Here comes the Carnival

Mark Yee has given
Kia some inside swag
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

When playing coach Manny Pacquiao openly declared that his Kia Motors Carnival (then Sorento) is in the PBA to compete and serve as a reflection of his boxing fire, many brushed it off as false bravado. Admittedly, we were just waiting for any trade patterns so we can proclaim this expansion team as yet another "farm" team for the PBA powerhouses.

Well, guess we were wrong on that one.

They managed to win a game versus Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup before, predictably and expectedly, sucking the rest of the way. This conference, they brought in a giant of an import in Puerto Rican behemoth P.J. Ramos (who is better than advertised, props to his agent Ms. Sheryl Reyes) while adding some firepower by way of former ASEAN Basketball League MVP Leo Avenido and point guard Rudy Lingganay-- so yeah, they're not in this league to simply make Pacquiao an even bigger household name than he already is. They're actually in the PBA to win games and compete (which a few years ago shouldn't be an issue, but thanks to the likes of Barako Bull, GlobalPort and the original Air21, is already a feat in itself nowadays).

So how are the Carnival doing?

The Right Fit

The real deal. Sorry Ms. Sheryl!
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

It's that time of the PBA season once again wherein teams try their very best to remain (or be) competitive by adding a foreign reinforcement. The trouble with this set-up is that it's a hit-or-miss affair, since you're never truly guaranteed of having the right chemistry or wins, not until the import comes over and actually plays a few games with the team.

There are those who have solid credentials but never really lived up to the hype, some who were able to deliver, and other unknowns and sleepers (Terquin Mott, Devin Davis and Damien Owens from an era ago, Diamon Simpson, AZ Reid, Marqus Blakely) who pretty much take their teams to the promise land and even come back several times to help their team keep that winning tradition. Sometimes, it's not all about the credentials. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith when it comes to adding an import. But it would be absurd for a team to throw team chemistry and addressing certain needs out the window if only to get a name. Right?

Well, some times.

Here's our take on the PBA imports that we've seen so far:

Two can play at that game

Just the other day it was announced that long-time Team MVP affiliate/ Gilas Pilipinas reinforcement Marcus Douthit was going to suit up for Blackwater Elite in lieu of the injured Chris Charles in the newly-opened PBA Commissioner's Cup.

How easy it was to acquire Douthit's services, who has gone on media to openly admit that he's not in game shape, is not the issue here. It's the team he plays for, and the uniforms that they've suddenly gone on to wear this conference that's a bit bothersome.

You may call us out for counting our chickens before they hatch here, but those blue and yellow colors do not exactly fit the "BLACKWater Elite" mold now does it? They wore black, white and red last conference, much like their product colors, so where on earth did this yellow and blue print come from?

Did Team MVP finally do it?

The ABL's Filipino Imports

#CanadaSaPBA
(Photo courtesy of sports-asia.com)

While the Philippine basketball world quietly (and anxiously) waits for the time when promising 6"7 Fil-Tonggan center Moala Tautuaa is able to complete his stint with the PBA D-League and all other requirements to apply for the PBA Draft next year (or the one after that), cellar-dwelling teams need not wait that long to address their PBA Philippine Cup woes.

Six talented Filipino basketball players are currently included on different rosters in the neighboring ASEAN Basketball League which saw a drop in game play this last season (with the Philippine-representative, San Miguel Beer, opting to pull out and probably the reduced number of ASEAN imports as two possible culprits). With the ABL season now at a close, we wonder why the PBA teams haven't come knocking at these gentlemen's doors. We understand contracts and all, but surely teams that are in a bind and looking to salvage their season before it gets any worse (Kia Sorento and Blackwater) can manage to shell out a few extra bucks if only to save face.

You'll have to bear with us on this one, since the ABL seems to be in a deteriorating state and seems to have lost their online stats-updating team for some reason so we're going with purely basketball scouting and our own two cents here.

Jerick Canada, PG, HiTech Bangkok City
Let's start with the ABL Finals MVP and how great he looked for head coach Jing Ruiz (also a Filipino). Canada's shooting is still iffy at best, but the way he is able to control the floor and his teammates is not something you'd take for granted considering they're mostly Thais and American imports who're mostly out for stuffing the stat sheet and angling for bigger pay. Put Canada on a team like Kia Sorento and he'll prove to be the most heady point guard in the rotation right from the start. On Blackwater, he'll be a perfect mentor for up-and-coming Cebuano playmaker Brian Heruela while possibly sending Juami Tiongson back to the D-League and Paul Artadi near retirement. If Jeric Fortuna can make it into the pros, there's no reason why Canada shouldn't be given a second look. Basically, he's the guy that-- when a younger hot-off-the-plane Stanley Pringle was busy going 100 mph for the Indonesia Warriors, made sure that they actually won a title that one year together.

Don't drink the (Black)water

"Hurricane" Heruela needs
to takeover
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

If you were to tell us at the start of the PBA season, with all things considered, that Kia Sorento would have more wins (one) than Blackwater Elite we would've trolled you from Manila all the way to Muscat in person or on social media.

Seriously, a team of low-ranked players coached by a non-basketball mind in Manny Pacquiao can't possibly have more victories on its present day record than a team that already has a proven winning basketball tradition, legit coaching staff and players who were under-utilized more than undeserving to be in the PBA. A news report came out the other day that the team owner, Mr. Dioceldo Sy, was willing to fork over whatever he must if only to buy out some of the players on the roster if it meant improving their chances of winning.

That's how bad the situation has come for the 0 wins and 9 losses Elite.

The Cellar Dwellers

Walang aayaw! Think positive!
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Every one saw this coming with the PBA choosing to expand from 10 to 12 teams this fresh PBA season. That the newcomers, Kia Sorento and Blackwater Elite, will have to go through the dreaded "transition" phase and suffer losses (and blowouts) here and there before they are able to get the right tools to start making waves in the pros.

But to say that we all thought that it would be THIS bad, throw in perpetual bottom feeder Barako Bull Energy Cola, would be an understatement given the supposed "abundance" of available basketball talent in the country (okay, someone pry Patrick Cabahug and Jerick Canada off newly crowned ASEAN Basketball League champions Hi Tech Bangkok City already). Some games, they're in it, others, fans feel like they were robbed of their hard-earned money. This is how a league loses supports on long tournaments and conferences. People do not want to see teams getting blown out of the water on a regular basis. We want to see action, competition-- we want to see fireworks.

Here are our thoughts on the three teams that are currently languishing at the bottom of the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup standings: