boosters' team captain Arwind Santos and import Renaldo Balkman in the dying seconds of a loss to the Alaska Aces. In case you have yet to see it, the Aces were up by seven with under a minute to go with no signs of a miracle comeback courtesy of the Boosters. Balkman proceeded to give up a duty foul on Aces counterpart Rob Dozier, then went storming off to the nearest zebra (re: referee) he could find and unload on.

And boy oh boy did he ever.