FIBA Asia: Pilipinas bows to young China

Three early fouls plus China's giants
were too much for Big Daddy 

Everything seemed to be in place: Team Pilipinas coming off a superb Jones Cup championship romp, China opting to send a bunch of wide-eyed kids who haven't grown into their man-bodies yet (most of whom will probably form the core of their 2016 FIBA Asia medal-round squad) and overall team chemistry that has made it to must-see YouTube television.

But instead of staying true to our newly-placed "dribble drive" offense, the team settled for an absurd amount of long balls that did them in 71-68. If you shoot 6/35 from deep, chances are you're just not going to put yourself in a solid enough position to win games. The team's resident gunners-- Jeffrei Chan, Gary David and Larry Fonacier were a combined 4/21 from the three-point line while Ranidel de Ocampo-- who was probably assigned to pull his defenders (a bunch of 6"10 and 7"1-3 Chinese giants) outside, going 0/5.

Why Gilas 2 is better than the 1st

Oppa Gilas Style.

Pilipinas sends Jones Cup core to FIBA Asia

Marked men: Norwood and Chan
(and Tenorio)

After all the drama following the highly successful 34th William Jones Cup campaign where Pilipinas finished with the gold medal, we will be sending the same group of players to the FIBA Asia Cup this September 14 in hopes of better preparing ourselves for the FIBA Asia Championship next year.

The road won't be any easier from here on out, with Pilipinas being put in the same group as China (though they're "only" sending their B team), Lebanon, Macau and Uzbekistan while the other group features Chinese-Taipei, Iran, Japan, Qatar and India FI. Okay, only Lebanon poses a real threat it seems in our group since Macau and Uzbekistan's basketball programs are still developing.

Mega-trade sends Tenorio to Ginebra, Casio to Alaska

From PBA-Online.net

Finally bringing an end to all the rumors that ran amok over on Twitterverse thanks to Snow Badua, five PBA teams took to the spotlight with one of the biggest trades in recent memory.

While point guards L.A. Tenorio formerly of Alaska and JVee Casio formerly of GlobalPort caught everyone’s attention because of their superstar status and National Team pedigree, this writer argues the teams that acquired them may not necessarily be the biggest winners of the deal (on-court basketball wise).

Alaska Aces: JVee Casio (Global Port), Dondon Hontiveros (Petron) and 2nd Round Pick (Ginebra)
At first we were all going nuts and throwing fits over Alaska’s decision to send arguably the hottest basketball commodity today in Tenorio over to a team that’s not exactly fond of loaning players to the National cause. It was as unfathomable as the Aces sending one time PBA MVP Kenneth Duremdes over to Santa Lucia back in 2001 for a guy who would later turn out to be that year’s 5th overall pick Brandon Cablay (who is good, but nowhere near the same stratosphere as Duremdes). But then they got JVee Casio from Global Port. Followed by Dondon Hontiveros from Petron. Two national players of different eras but are definitely serviceable starters.

SMART Gilas: The KKS Reinforcements

So the 34th William Jones Cup championship is in the bag and we've found ourselves back to a position of basketball respectability this side of the world. Should we rest on our laurels and send the same successful unit to the FIBA-Asia tournament this September 14? They are after all, the gold medal -winning bunch that did it via heart and desire.

Yes and no.

This writer argues that we should keep the core players: L.A. Tenorio, Jeffrei Chan, Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marcus Douthit, Sol Mercado and Larry Fonacier (yes, Pareng Larry makes the cut as the smartest PBA player today). After those guys, we should consider looking for an upgrade. Not that they're not any good (Gary David is still The Man), but we need a deeper rotation that can be relied upon (Pilipinas has been suffering from long, mid-game lulls which we cannot afford to have against better competition). So here's a short list of the guys who should be considered for the coming FIBA tournament (if they're healthy and in game shape of course).

34th Jones Cup: Pusong Palaban

Ginto!

