PBA Bubble Season Awards Reaction

Once again, hats off to the PBA and everyone who was involved in bringing back the league during the pandemic to help inspire and really give fans a sense of normalcy and outlet. They are all MVPs in our hearts.

That being said, here's our take on the Special Awardees who were recognized by the league in yesterday's online awarding:

Outstanding Rookie - Aaron Black (Meralco)

The 2nd generation PBA star performed quite well under the tutelage of his father, Meralco head coach Norman Black. While his numbers do not really stand out, he was pretty solid as a small forward/ shooting guard running mate to Meralco's resident go-to-guy Chris Newsome. 

Honestly, felt that Roosevelt Adams, though a bit underwhelming, made a good case for himself this season while playing for TerraFirma (lost in the mix after being forced to play center on numerous occasions). Ginebra's Arvin Tolentino was also pretty solid and IMHO if you're a rookie, and you can somehow crack Coach Tim Cone's starting five for whatever reason and not look like a tool, you should instantly be recognized for it. 

PBA Philippine Cup Finals: Ginebra (1) vs TNT (3)

Author's note: Before we proceed, we would like to once again take this time to thank everyone who made the PBA Philippine Cup bubble. Sure, we made fun of certain teams and players on social media-- but that doesn't take away from how thankful we all are for being able to have something 'normal,' and how it took our minds away from this pandemic (if only for 3-5 hours a day).

So here we finally are. The PBA Philippine Cup (Bubble Season) Finals match-up pitting the Barangay Ginebra versus TNT Giga. The clear-cut favorites, going into the season following the injury to San Miguel Beer's living legend Junemar Fajardo which put a halt to their mighty romp.

On one side, you have last season's PBA Governor's Cup champions Ginebra which lost 7"0 slotman Greg Slaughter but ultimately gained another conference's worth of chemistry with ace guard Stanley Pringle. Where super scoring import Justin Brownlee left off, Pringle pretty much picked up together with new recruits veteran lefties Jared Dilligner and Jeffrei Chan. 

In the off-season they added promising rookie Arvin Tolentino and during the bubble Coach Tim Cone made full use of his roster by giving extended minutes to his younger players which allowed back-up center Prince Caperal to showcase his wares.

Then there's the TNT Giga.

They added the man we dub as 'The Natural' in Ray Ray Parks, Jr. And followed it up by adding much-improved defensive big Poy Erram while giving away next to nothing.

That's it. End of conversation.

PBA Bubble SF: Ginebra (1) VS Meralco (5)

"Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako"
Photo credit: Slamonline.ph

We opened the other SF entry by saying that it has a lot of history. Well, this one's got an even longer tale-- although a lot upsided than the Meralco Bolts would hope for. 

Here's what we all know so far, since Chris Newsome was added to the Bolts' line-up they have managed to almost, always face-off against Barangay Ginebra in either the playoffs or PBA Finals. And if memory serves us correctly, the Bolts have never managed to beat Ginebra in any of those match-ups specially when the latter is at full strength. 

So, can the souped-up Bolts finally get over the hump and give coach Norman Black a series win over Tim Cone? 

That's a pretty tall order. 

Taller than Japeth Aguilar, even. 

PG L.A. Tenorio v Baser Amer 

Sure, Meralco has added the bruising Nard Pinto as Amer's back-up but even at Tenorio's advanced years there is just no comparing his consistent performance as Ginebra's lead point guard vs Amer's continued on-and-off showing. Some games Amer looks like the Jimmy Alapag protege, knocking down threes off the screen and making clutch plays, others he looks as though he's lost on the court. Tenorio? Whenever he's in, what he lacks in scoring he makes up for in heady plays, swinging the ball and being Japeth Aguilar's set-up guy. 

Adv. Ginebra 

PBA GovCup Finals: Ginebra v Meralco

Act III
(Photo credit: ABS CBN Sports)

Our apologies for being a game late with our preview, though we are admittedly not as bothered because somehow, someway, this "trilogy" between the Meralco Bolts and their continued tormentors, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel feels as though it will go the distance.

Call it a gut feel.

Fine, for those who have been following our blog and Twitter accounts, we're currently at an abysmal 2 and 4 with our predictions. But hey, like the band Journey: "don't stop. Believing."

Hold on to that feeling.

*apir kung kinanta mo din*

Much has changed since these two teams first met in the PBA Finals. Meralco made sure to check all the boxes and dot all their i's by adding gunner Allein Maliksi, rim protector Raymond Almazan and bruiser Raymar Jose. There were a lot of times in the first two encounters wherein they really felt the absence of a perimeter gunner (Chris Newsome was all by his lonesome), a reliable big who is agile enough to keep in step with Ginebra's towering giants Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter, and a young enforcer to help spell their throng of veteran power forwards.


