PBA GovCup SF: Ginebra vs Northport

At this point, I'm just surprised that The Dean
hasn't given him a moniker yet.
(Photo credit: Sports.inquirer.net)

Talk about Never-say-die.

On one hand we've got the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, a powerhouse team on paper that continues to live up (or down, depending on which Kabarangay you're asking) to its glorious reputation. The team finished the PBA Governor's Cup as the 4th seed, starting a bit slow before turning it up in its last few games. On the other, you've got the Northport Batang Pier which was arguably on its way to packing its bags this conference following the injury to prized rookie point guard Robert Bolick before somehow landing national skipper Christian Standhinger (and prior to that, the trade that sent its other star guard-- Stanley Pringle to, well, Ginebra).

So we know what we're going to get with Ginebra. The offense runs through super import Justin Brownlee, and whenever he's around (like Meralco and Allen Durham), every thing just falls into place. Only, it was pretty obvious that they had a bit of a rough patch in trying to balance out the offense between Brownlee and Pringle. After those two guys, there's Japeth Aguilar, L.A. Tenorio, and a bit of Scottie Thompson.



Which brings our attention to the 8th seeded North Port. They recently made waves for that gruelling triple overtime upset of the 1st seed NLEX Road Warriors. Standhardinger is turning a lot of heads and making his case for Best Player of the Conference despite the fact that he was only recently traded to North Port by San Miguel. Their import, Michael Qualls, can do a little bit of everything and has the speed, length and athleticism to cover positions 3-5 in the PBA setting. Then there's the energizer bunny known as Sean Anthony, who, IMHO, is a modern day Rudy Hatfield.

This is going to be fun. The onus will be on who can dictate tempo from the get go. Also, if Ginebra can use its size to the hilt to really put the pressure on North Port with their height in the paint. The problem here is, North Port has the bigs, the bruising, elbows-out kind, that their Ginebra counterparts' are "allergic" to.

L.A. Tenorio vs. Nico Elorde
The pressure will be on Tenorio to once again lead Ginebra to victory. But it won't be easy versus Elorde, who is proving to be quite the tough defender who wears opponents down by simply sticking to them like a shadow.

Stanley Pringle vs Kevin Ferrer
Ferrer will get on Pringle's nerves in one of these games. But Pringle will need to make his presence felt enough for Brownlee and the rest to be able to operate freely and not be doubled. On paper, North Port has a few other big/ long guys like Sol Mercado and Paolo Taha to throw at Pringle just to give him different looks.

Scottie Thompson vs Sean Anthony
As good as Thompson has been for Ginebra as a relentless junkyard dog type, he's going to probably find himself matched-up against a mirror image in Anthony (if Coach Pido doesn't waste Anthony on Brownlee). Anthony can do just about everything Thompson does for Ginebra, only, he's bigger and has better range.

Justin Brownlee vs Michael Qualls
The thing about Brownlee that we've always found impressive is that, and maybe it's because he's been wearing the red, white and yellow for so long, he's no longer just a "scorer."

Japeth Aguilar vs Christian Standhardinger
We love Aguilar like the next guy, and have grown to appreciate what he brings to the Ginebra cause. But Standhardinger is cut from an old school, no excuses, no b.s. kind of cloth that every single Ginebra fan has been wanting to see from their own collection of bigs (everyone from Aguilar to Joe DeVance to Greg Slaughter). The kind of player who, as we say in Filipino, "nakikipagpalitan ng mukha" just to score a basket/ grab a rebound/ make a play. Sure, CSH flops and flails, but he also plays with a lot of passion and purpose. This isn't as simple as when Ginebra guards the 5x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo with Slaughter (bigger) or Aguilar (longer) as he tries to back them up. CSH forces the issue and often gets those guarding him in foul trouble by simply bulldozing his way inside. Major problem.

Prediction: Ginebra is going to be in a lot of trouble. A team that doesn't always appear to be playing at 100%, going up against a team that is hungry and has a lot of burning desire to prove their critics wrong. Should Ginebra go big? They have the tools for it, but chances are North Port steps on the gas and leaves Slaughter et. al. behind. Also, it takes away Thompson who does a lot of things for Ginebra.

X-factor: Pick any one of the ex-Ginebra guys who are all going into this match-up with huge chips on their shoulders. Kevin Ferrer might sink a few treys. Jervy Cruz is going to throw some elbows.

Gut feel? North Port. But my brain says Ginebra.

Your thoughts? @kilikilishot on Twitter

Ganado pa din

Just a little bit more
(Photo credit: interaksyon.com)

Congratulations, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel!

You may not have won the PBA Philippine Cup title, but as far as Coach Tim Cone and the "Cone Era" goes, you guys are still on the right path. One championship, two finals conference appearances in only four conferences. With those two appearances being played minus your cornerstone, 7"0 Greg Slaughter. That says a lot about the team, where it is right now, and where it is headed.

So don't fret. Us "haters" will try our best to milk the whole "kang kong" rib, because once Slaughter comes back and Coach Tim makes a few more adjustments, it might as well be our very last time to make a laughing stock out of you guys.

Give us a break, you already outnumber us non-Ginebra fans a million to one, so anytime we can get a rib in we will.

1st runner-up.

That's not so bad.

Never say die

Ano na, Coach?
(Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

Kung may pagkakataon man na patunayan ng Barangay Ginebra San Miguel sa mga tiga hanga nila at maging sa sarili nila ang katagang "Never say die," eto na yun.

Isang talo na lang, tapos na ang lahat. Bubuhos ang beer. Perpetual Trophy para sa San Miguel Beermen, isa na namang malaking kwento ng tagumpay sa sinusulat pa lamang na biag ni 3x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo.

Kailangan ng Ginebra manalo ng tatlong sunod upang magkampyon. Kinailangan nilang manalo ng dalawang sunod kontra ang Alaska Aces nitong PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals. Kinailangan nilang bumawi matapos mahulog ng 0-2 kontra Star Hotshots sa semifinals. Ngayon, kailangan nilang bumangon muli, Never Say Die, para manalo ng 3-4.

Pero paano?

Ginebra's new offense

Holding it down
(Photo credit: Sports5.ph)

No, it's not the Triangle.

Coach Tim Cone and his wards have found life after their PBA Governor's Cup championship (and import Justin Brownlee), not to mention while playing minus franchise center 7"0 Greg Slaughter, by going against the current flow of the PBA game. While other teams have embraced a high-scoring approach with scores breaking the century mark, Ginebra has taken a more defensive stand anchored on efficiency.

The team currently leads the league per game in: points allowed at 84 ppg (vs 86 ppg for them); 2-pt field goal percentage at 37%; and assists at 23. Ginebra has also made a conscious effort in not falling in love with the three-ball, taking a league-last 18 attempts per game (though you could argue that it's merely because they do not have the specialists at the moment to do so).

F8 rewarded

It's been a long day...
(Photo credit: inq.net)

It took eight years and what now seems like a platoon of coaches before Barangay Ginebra San Miguel won another PBA championship, but last night everything just fell into place.

Coach Tim Cone was outsmarting his counterpart on every turn; the team held a 3-2 series lead; the other team’s (Meralco) most defiant soldier—Jimmy Alapag, was hurting; Ginebra’s aging duo of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand were rallying the "kids";  and no less than the Ginebra beloved Robert Jaworski, Sr. was in attendance. 

The near buzzer-beating triple by import Justin Brownlee, to break an 88-all lock, was icing on the cake.

When you wish upon a STAR

Keep on
(Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

Other than Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Japeth Aguilar, we have grown fond of mocking and ridiculing STAR Hotshots head coach Jason Webb at every chance we get on social media. To be clear, we are making fun of them NOT as human beings, but rather as ill-equipped basketball personalities.

Aguilar being the “has all the athletic gifts of an NBA talent but the IQ of a JV player” and Webb, well, let us talk about how Coach Jason’s first season as a legitimate PBA head coach went shall we?
To recap, STAR finished the season with a 10 wins and 19 losses record: 4-7 in the Philippine Cup, 5-6 in the Commissioner’s, and finally 1-6 in the Governor’s. It could very well be concluded that the mid-season acquisition of RR Garcia, Rodney Brondial and Jake Pascual distorted whatever mediocre-level chemistry was present in the team. Sure, Garcia suddenly emerged to play big minutes, but it is not like they gave up any of their core rotation guys to acquire his services (they traded away rookies Mark Cruz and Norbert Torres if we remember correctly).

Should everything be blamed on Coach Jason?

Kalma lang

Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net

Dear Ginebra fans,

Kamusta kayo? Matapos maabot ang alapaap nung kapaskuhan at pauwiing luhaan ang napakarami ding Star Hotshots fans, eto kayo ngayon at sinusubukan bumawi sa mapait na pagkatalo kagabi sa Global Port.

May dahilan ba kayo para magalit?

Oo. Kahit sabihin pa ng iba na hater niyo ako (na hindi naman, dahil kung Ginebra die-hard talaga kayo e dapat alam niyo kung saan ko nakuha itong pangalan ng blog ko, bilang dati akong kasapi), may punto naman talaga. Lagpas limang segundo naman talaga kung bibilangin maigi. Kaso hindi binilang. At hindi ni-review. Pinaubos na lang ang oras, at tapos na ang basketball.

All eyes on me

Steal of the 2015 PBA Draft or bust?
(Photo credit to the owner)

With the PBA Philippine Cup (and season) set to open this Wednesday, here is a list of who we feel should be on your radar in terms of delivering "must see TV." We are not simply talking about our picks for any individual awards at conference's end. We are talking about guys who already have storylines written for them, going into the season.

*Special mention* Roi Sumang, GlobalPort Batang Pier
If only because this guy was initially expected to be in the first round of the 2015 PBA Draft, all eyes would probably be on Sumang and how he'll fit in 1) GlobalPort and 2) the PBA. Will he get his minutes on the floor and be allowed to score? Or will he be asked to defer to his veteran teammates, who are also scorers by trade (Joseph Yeo, Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle) and "learn" the ropes of being a role player?

10. James Yap, STAR Hotshots
Was Yap shackled by the Triangle, as most would believe, or is he simply on a slow decline owing to all the basketball mileage? Is STAR still his team, or are they moving to another direction with Mark Barocca and Ian Sangalang?

9. Aldrech Ramos, Mahindra Enforcers
Ramos is to basketball as Myrtle is to local showbiz. Whoever this guy's manager is should get a raise. He's everywhere. EVERY FREAKING WHERE. We haven't seen anything from him that would convince us that he's a solid role player at least, and yet we keep hearing all the hype and hoopla from wherever. Hell, he even made it to the Gilas 3 - Jones Cup selection for crying out loud. Now that he is on a bad team, with no one to compete minutes with (unless Coach Manny Pacquiao  Chito Victolero uses him at the 4 to backup Nino Canaleta), we expect to see at least some semblance of a grown man's game to Ramos this season.

Trade reaction: Joe DeVance to Ginebra

JDV to Ginebra
(Photo credit to the owner)

This is the sad reality of the current state of Philippine basketball: there are the major players, the independents, and those who exist only to serve and appease the former.

Let us take a look at the most recent trades which involved the following teams: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, STAR Hotshots, GlobalPort Batang Pier and Barako Bull Energy Cola. Two are sister teams, one has been a long time conduit while another seems to be well on its way as an insurance policy type of conduit. Needless to say, these four teams have always transacted with one another. They have never bothered to look elsewhere for trades most of the time. And as much as we would like to quit saying that yes, there are farm teams in the PBA, well, there are farm teams in the PBA.

If you would like to disagree, let us break down the trades then shall we?

To infinity and beyond

Sino Coach ko ulit?
(Photo credit: Sports5.ph)

Where do we go from here, STAR Hotshots?

The architect of your 1st PBA Grand Slam (plus two other titles during his tenure), Tim Cone, is now officially out of the door and with him-- his greatness, coaching philosophies, Triangle Offense and so on. In his place will be Jason Webb, as announced in a joint press conference that should've been exclusively for Cone-- but hey, it's San Miguel Corporation, who has little to no coaching experience both in the amateurs and professional ranks.

Great. Just great.

Here is a guy who, among all of Cone's deputies, has the least experience and doesn't really look like he's meant for the part. There's always that one guy who, in team meetings, school group projects, who is the leader. Then there's the other guy, the second guy, who just pushes the rest and makes it happen. You see it in basketball, during timeouts. The coach does his thing and gives instructions, the lead assistant whispers in the ears of the rest. Eggs them on. Tells them what to do. Clarifies things. There are guys in the huddle that would make you think "ah, this guy will be a head coach someday."

But Webb?

Tim Cone to Ginebra

Sorry Johnny, Coach Tim and RdR
will be taking their talents to Ginebra
(Photo credit: Sports5.ph)

When we were first indoctrinated into the world of the Philippine Basketball Association in 1996, it was during the PBA Governor's Cup Finals-- a best-of-seven affair between the grandslam seeking Alaska Milkmen and the crowd darlings, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

On one side was the most charismatic head coach/ player in the history of the game, Robert Jaworski, Sr., commanding the likes of Noli Locsin, Bal David, Marlou Aquino and Vince Hizon. Now while we weren't familiar with the PBA brand of play, we already had a working idea of how basketball players should look and talk like thanks to the NBA. Let's just say that based on body fat percentage and muscle tone alone, none of the Ginebra players fit the mold save for maybe Vince Hizon. Yet they were the crowd darlings, they were fighting tooth and nail with a team that looked so fluid, so sexy, that it was hard NOT to root for the obvious underdogs.

Who exposed us to this title bout? Our mom. Who was an Alaska fan at the time, thanks to Jojo Lastimosa's looks and game. She was probably trying to turn us into Alaska fans too, but we ended up liking the other team. Anyway, Alaska was being coached by a dirty blonde who almost always finished every play drawn in the huddle with an "aight" or "all right?"

His name is Tim Cone.

PBA GC SF: (1) Alaska vs (5) STAR

The series' X-factor is in this picture,
but not who you would think
(Photo credit to Sports5.ph))

Forget Manila Classico (which celebrates the fanbases more than it does the actual two teams since performance/ championships-wise, they are simply non-equals), this is the real rivalry that has more history and bad blood to it than anything else in the last four-five years.

Ideology vs machinery. Building a team the right way in hopes of winning championships vs one that can just as easily acquire any given player to fit its needs en route to a title romp. At the end of the day, this is what it all boiled down to from the outside looking in specially for head coach Tim Cone. A new challenge, more money, job security and so on vs a franchise that has been repeatedly rumored to be up for sale since when? 2012? We've been hearing about it for two-three straight seasons now.

There is no loyalty in professional sports, only business.

STAR has the, well, starpower. Alaska has the hustle and endless amount of energy.

Something's got to give.

PBA GC QF: (4) GlobalPort vs (5) STAR Hotshots

Pambansang Ex-Husband
kontra Pambansang Ex-Boyfriend.
Allegedly. Hihi.
(Photo credits to Sports5.ph)

"To be the man, you have to beat the man."

Call it a "rite of passage" for Terrence Romeo, Stanley Pringle and the rest of the "young" GlobalPort Batang Pier squad who are making their first trip into the PBA Playoffs. Standing in the way? The defending champions STAR Hotshots who started the conference (and basically the entire season) jet-lagged from their Grand Slam high from last year.