In a game that it had absolutely no business of winning after a tough 0-6 start and falling behind by double digits most of the way, the under-sized, little prepared and odd bunch known to us as the Pilipinas select team snatched the 34th William Jones Cup gold medal win right under the cocky U.S.A. stalwarts 76-75.

Not only were the Americans taking advantage of their superior combination of height, speed and athleticism that we only have Gabe Norwood to match with, but the guys added another facet to their attack-- knocking down jumpers and long bombs and just pretty much rising up over our shorter countrymen. In layman's terms, "ginawang asintahan ung mga puyo natin."

34th Jones Cup: Top 10 Things We've Learned

Pilipinas' battlecry: ATTACK!

1. The dribble-drive offense is just as effective a zone-breaker as shooting from the outside
This approach opened a lot of eyes in terms of breaking the dreaded zone defense that we Filipino, having learned and patterned the game from the Americans, believe to be indestructible. Of course, for the DD to be effective, a team has to have A) a slasher strong enough to protect the ball and receive contact and B) shooters to kick-out too. We've always had A covered, it was the B part that we never really consistently had until this year. Even Gilas I didn't enjoy such premium-quality shooters led by Jeffrei Chan (who is really Allan Caidic on a Chin Chun Su overdose). The most effective so far are starting guard L.A. Tenorio who does it by his craftiness and exceptional ball-handling plus back-up Sol Mercado who just bulldozes his way inside. They suck in the 2-3 zone and force opponents to regroup/ help, leaving our shooters roaming free and waiting for the ball.

Date kasi ang intindi natin, pagnaka zona ang kalaban, tirahan mo na lang ng tres. Wag ka na mag-effort. Papawisan ka lang. Buti sana kung lahat ng player natin e mala-Caidic na sure-ball. Ngayon, gumagalaw lahat.

34th Jones Cup: Gilas survives Taiwanese shootout

It's Showtime!

UNBERIBABURRRRYAAAAH! (read: Unbelievable!)

Pilipinas, known for its one-on-one forays and dribbling exploits, survived yet another shootout this time against Chinese Taipei which all but guarantees our team a medal-finish in the 34th William Jones Cup. Tonight, the team did it in a "my turn, your turn" fashion by hacking out a 76-72 win over Chinese Taipei who were playing in front of their home crowd.

Quite funny how the Taiwanese came in full force to cheer the home team and heckle ours--most likely unaware that this select team has heard worse from Ginebra fans (them being all non-SMC guys). That being said, it was a great game with back and forth action. Jeffrei Chan carried us early, drilling in threes that would make Allan Caidic proud.

34th Jones Cup: Pilipinas' grades

Stay aggressive Gabe!

Today's 88-84 win over Japan marks yet another come-from-behind win for Team Pilipinas, pulling out all the stops to erase a 4th quarter 11-point deficit. Not only where the Japs shooting the ball with Korean-like precision, but their ball movement was the best this writer has seen from that country in years.

Fortunately for us, Marcus "Big Daddy" Douthit came through with a stellar 26 points, 13 rebounds performance to carry us throughout the game in time for the locals to regroup defensively and wax hot in the 4th. Our top gunners, Gary David and Jeffrei Chan, provided the needed long bombs with Gabe Norwood-- who is having a "Cyrus Baguio-like" series, just playing the best basketball we've seen from him so far.

We have to commend Coach Chot Reyes for his awesome shuffling and also that impressive switching on defense which just about everyone on the floor for Pilipinas appears to have embraced whole-heartedly. Not only were they being active, but screens and picks by the Japs were being taken out of the equation because there was always a guy rotating inside or outside to meet them.

So without further ado, let's move on to the grades so far:

34th Jones Cup: Gilas now 3-0

Hello Asia, his name is Gary David.
He plays shitty defense, but on offense?
Well, ask Korea. :) 

Regardless if South Korea opted to send a club team (think of it as the Philippines sending Petron or Talk 'n' Text plus two reinforcements) to the 34th William Jones Cup, let us all enjoy and savor this sweet and hard-earned 82-79 victory over our FIBA tormentors.

