Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

Is it wrong to call Intal...
The Franchise? Tagal ma trade e.
(Photo credit: Sports5.ph)

My name is Angel Velasco, and I am the advocate for the bastard incarnates, Barako Bull Energy Cola. Our mantra is Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

Denok Miranda? Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

Sol Mercado? Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

Dave Marcelo? Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

Joseph Yeo? Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

Eat. Sleep. Trade. Repeat.

EAT.

SLEEP.

TRADE.

REPEAT.

Step up to the plate

Under-rated Coach Koy
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Call this the ex-Barangay Ginebra, now Barako Bull revenge tour.

How else would you call it after a former Ginebra reserve turned Barako star has been cited as the PBA Governor Cup's Player of the Week for the third straight time? JC Intal was the first, Dylan Ababou next and now, Joseph Yeo (who was probably, the one guy that Ginebra fans didn't want to see go after his sterling first two conferences with the team)

Koy Banal has done a masterful job coaching this team to a clean 4-0 record, making full use of their prized import Liam McMorrow (38 mpg, 25 ppg, 22 rpg) )who is basically a faster version of what PJ Ramos was to Kia in the PBA Commissioner's Cup. For the most part, Intal (29 mpg, 15 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 apg) has been pretty solid before all the trade rumors started popping up while Joseph Yeo (29 mpg, 13 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg) is slowly starting to feel comfy back in a "designated scorer" role that he used to have almost exclusively with DLSU and as an off-the-bench weapon with Santa Lucia (the Petron/ San Miguel years were rough, and we only have 2 conferences to enjoy with Ginebra). Ababou (18 mpg, 10 ppg, 2 rpg) on the other hand is proving all of his doubters wrong and is just being the most efficient player on the floor at all times regardless of who is up against (only Chris Tiu and Larry Fonacier, IMHO, play as smart or smarter given the same "limited" athleticism).

Trade reaction: Ginebra's Ababou, Forrester for Barako's 1st round pick

Kampihan na talaga.
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Well, so much for newly-installed head coach Frankie Lim's Ginebra youth movement.

In a trade that comes as manna from heaven in the middle of some Arabian dessert for those involved and their supporters, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel has sent the little-used pair of Dylan Ababou and James Forrester to Barako Bull Energy Cola for the team's 2015 PBA 1st round draft pick (which is projected to be somewhere from the 4th to 5th).

For Ginebra, this spares the new coach from the burden of being asked by the thousands of kabarangays in having to play the two when they still have some more established, somewhat "immovable" veterans on the roster. Now, the team's rotation of shooting guards and wings involve "only" Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, Joseph Yeo, Josh Urbiztondo, Mac Baracael and Chris Ellis. And based from what we saw in the Rain or Shine quarterfinals game, it seems that management is still convinced that Caguioa, Helterbrand and Urbiztondo have a lot left in the tank and deserve to play together some more (ugh).

This, plus the fact that they could possibly get a top-tier rookie in the 2015 PBA Draft-- anyone from U.E.'s Roi Sumang, DLSU's Norbert Torres, San Beda's Garvo Lanete and maybe some hipster pick in one of those ASEAN Basketball League Fil-Ams not named Moala Tautuaa.

Ang Binangga, Nagiba

Parang kelan lang nung unang sumabak ang Barako Bull (Red Bull noon) sa PBA dala ang kakaibang kalibre ng basketball sa pangunguna ni ngayong Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao. Matatapang, pisikal, agresibo at walang takot. Karamihan ng mga player nila hindi kilala at galing kung saan pero walang takot kung makipagsabayan sa mga superstar ng liga. Nauna sila Jimwell Torion, Junthy Valenzuela at Davonn Harp, sumunod ung era ni Enrico Villanueva.

Yun ung Barako Bull na gusto naming balik-balikan sa ilang taong pamamayagpag ng PBA. Hindi yung Barako Bull ngayon na walang bayag. Barako Bull na walang magawa tuwing magkakaroon ng magagaling na manlalaro kapag naglalambing na ang mga "Kuya."

Hindi naman kami tanga, alam naman namin ang kalakaran at naiintindihan ito.

Pero huwag naman sana bastusan.

Ginebra needs some tweaking

Tenorio-Caguioa partnership is going
through some rough patches

See, this writer has never been a fan of the so-called "Never Say Die" mantra of the post-Jaworski Ginebra. The moment the former senator left the fold, his long-time assistant turned heir to the coaching throne Rino Salazar was duly replaced by Allan Caidic and all the mid 90s guys "Jawo" brought in went looking for greener pastures, Ginebra lost a lot of its charm because it became a powerhouse.

It took only about a year or two for San Miguel Corporation to really turn things around, from a rag-tag group to a team brimming with All Stars led by Mark Caguioa and Eric Menk. Jayjay Helterbrand came back and soon established himself as one of the league's best, so did the inclusion of names like Rodney Santos, Johnny Abarrientos, Rudy Hatfield, Ronald Tubid, Enrico Villanueva and so on at one time or another.

No need to panic

Props to Romeo Catap for the artwork

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, it's legion of fans at that, need to chill with all the panicking, heckling, critiquing and whatever drama rises out of the woodwork. The team is just fine folks, nothing to see here. Nothing worth blowing Twitter up about or calling for head coach Siot Tangquincen's head to be served on a silver platter... at least not yet.

