Bust-a-move

Author's note: Happy new year!

Hype is a terrible thing; it can build you up just as fast as it can bring you down. The PBA and its fans have seen its fair share of “hyped” rookies, baptized as “franchise saviors” who ended up being role players on a different team at best.

Here is our short list of “hyped” players who did not exactly live up to expectations:

Moala Tautuaa, TnT 2015 1st pick
We are still waiting for the “Junemar-stopper.” And while we are at it, for Tautuaa to develop anything close to a post-up game.

Matt Ganuelas Rosser, TnT 2014 3rd pick
He got locked in Jong Uichico’s doghouse, but now that he’s freed by Coach Nash Racela, we’re still not seeing anything stellar out of this former Gilas player as he continues to play like a skinny, long-haired Jon Ordonio.

Trade reaction: Carlo Lastimosa to NLEX

The Yeng Guiao era is slowly dawning upon us.

In what we feel is only the beginning of more roster changes, the newly-installed NLEX head coach has acquired the services of rising star Carlo Lastimosa from the Blackwater Elite in exchange for little-used James Forrester and a 2016 PBA Draft 2nd round pick (which in essence is really a 3rd rounder no thanks to the Gilas "special" draft).

Basically, they lost a 6mpg 1ppg 1rpg guy and gained a 2nd generation talent who is coming off a breakout season by averaging 26mpg 18ppg 3rpg 2apg while shooting 43% from the 2-pt and 32% from 3.

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: Sol Train to Ginebra

Palit jerseys.
(Photo credits to the owner)

Call it a "new lease on life."

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel has chosen to send spitfire shooting guard Joseph "The Ninja" Yeo to sister team Barako Bull in exchange for point guard Sol "Sol Train" Mercado, in a deal that benefits both squads instead of the usual "highway robbery/ blatant PBA fan trolling" that we have grown accustomed to whenever the Bert Lina franchise is involved.

Since Ginebra is the more popular of the two teams, let us discuss what adding Mercado to the mix means to the franchise moving forward, before we get to Barako Bull.

First and foremost, we cannot help but be delighted for Mercado who has received some unfair treatment and criticism the last few conferences. Basically, Mercado went from being "white hot" with Rain or Shine and Meralco, only to lose his way bouncing around with GlobalPort (wherein he tried to play nice and do the whole "mentor" thing), Petron/ San Miguel Beer (where he pretty much "bought in" to "fit in" which they turned out not to like) and finally with Barako Bull (which you could say is his "That Thing Called Tadhana" soul-searching phase because he was asked to go back to his Sol Train ways after flirting with being a full-time role player).

So what is next for the Sol Train?

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.

2013 PBA Draft Results

The Big Men Cometh
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

We will work on the post analysis in a bit, for now we'll borrow some copy from the InterAKTV website because we're simply too lazy to retype the damn thing.

In our honest opinion, all hell broke loose after the "given" Top 3 Picks.

First Round

1. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel – Greg Slaughter
2. San Mig Coffee Mixers – Ian Sangalang
3. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – Raymond Almazan
4. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (from Barako Bull) – James Forrester
5. GlobalPort Batang Pier (from Barako Bull via Petron) – Terrence Romeo
6. GlobalPort Batang Pier (from Barako Bull) – RR Garcia
7. GlobalPort Batang Pier – Isaac Holstein
8. Alaska Aces – Ryan Buenafe
9. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – Alex Nuyles
10. San Mig Coffee Mixers – Justin Chua