Lately? We've been seeing Marc Pingris once again pulling his shorts up and crouching low. We're seeing James Yap making clutch plays over the toughest of defenses. Marqus Blakely is back to being Black Sakuragi (which is somewhat racist, when you think about it) though in a more toned down manner.

Romeo has been frothing at the mouth for an opportunity to play at this level of basketball. He's a high stakes player, built for superstar-making games. There are only two teams that you need to be at your best to become a household name in the PBA: Ginebra, and STAR (Purefoods).

It's the Golden Ticket to the PBA's Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory of Superstardom.

Stars are bland

Look up, look up!
(Photo credits to Sports5)

Definitely not a typo.

The re-christened, yellow-and-red sporting STAR Hotshots are finding it even tougher to defend their third and final crown from last season's grand slam romp, specially with the absence of future cornerstone 6"7 Ian Sangalang. Head coach Tim Cone has stuck mostly to playing an eight-man heavy rotation, with other guys playing sparingly by design.

Thus far, the Hotshots' record is five wins versus five losses. Stuck somewhere in the middle of the Playoff hunt.

Leading the team's hope for a last title defense are returning import Marqus Blakely (39 mpg 23 ppg 13 rpg 3 apg), Marc Pingris (29 mpg 8 ppg 6 rpg 2 apg), Joe DeVance (29 mpg 11 ppg 3 rpg 2 apg), Alex Mallari (28 mpg 10 ppg 3 rpg 3 apg), Mark Barroca (29 mpg 10 ppg 4 rpg 3 apg) and 2x PBA MVP James Yap (25 mpg 11 ppg 4rpg 1 apg). Guys like Justin Melton and PJ Simon are contributing as well, though it appears that they are having some trouble meshing with the rest or excelling in limited minutes (specifically Simon).

PBACC The Semifinals: Talk'n'Text vs Purefoods

Puso kontra tapang
(Photo credits to the owner)

From a championship pedigree standpoint, you could very well conclude that this is THE PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals match-up disguised as a Best-of-Five Semifinals pairing between two of the winning-est teams in the last five-six years.

The Talk'n'Text Tropang Texters, coached by Jong Uichico versus the Purefoods Star Hotshots and coach Tim Cone.

Pilipinas basketball does not get any better than this: the core of the Gilas Pilipinas national team (from players to brain thrust) versus a team that is so good (as proven by their Grand Slam credentials), one could actually argue for them as a version of Gilas in an alternate universe. While the Texters enjoy proven depth with its veterans, the Hotshots' 2nd unit of mostly up-and-coming names are certified by the number of titles under their belts (which, from what we have seen thus far, they seem to keep wanting to add to).

Don't call it a comeback

Kala niyo sawa na kami mag-champion?
(Photo credits to the owner)

Coach Cone was not brought into the Purefoods' fold to win a championship. He wasn't brought in to simply win a PBA Grand Slam (though that could have easily been one of the targets/ objectives).

He was brought in to (re)establish a (new) dynasty in Philippine basketball.

Name any past or present San Miguel Corporation-employed head coach in the last ten to fifteen years that was given as much leeway and power as Cone. You'll have to go back two more decades or so, to the days of the iconic Robert Jaworski, Sr. and Ron Jacobs, to truly understand how much creative control and power Cone was given when it comes to the direction of the team, player trades and acquisition and basically what sort of product to put on the basketball court.

KKS' Picks: The PBA All Star Reserves

What might've been for Gilas Pilipinas.
(Photo credit: Sports5)

This year's PBA All Star game hopes to serve as one of many tune-up matches for the Gilas Pilipinas men's basketball team. On paper, the game promises to be a blockbuster, heavyweight match-up between those who were chosen to represent the country versus those who were not as fortunate for one reason or another.

