#AskKKS : Top 10 PBA Role Players

Here is another #AskKKS entry, this time from our friend @iyovictor:

Okay, that is a tough one considering we only started watching the PBA actively/religiously around 1995 onwards and didn't really take notice of other teams outside of the popular ones (Ginebra, San Miguel, Purefoods, Alaska) at the time.

Today, we can rattle off a few names but we will not be as bold to rank them as Top 10 All Time (out of respect to whoever we will miss (and we know we will/might miss quite a few). For starters, let us take out Marc Pingris who is a role player at best but because of his tenacious and contagious hustle and energy (plus the good looks, humility and Sotto ties), was propelled to being a legitimate superstar (when had he been given a different face to work with and not be associated with all the showbiz stuff, would be just another "pulot boy/ garbage points workhorse" ala Freddie Abuda in the 90s). Same with Rudy Hatfield.

So what merits a role player? Well, for one, he is NOT the guy you build a franchise around. He is not a household name, is mostly loved by purists and not the every day, casual fan. He does the little things, that some times make headlines, but most of the time just helps the team win games.

Here we go. Not the Top 10 All Time, but our choice for 10 Best Role Players (whose careers we were able to follow).

Hustle like Hatfield

Photo courtesy of interaksyon.com

After 14 years (on and off) with the Philippine Basketball Association-- from Tanduay Rhum to Coca Cola and finally to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Rudy "The H-Bomb" Hatfield is finally calling it a career. This, after a so-so campaign in recent conferences following his nth comeback in the professional ranks.

We were not mistaken when we Tweeted the other day that Hatfield "reinvented" the way Filipino small forwards played the game. Back in the old days, small forwards were cast as one of the following: spread the floor wing shooter, defensive stopper or Mr. Intangibles. The guy who does the little things that almost go unseen by the not so educated basketball mind. It was almost, always one of the three. Can't be all (even the great NBA legend Magic Johnson had to concede on playing great lockdown defense, while Larry Bird lacked athleticism so there's always something holding small forwards back).

Ginebra wins minus MVP

Tenorio's takeover

Despite not having reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa in the fold the last couple of games, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel have stormed into 4th place of the ongoing Commissioner's Cup thanks to a fiery six-game winning streak.

The victories, all via an average lead of about "only" 5.3 points, have been brought about by the obvious chemistry between prized acquisition L.A. Tenorio and replacement import Vernon Macklin (who took over for the ineffective Herbert Hill). From lobs to gimmes, the two have been a joy to watch with Tenorio enjoying his best string of games so far wearing Ginebra's red, white and black colors (averaging around 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game).

Also coming to Tenorio's aide are Kerby Raymundo (6 points, 4 rebounds in only 13 minutes), Mac Baracael and Rob Labagala.

Ginebra in transition

For a team that held so much promise and potential going into the season, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and their millions (and millions- S/O Rock) find themselves struggling after two games with a clear lack of cohesion and chemistry on the floor.

It's easy to put the blame on their import Herbert Hill who looks to be winded everytime the 2nd half comes in, but you have to spread the fault to guards L.A. Tenorio, Jayjay Helterbrand and their barrage of wings from Chris Ellis, Mac Baracael and veteran Rudy Hatfield. Reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa is putting up the numbers, but after that, there's no one carrying the fight for the hapless Barangay.

PBA; Pride and Passion for Basketball

Thank you PBA. Thank you Kume Chito!

The year is 2012 going 2013, the PBA is back in terms of being one of the more preferred sources of entertainment in the country is concerned. The TV ratings are up, people are actually able to fill up about 1/3 of the venues and players enjoy immense popularity (even the undeserving ones) because of social media channels.

We'll go on record and thank Commissioner Chito Salud and the rest of the PBA Board of recognizing what the fans want. We want passion in games, be it in a blowout in the first round or a neck-and-neck grudge match in Game 7 of the Finals. We want animosity-- but only on the court. Physicality, but nothing borderline brutal or with mischievous/ murderous intent. The fans want emotions on the court, if we wanted to watch athletes flying all over and dunking, we'd troop to an And1 joint or download Harlem GlobeTrotters videos.

Ginebra needs some tweaking

Tenorio-Caguioa partnership is going
through some rough patches

See, this writer has never been a fan of the so-called "Never Say Die" mantra of the post-Jaworski Ginebra. The moment the former senator left the fold, his long-time assistant turned heir to the coaching throne Rino Salazar was duly replaced by Allan Caidic and all the mid 90s guys "Jawo" brought in went looking for greener pastures, Ginebra lost a lot of its charm because it became a powerhouse.

It took only about a year or two for San Miguel Corporation to really turn things around, from a rag-tag group to a team brimming with All Stars led by Mark Caguioa and Eric Menk. Jayjay Helterbrand came back and soon established himself as one of the league's best, so did the inclusion of names like Rodney Santos, Johnny Abarrientos, Rudy Hatfield, Ronald Tubid, Enrico Villanueva and so on at one time or another.

Real season starts for Alaska

Business is about to pick up for Alaska

Though we mourn the death of what could've been another classic and entertaining grudge match between the San Beda Red Lions and the San Sebastian Recoletos Golden Stags for the NCAA championship, the painful reprieve allows us the chance to finally see this year's most magnetic draft pick strut his wares in the PBA.

We're talking about no one else but the Stags' Calvin "The Beast" Abueva.

The obvious vital cog to the Alaska Aces' rebuilding and re-imaging approach to this season is finally done with his collegiate commitments and, as posted earlier by Ms CK Kanapi, has signed on the dotted line for the Aces. How badly does Aces Head Coach Luigi Trillo want Abueva to suit up? Think this Friday versus Petron. That's how much Coach Luigi and just about any Filipino basketball fan, casual or hardcore, want to see Abueva wearing a jersey with the letters PBA emblazoned on it.

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.)

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.

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.