Meralco solves Ginebra's Gulpi de Gulat style

No Asi, No problem for Bolts
with Hodge a.k.a. Kelly Williams 2.0

Gulat kayo no?

To the weak of heart, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel's newfound run-and-gun, "let all hell break loose" open court style would mean an immediate end to whatever fight one could muster. After all, what's there to do when L.A. Tenorio brings the ball downcourt in a little under 5 seconds, finds Allein Maliksi cocking for a jumper, Chris Ellis looking for an alley oop, Rico Maierhofer doing all sorts of crazy and energetic things and Billy Mamaril waiting for drop passes.

And if that wasn't enough, reigning PBA MVP Mark Caguioa is just waiting in the wings like the king lion of a pack followed by buddy Jayjay Helterbrand, Kerby Raymundo, Rudy Hatfield and solid role players Mike Cortez and Willie Wilson.

Tip of the iceberg for Ginebra

Showtime L.A.

The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings are going to run the competition to the ground.

If tonight's 110-90 massacre of the GlobalPort Batang Pier is to serve as a preview of things to come, then the good Lord almighty have mercy on the souls of whichever team dares face the souped up Kings with reigning Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa and National team ace point guard L.A. Tenorio leading the charge.

It's bad enough that Caguioa seems like he's in for another solid run after dealing with nagging injuries the previous years, but now teams have to contend with Tenorio-- arguably the most cerebral and efficient court general (not a fan of GIN-eral but okay, whatever), running the show and making life easier for his guys. With the Kings, outside of Caguioa and sophomore guard Allein Maliksi, there are no legit scorers/ creators one-on-one. What the team has in droves however, are a bunch of guys who are highly athletic and skilled enough to finish at the rim. (Kerby Raymundo used to be a solid one-on-one guy, but we're still waiting for him to come back at full strength.)

Pingris continues to earn Cone's trust

Pingris: Always Ready to Battle

When Hall of Fame-worthy BMeg Llamados head coach Tim Cone first came into town, talks of him developing established 2x PBA Most valuable Player James Yap captured headlines. There were dreams of multiple titles, unmatched greatness and a dynasty that was just waiting to happen.

For a time, people even toyed with the idea of how Cone could make his own present day "Alaska circa 1996" with Llamados with guys like Yap, Roger Yap, PJ Simon and Kerby Raymundo all in the fold. What people didn't really bother to talk about in those stages, was where defensive and rebounding bloodhound Marc Pingris fits in the Triangle Offense and Cone's gameplan altogether.

Finals Preview?

E kung ganito ba
naman idepensa sayo

In a game that could very well serve as a preview to the season-ending PBA Governor's Cup Finals, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters failed to overcome the streaking Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings-- losing 95-86.

While Ginebra lost some of its "Never Say Die" patent to the rising Powerade Tigers, the real budding rivalry is with the Elastopainters who are looking more and more like the old Batang Red Bull Thunder squad of, hey, current head coach Yeng Guiao. Years back, when the Thunder came into the league, they quickly won over some of Ginebra's fans behind the exploits of names such as Jimwell Torion, Willie Miller, Junthy Valenzuela, Davonna Harp and Mick Penissi. Those guys balled and had kanto swag which made them crowd darlings in an instant.

Ditto with the Elastopainters who are rallying around Guiao's old school Pinoy macho coaching style that rewards the efforts of its players while punishing opponents on defense.

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)?

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.

The PBA's Shaq vs Kobe

Age and injuries made Kerby
expendable at BMeg

To be the Man, you have to beat THE Man.

Or have the entire management back your claim, be on your prime, put up solid-not-great numbers, keep quiet and let the dice fall where they may.

From an entirely conspiracy theorist point of view, those claims could very well be used to illustrate what happened among Kerby Raymundo, James Yap and the B-Meg Llamados franchise as a whole.

Shrinkage Syndrome for Llamados

James Yap needs to step up. Now.

Isn't it ironic how the B-Meg Llamados, pre-season favorites with the acquisition of Hall of Fame coach Tim Cone, is led by a man touted "Big Game" only for them to keep falling short in, well, big games?

James Yap hasn't scored over 20 points in what feels like forever and this night's 103-81 loss is no different regardless of the 21 he scored on a 7/17 shooting clip. Most of his points came early, and when push came to shove, he couldn't do anything but hoist up those nice-form threes that kept bouncing off the rim.