Because really, Meralco has a knack for bringing in 35+ year old power forwards into the fold no? Reynel Hugnatan's still there. Ranidel de Ocampo came in. Just a bunch of old stars, and when they do get young blood, it's mostly the bit players that other teams discarded.

So really, it was their hulking import Allen Durham, Newsome, and backup guard Anjo Caram. Yes. No Baser Amer. He was flat out getting cooked by L.A. Tenorio out there. And if Game 1 of this Finals series has shown, Amer still can't guard Tenorio to save his life. And we're talking about an OLD Tenorio here, not the ultra quick Ateneo/ Harbour Center/ Alaska one.

Hopefully, the additions pan out. They have a great young forward in Bong Quinto, who had a terrible Game 1 but will most likely bounce back for the rest of the series.

On the other side of the fence, Ginebra's peaking at the right time. They started the conference a bit slow only to finish 3rd after the eliminations. Once in, they dismantled the distracted San Miguel Beermen before ending Northport's Cinderella story in the semis. All that despite going through some injuries here and there to their rotation guys, still having to incorporate Stanley Pringle into the mix and achieving a balance between him and super import Justin Brownlee.

Seriously, is there anything that Brownlee cannot do? Because by now, three or four years into his PBA career, he's obviously the measuring stick when it comes to imports right?

Brownlee as the do-it-all, high scoring, perimeter oriented barometer, Durham being the low post one.

Here are the match-ups:

LA Tenorio vs Baser Amer/ Anjo Caram
Here's the thing, Amer is Meralco's lead guy. They go where he goes. Unfortunately, he simply cannot stay in front of Tenorio. Which is odd considering his youth. He's just outgunned, outsmarted, outwitted at every turn. Caram makes up for it with his energy. Maybe the bigger Nard Pinto should be sent to check Tenorio and rough the vet up a bit. I mean, if they really want to win and all.

Stanley Pringle/ Scottie Thompson vs Chris Newsome
Sucks to be Newsome. This is his breakout party-- 3rd time's the charm right? He was great the first time around, he was good the last time... now he's stuck trying to keep in step with Pringle. Who is pretty much the best guard out there today. Bar none. And if that wasn't enough, there's the energetic Thompson, who is really Ginebra's X-factor as he is their primary 2nd ball-mover after Tenorio or Brownlee. The gaps in Ginebra's offense, when the ball needs to move from one side to the other, that's where Thompson comes in with the hockey assists. Low key, but disruptive if you're trying to stop Ginebra. And he rebounds like a mofo too.

Justin Brownlee vs Bong Quinto/ Allein Maliksi
I don't get the Magic Brownlee tag. Just call him Ginebra's Michael Jordan. Maliksi's practically useless when his shooting is off target.

Japeth Aguilar vs Raymond Almazan
Yay for Meralco, they got a rim protector who can spread the floor. But Aguilar's been on a different level since Coach Tim Cone arrived at Ginebra. Sure, he still bites on fakes, but he appears to be a bit tougher. Less erratic. More confident in attacking the rim (and simply jamming it in). Also, Japeth seems to play with more aggression whenever he faces off against Almazan. Even when Rakenrol was still with RoS.

Joe DeVance/ Greg Slaughter vs Allen Durham

That's about as one-sided of an affair as you can get. Which is tough on paper, but execution-wise, Meralco is running their sets more fluidly than Ginebra. Ginebra's players gets away with a lot because of their superb 1-on-1 talent, but you can see during their dry spells that they do have instances wherein they just don't know what set to run or who to go to. Well, save for iso-Brownlee or iso-Pringle.

But that's just us nitpicking really.

BUT, if you're Meralco, they were pretty much in control of Game 1 up until the 4th quarter when their starters obviously started to tire out as opposed to Ginebra who kept putting in fresh legs-- specially on Durham (DeVance and Slaughter kept taking turns in guarding him down low). So that's one, Meralco simply can't afford to have their key guys playing 33 minutes and up. Not when the name of the game is to try and stop Ginebra from busting open the gates.

X-factor: Joe DeVance, his high IQ and big bum on defense for Ginebra; Bong Quinto for Meralco

Prediction: Ginebra.

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

Trade RXN: Pringle to Ginebra

Author’s note: We simply cannot tell a lie—the most fantasy basketball-related thing that we really invest time and brainpower on are trade reactions. Of what is and what could be, how pieces would fit in a puzzle moving forward and so on. So the minute that we found out about this trade, we just had to drop everything and write a customary RXN piece. Enjoy!