Already named to the PBA All Star Starting Five are: Mark Barroca, James Yap, Chris Ellis, Mac Baracael and Greg Slaughter.

Of the five starters, only Barroca merits to really be called an All Star starter given his performance in the PBA Philippine Cup en route to a Finals MVP trophy. Yap only returned to form somewhere in the semifinals and finals, while the troika of Ellis, Baracael and Slaughter largely benefited from what one may call as the equivalent of the NBA's Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady's "China" votes (only in this case, "China" is "Barangay Ginebra.")

Based on stats alone, we could name three guys who could easily supplant the above-mentioned and we're more than happy to give them their due as we name our PBA All Star Reserves to round out the Magic 12. To be clear, we're not trying to make any predictions here, since the selection of the reserves will fall onto the PBA coaches' shoulders led by PBA All Star team head coach Tim Cone, but we're going with the guys who made a name for themselves in the recently concluded PBA Philippine Cup and at the very least, deserve a look.

1) Arwind Santos (SF/PF San Miguel Beermen) 17.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.3 bpg
For all the social media negativity cast on the REIGNING PBA Most Valuable Player about him being a "stat-padder," you can't call out a player for hauling down over ten rebounds a night. The points, yes, probably. But rebounding is a different art form altogether that, when approached timidly or lackadaisically, you could easily get your mouth popped by someone more tenacious (think of it as going for a 50/50 rebound versus a Marc Pingris-- yeah, you need to be alert on that one 24/7). Santos made a good account of himself last conference, proving that while he lacks the superstar one-on-one iso game people expect from a league MVP, he is still pretty solid nonetheless.

Out of sync

Is the playing-injured James Yap
hurting/helping his team?
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Should someone make a quick call to the conspiracy theorists behind the whole "only two of the three San Miguel umbrella teams can have winning records per conference" schtick? Because the way things are going, the San Mig Coffee Mixers are bound to be left off the PBA Philippine Cup title hunt.

How else can you explain the Mixers' paltry three wins in ten games predicament despite having a souped-up roster?

Granted, the Mixers were bit by the injury bug with stars Joe DeVance, PJ Simon, Marc Pingris and 2x former PBA Most Valuable Player James Yap all sitting out games early in the conference. But ten games in, with the stars all back, and still a losing record?

Something's amiss.

In a funk

"Clank!" For the struggling 2x PBA MVP
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Did you know that since the 2008-2009 season, this feared marksman's shooting clip from the three point arc has gone down considerably year after year?

Blame it on off-court drama or nagging injuries, but the honest and brutal truth of it all is that two time PBA Most Valuable Player James Carlos Yap, the "face of the PBA" and San Mig Coffee's on-court leader, is struggling. Three games into the new 2013-2014 season and we're still being (mis)treated to the same old sub-standard shooting performance unexpected from a player of Yap's caliber.

PBA GovCup Finals: Mixers' Reign

You reach, I teach
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The San Mig Coffee Mixers have won their 2nd championship under the still young Tim Cone Era after surviving Game 7 of the PBA Governor's Cup Finals versus the Petron Blaze Boosters. When the game was at its closest and nerve-wracking, the Mixers simply buckled down to work while the mighty Boosters began to come undone.

Hats off to both teams for putting one hell of a show. Though the series was unconvincingly dragged to  its limits with some blowout exchanges here and there early, Game 7 showed just how evenly matched both teams are with no team enjoying a clear advantage going into the last 12 minutes.

The Boosters were once again led by prolific import Elijah Millsap and hard working rookie Junemar Fajardo but failed to get the support that we cited in our earlier post. Either by design or something else, the Boosters kept milking Fajardo and Millsap while forgetting to involve their other, potent players from the wings such as Marcio Lassiter, Ronald Tubid, Chris Lutz and Alex Cabagnot. PBA Most Valuable Player Arwind Santos was also left looking like an over rated role player (the entire series actually) who couldn't get into any sort of rhythm on both ends of the court.