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?

PBA Dispersal Draft: Blackwater Elite

Back to main man status for Nuyles?
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The Blackwater Elite are here to compete.

Coach Leo Isaac and co. went into the PBA Dispersal Draft with clear direction and purpose, opting to tab names who are ready to contribute and make a name for themselves in the PBA (if they haven't already).

Drafted by the Elite are: Danny Ildefonso, Alex Nuyles, JR Cawaling, Eddie Laure, Bryan Faundo, JP Erram, Paul Artadi, Gilbert Bulawan, Bambam Gamalinda, Chris Timberlake, Norman Gonzales and Bobby Celiz.

Based on the names above, our projected starting five are: PG Artadi SG Nuyles SF Cawaling PF Faundo C Ildefonso