San Miguel Gilas: The dream

Can't win FIBA games on style points

Philippine basketball fans know this by now though some have a hard time grasping its notion, the SMART Gilas Pilipinas basketball team is owned by Manny V. Pangilinan, its head coach is Talk 'n' Text's Chot Reyes, and most of its players will be from the very same PBA team.

There are no arguments to be made there, it's quite clear now that there are two basketball powers in the country (which we love as long as they keep it clean) and that. much like it was San Miguel's turn a decade ago, the ball is now with Team MVP. Simply put, if they can bring in players of equal caliber without jumping ship or having to stoop and beg their rivals, then so be it. Fortunately enough, this country is stacked with basketball talent and that there will always be a star (or more) who are not under their employ.

B-Meg Llamados: Up to the task

No questions asked.
This is Cone and Yap's team now.

Slowly but surely, future Hall of Famer and current two-conference-old B-Meg Llamados coach Tim Cone is taking control of the team as-a-whole. Altering its genetic make-up from the league's isolation-heavy posterboys, Cone has transformed the Llamados into a more balanced squad that puts an onus on team play.

It wasn't easy, but they are starting to reap the benefits of the seeds that they've been sowing at a short period of time. Rookie Mark Barroca is slowly emerging as a great, change-of-pace point guard who Cone doesn't have problems with playing exclusively in the 4th over his starters at the position.

Is chemistry really the issue for Ginebra?

Chemistry issues? Nah.
Talent redundancy is.

Three games into the PBA Commissioner's Cup and the crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings find themselves sitting pretty with a 2-1 slate. Thanks to a powerhouse line-up that is once again being bannered by prized wards Mark Caguioa (18 ppg) and Jayjay Helterbrand (5.5 apg, 1 spg) plus 7"1 import Chris Alexander (24 rpg), it seems that there's just no stopping the Gin Kings.

Still, chemistry-issues have been raised by no other than Gin Kings' coach Siot Tangquincen.

Based on what we've seen so far and already know, chemistry issues has never been a concern for this team. Had it been hastily assembled or made of newbies ala Air21, then yeah, but it still features the same old backcourt and anchor in the paint (Eric Menk) and even its newest additions-- Kerby Raymundo and the returning Rudy Hatfield are at one point or the other, all played competitive ball together either in PBA All Star games or, better yet, the country's national team.

Kerby to Ginebra?

A 10-time PBA All Star, Kerby went from being
"The Kid" at Red Bull to "The Man" at Purefoods/ BMeg

At 31 years old and coming off a season of knee injuries, Kerby Raymundo of the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados is reportedly on his way to joining sister team and the "other" crowd darlings, Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings for perhaps JC Intal and Rico Villanueva.

Rumors have it that the 10-time PBA All Star requested for a trade following an unsteady relationship with one of his teammates. Observers have pinned the blame on the Llamados' 2x Most Valuable Player James Yap, but we'll leave that as is because it's normal for star players to clash from time to time (specially when the other guy won his 1st Most Valuable Player plum *of two* over you because of showbiz-media votes).

Onto the impending trade then.

How big would Kerby be in the Gin Kings' scheme of things? Will we ever get to see the old "Kid" back with his best performance being in 2005-2006 and when he won several Purple Hearts from Pinoy fans during his National Team campaign? Or will he sit in favor of the shorter yet grittier Willie Wilson, or even the returning Rudy Hatfield? Can Kerby even steal minutes away from Eric "Major Pain" Menk (IF he comes back healthy next conference of course)?

Honestly, we're at a loss with the whole shake-up. Weren't the Gin Kings bent on developing their young guns? Was the move to reacquire Hatfield a sign that they're going to give it one last push behind their veteran core of Hatfield, Menk and guards Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa?

In limited minutes, and since they'll be playing with returning 7"0 import Chris Alexander at center, a power forward rotation of Menk-Hatfield-Kerby would just be downright nasty. Menk brings in the muscle. Hatfield comes in and brings the energy. Then Kerby comes in and does his finesse thing and drop buckets on fools.

Of course, everything will still fall on coach Siot Tangquincen's shoulders. If he'd even bother to use Kerby at the pivot (Siot and even coach Jong Uichico prefer a more perimeter-based attack).

Hopefully, Kerby finds a new home with the Gin Kings and plays like "The Kid" of years back. Dude's paid his dues in the league and is one of the better power forwards around.