Though we coasted to a quick 14 point lead in the first quarter, the Koreans fought back behind their two imports Juan Patillo (think of him as a more athletic, stronger and young version of Jordan's Rasheim Wright) and 7"0 giant Gary Stutz. Their locals, physically taller and stronger than the Pilipinas select team, were also playing like they usually do-- calm, knocking down shots and moving the ball around instead of dribbling the shotclock off (which we kept on doing).

34th Jones Cup: Pilipinas wins, still sloppy

Pilipinas goes only
as far as Douthit takes them

The new-look men's national basketball team are off on the right track with a hard-earned 88-80 victory over a sluggish Jordan squad led by a clearly out of gym shape Rasheim Wright. While we were able to hack out the W and even post a double digit lead in the first quarter, the lapses (mostly in the second quarter) need to be taken addressed ASAP.

Coach Chot Reyes stuck to what has become his teams' identity over the years: run to the rim basketball. Drive and kick. Nothing fancy, just a plain "get the ball to the rim as close as you can" mentality that rubbed off even on the putty-soft Gabe Norwood.

Bright spots for the team are naturalized center Marcus Douthit who finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds after spending most of the 1st quarter on the bench due to foul trouble. Then came the shooters Jeffrei Chan, Gary David and Larry Fonacier who found themselves open one too many times on the floor. Call it a lack of scouting on the Jordanians' part, but they went with a traditional zone defense obviously banking on the Philippines' old reputation of being an "all drive, no J" team.

Welcome to the PBA Global Port Batang Pier

The dream has finally turned into reality.

Champion sports aficionado and shipping mogul Mikee Romero has finally turned his boyhood dream into reality: earning the PBA Board of Governors' nod in acquiring the Powerade Tigers franchise thus joining Asia's pioneering basketball league of over thirty-five years.

What this means:

1. No more drama
Last season's magical, Cinderella story run to the Finals and superstar Gary David's "takeover" of the league was marred by rumors of the Tigers' demise. There were reports that the team was for sale and worse, on the verge of being disbanded with all of its players, coaches and staff left under the cold and lonely rain. Well, Romero's multi-million Peso acquisition assures us all of continuity in terms of the players-- since the core guys; David, JVee Casio, Rabah Al Hussaini and Sean Anthony are signed to long-term contracts while the reserves led by Rey Guevarra, Rommel Adducul, Rudy Lingganay and Jondan Salvador.

Sold! Mikee Romero buys Powerade franchise

Casio needs to be THE man

According to reports, champion sports figure Mikee Romero has officially bought the Powerade Tigers' from Coca Cola through his company, Sultan 900. This finally rids us all of the unwanted drama that marred what was a beautiful and eye-opening season for the Tigers, who could've been built into a title contender had it stuck to its Philippine Cup core.

With star Gary David leading the pack, the Tigers looked every inch like a title team with guys like Doug Kramer, Sean Anthony, Rommel Adducul, Alex Crisano and rookies JVee Casio and Marcio Lassiter. All the team really needed back then was more time to jell and who knows just how far they could've gone had Lassiter not been pressured with all the trade rumors come 2nd conference before finally being dealt to Petron in the 3rd and Kramer sent to Barako Bull Energy.

37th PBA Leo Awards: And the winners are...

MVP! MVP! MVP!

First off, did we call it or what? Okay, so we missed the most important one because we took the outside factors a little too seriously-- forgetting that Kris Aquino et. al no longer cares for who wins the award *cough, cough, wink wink*.

All Defensive Team
PG Ryan Reyes, SG Jireh Ibanes, SF Arwind Santos, PF Marc Pingris, C Doug Kramer
Okay, didn't really see the Ibanes pick not because our boy from UP isn't a good one-on-one defender (he is, just under-rated and little played) but because you don't really see darkhorses pop up out of nowhere in these sort of awards nights. Well deserved for everyone.

KKS' Leo Picks

As the 37th season of the PBA comes to an end (with all due respect to the teams playing in the PBA GovCup Finals of course), it marks the one day wherein the creme de la creme are recognized and appreciated for their efforts on (and off) the basketball court.