With the acquisition of elite point guard L.A. Tenorio and high-flying rookies Chris Ellis and Keith Jensen (who's proving to be more of a knockdown shooter than dunker), expectations were insanely high. After all, there's reigning PBA MVP Mark Caguioa looking healthier by the day, old reliables like Jayjay Helterbrand, Billy Mamaril, Willy Wilson, Kerby Raymundo, Rico Maierhofer and Rudy Hatfield. Plus the rising Espana Express duo of Allein Maliksi and Dylan Ababou among other names (teka, si Elmer Espiritu na lang ata di ko nabanggit) to fill up the roster.

Ginebra picks Chris... Ellis (over Tiu)

Solid pick-up... for the future

Potential versus prime, promise versus reality, necessity versus want.

When Barangay Ginebra San Miguel head coach Siot Tangquincen was asked weeks back who he'd like to pick 6th in the PBA Draft 2012, the fiery Thomasian uttered the name "Chris Tiu" all without batting an eyelash. There was no hesitation in his answer, and it pretty much played into the Ginebra faithful's liking.

Here was a guy who spent the last couple of years wearing PILIPINAS on his chest as a starter, knocking down shots and holding the fort as a back-up point guard. THAT, plus his other praise-worthy endeavors such as TV host, model, brand(SSssss) ambassador and being an all-around good guy.

Return of the King

After Jawo, there's Caguioa for Ginebra

While this entry may indeed be about seven or eight games late, it's high time we recognized the revived efforts of one Mark Caguioa. The Barangay Ginebra Gin King is back at doing what he does best, weeks removed from a facial injury that many believe cost the Gin Kings the semis match-up versus sister team B-Meg Llamados and ultimately, the Commissioner's Cup title.

Though he failed to lift the Gin Kings in tonight's match-up versus the rising Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters, Caguioa came through yet again with a season high 32-point explosion. Though fans have slowly ceded the "Best Scoring Guard in the League" title to Powerade's Gary David, Caguioa remains at the upper echelon of gunslingers-- of all time.

The Future is Here for Ginebra

The future looks bright
for Barangay Ginebra

The story of last Sunday's game was Mark Caguioa, his goggles, and the way the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings easily and handily whooped the upstart Air21 Express-- who were coming off a respectable Commissioner's Cup performance.

Caguioa was joined by tried and tested veterans Rudy Hatfield, Mike Cortez and Kerby Raymundo in dismantling the hapless Express, 103-85 with the help of the solid debut of import Cedric Bozeman.

This tells us that the Kings are primed to make another deep Playoff push this Governor's Cup behind their All Star core for as long as Caguioa is able to make shots and no longer complains of headaches and what not.

Ginebra Plays The Blame Game

After another disappointing run,
Siot's walking on thin ice

Could the Barangay Ginebra Kings really have won their epic semifinals duel with the mighty BMeg Llamados had they chosen to keep Chris Alexander instead of the now “butt-of-all-chokes/jokes” Jackson Vroman?

Would they have advanced to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals had Mark Caguioa not suffered the nasty eye socket injury he did (also at the hands of BMeg but in an earlier showdown)?

Gin Kings stay alive

KKS Big Easy

Said it before, will say it again: anytime you complement Mike "Cool Cat" Cortez with a knockdown shooter (Nino Canaleta), he's bound to get numbers, the other guy's going to blow up and their team is going to win.

Ren Ren Ritualo at La Salle, Willie Miller at Alaska and now, with their backs against the wall the Cool Cat finds the sharp shooting Canaleta. Say what you will about the once flashy, side show slam dunker, but he has worked his ass off to become the shooter her is today. His defense (once his calling card in college ala fellow UE alum Hans Thiele) has dipped a bit, but you'd take that if in return are net-swooshing threes that look so effortless (from now on, based on how effortless he shoots the ball from deep, Canaleta gets his own KKS moniker: Big Easy. )

The All Star Joke

See you in the All Star Game kid

The votes have been tallied and the stars are all set to shine in the beautiful city of Laoag this May. From a basketball fan's standpoint, there's no arguing that the most popular names were sent to represent their teams, from a basketball purist's perspective, the voting system and overall selection couldn't have been any worse.

Not only did the league settle for getting the Top 5 vote-getters, but they did it regardless of the position similar to how the PBA Mythical 5 has been picked the last three-four years. Difference being, the Mythical 5 allows that whenever there's no legit dominant player in a certain position. This is the All Star Game, we want to see the best guys in their positions and not guys trying to play whatever. This could've easily been fixed had the PBA All Star voting system classified the guys per position and asked for the fans to vote and not just throw random names out there and get the most popular.

Take the lead

Cool Cat has always
been clutch in big games

Now that star Mark Caguioa is out of the playoff picture thanks to an ugly facial bone injury, all eyes are on whoever is going to carry the cudgels for the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings as they face sister team BMeg Llamados in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Semifinals.

Fortunately for the Kings, they were able to “solve” that problem with the acquisition of versatile big man Kerby Raymundo (through a trade with BMeg) and the replacement of 7”0 rebounder Chris Alexander with 6”10 energetic scorer Jackson Vroman. Vroman will now be given free room to get buckets and prove to the Kings’ doubting fans why he is and should be considered as an upgrade and wise move overall by the San Miguel brass.