While these guys will always say the right things and push for multiple finals appearances and championships, there's always that human desire to be called the best. To be adorned and praised. That's what the PBA Leo Awards are for, and this writer would like to throw his kwek-kwek's worth of predictions/ picks for the top individual awards.


Let's start things off with the Top 5 defensive guys, followed by the five best players in their respective positions (this season) before ending it with the MVP winner.

Validation for The Spark

Did you know that there are only three active players left from the top-thin 2001 PBA Draft?

The People's MVP

The top pick soon became Rookie of the Year and 2x PBA Most Valuable Player. Another guy, still in his prime, established himself as a Super Sub but is currently making waves as a solid starter. The third, and the most popular of all, has won several accolades and has gotten close to winning the MVP on two-three separate occasions only to fall short by some vote-selection technicalities.

That third guy, picked third overall, is none other than the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings' Mark Caguioa. Then un unheralded, 6"1 faux blonde guard out of Glendale Community Collage-- so unheralded that the trivia-happy Quinito Henson was reduced to blurting out "he's a cousin of Chino Trinidad." That's it. No "his girlfriend is..." or "his hairstyle was inspired by..."trivias out of Henson, which surprises this writer even to this day.

Thoughts on SMART Gilas 2's Jones Cup roster

Reunited on the SMART Gilas 2 Jones Cup team

PG LA Tenorio (Alaska)/ Jayson Castro (Talk 'n' Text)/ Sol Mercado (Meralco)

Even without Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes, this position has always been the strength of any team Pilipinas when it comes to basketball in Asia. Tenorio is the traditional point man that can set up guys on the team while able to spread the floor with his threes. Mercado brings in size and speed that will be needed when we face the Middle Eastern squads who feature burly guards. Castro is the sparkplug here, given his combo-guard skillset and relentless attack mentality.

Lito Alvarez: Hari ng Padala

With Alvarez back on board, no one's safe.
The guy managed to trade all the household names
in this picture for nothing.

Just for the sake of parity and respect, this writer won't even bother with returning Air21 Express team governor Lito Alvarez' non-basketball (read: political) interests and ventures. Let's just stick to how we fans know him: someone who'd trade his own mother if it meant making more money and getting future picks (which in turn will end up being traded, again, for money) all at the cost of his team being remotely decent.

Gary David is no LeBron. And he shouldn't be.

He shoots. They follow.

While this writer strictly adheres to his own "No NBA" policy (because "there are other, more interested men" as said by Thomas Wayne on Batman Begins. And seriously, who needs another NBA blogger when we have friends like Voltaire Lozada who's one of the under-rated yet rising minds out there?), let's just use the high and mighty, 3x NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James to better quantify or argue for/against the perceived reputation among fans/haters of one Gary David.

What uniform he'll be donning by next season is up in the air, but this we all know for sure-- he'll definitely be suiting up for PILIPINAS this coming FIBA Asia tournament. He will also be expected to provide the outside shooting opposite Smart Gilas 2 teammate Jeffrei Chan of the Rain or Shine. Now, the thing that has grown bothersome/ tiresome really is some fans perception of David as being a glorified ballhog. To the point that they've made fun of Mico Halili's "El Granada" moniker and changed it to "El Buwaya."

An MVP without a ring

What a year for Gary David

It's still too early, and Barangay Ginebra's Mark Cagouia could suddenly lead his team all the way to the finals and at the very least salvage 1st runner-up (tying Powerade's Gary David's feat this season) but based on all the statistics, David is in line to win the PBA's coveted Most Valuable Player award at season's end.

Granted, the one factor that trumps even the greatest of points-rebounds-assists/ efficiency averages: the media and players' votes, could overturn such ruling but you cannot make an argument against David. There's just no point in making one. The man averaged 25 to 30 plus points at different times in all three conferences, the Tigers' offense ran through him and he's the only player in recent memory since San Miguel's Nelson Asaytono that has the green light from the coaching staff to keep shooting 'til his arms fall off.