Bagong ka-Barangay
(Photo: ABS CBN Sports)

For what it's worth, NorthPort had a great five-year run with All Star Stanley Pringle running the point. Sure, he spent most of it playing 2nd fiddle to Terrence Romeo, but he pretty much filled the gaps and when he was given the keys to the 'ship' following Romeo's exit, he delivered in grand fashion enough to merit a starting, starring role with Gilas Pilipinas.

Now, Pringle will take his act to Ginebra Ako, where he is expected to lead the charge and inherit the team from aging iron man L.A. Tenorio to form a young, formidable backcourt with Scottie Thompson.



We've always said-- from the old blog to Twitter, that Ginebra usually went only as far as Tenorio would take them. The star point guard is not only the team's best facilitator, but also their best creator both on and off the dribble following Mark Caguioa's journey into semi-retirement. This is why Ginebra Ako is so good when they have Justin Brownlee in the fold, and not as much when they don't.

Enter Pringle, who could easily slide into either 1 or 2. With Tenorio, he'll be the de facto 2 guard- scorer, finisher, long range bomber-- you name it. When Tenorio's on the bench, he could take the lead role or play off of Scottie Thompson (who has yet to be tasked to run the Ginebra offense full-time) or point-forward Joe DeVance.

Just another solid addition to the Ginebra fold that really makes them a better team all around. They have the bigs equipped with mid-range scoring, now they've got their guard of the future.

They lost three guys, two of which are rotation players, with the other one serviceable when healthy.

Which brings us to NorthPort.

In exchange for Pringle, NorthPort received guard Sol Mercado, small forward Kevin Ferrer and power forward Jervy Cruz. On paper, that's not a bad haul.

Mercado has sacrificed a lot to fit Ginebra's system, giving up his touches if only to allow bigs Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter to operate a bit more. He has openly welcomed coming off the bench for the great Coach Tim Cone, and has willingly played whatever role was asked of him-- be it scorer, stopper (he tries) or energy guy. There's no question on our minds that Mercado should start sooner rather than later for NorthPort as a capable replacement for Pringle. Maybe not as explosive scoring-wise, but still solid enough to put up good numbers.

Big man Cruz is reunited with his 2006 UST championship coach, and we sincerely hope that he finds the minutes this time around. We have seen flashes, but all in all Cruz has found it hard to be as dominant in the pros as he was in college-- blame it on the competition being taller, and bigger, and his opting to trim down a bit. When he's healthy and given minutes, Cruz is quite competent around the paint-- just don't ask Coach Yeng Guiao. But in an import laden conference, given NorthPort's line-up, we're not really expecting a lot from Cruz.

Now here's the interesting part.

The young tiger, the former Tiger King (was he ever officially coronated? Or is the title Alj-- I kid, I kid) Kevin Ferrer.

At this point, it's really to early to give up on Ferrer. He's had his moments with Ginebra, but for the most part he has looked like a lazier, more disengaged version of Mac Baracael. You know, another great college player who could play two-way basketball and had great range? Yeah, him. Ferrer's the new Baracael, only worse. While we wouldn't really question his work ethic (pretty sure he's a gym rat like the rest of them), we're basically making that whole statement based on what we have seen in his professional career on the court. When he's hot, he has unlimited range. His high release paired with his long arms make him almost unguardable. Problem is, he doesn't seem to care about moving his feet to get free or has a pet dribble to go to-- things he could have and should have learned from Ginebra veteran, textbook shooter/ scorer Jeffrei Chan (who is unfortunately injured) during their time together.

What's nice here is that, Ferrer will definitely get a chance to shine playing behind Sean Anthony at the 3 spot (or maybe even play together come Philippine Cup). Here's to wishing that Ferrer finally gets 'it' and shows his true worth under his old coach Pido.

Trade grade:

Ginebra Ako: A (they got Pringle!)
NorthPort: B (should've gone for draft picks but hey)

Your thoughts?

No Drama

Jordan Clarkson, Pilipinas # 6
(Photo courtesy of Rappler.com)

Save for the pre-Asian Games run wherein it really felt like boardroom nerds just had to get themselves in the limelight somehow, this current edition and run of the Philippines' men's basketball team is exactly how we want our team: no frills, no TV specials (until after the job is done) and definitely no other name or brand but PILIPINAS shining through.

A no frills coach who surprisingly has been off-television character, saying all the right things and keeping most of his thoughts to himself. A team that has been forged by fire, reinforced by players with no hidden agendas (like a wishful thinking of maybe there are NBA scouts watching and that this could be their shot at the big time). And the whole PBA, suddenly in unison after their dirty laundry was brought out in the open (by design or not), united for a cause.

So please forgive us, SMART, Chooks-to-go, and whichever brand wants to be plastered on the jerseys.

PBA PhC QF: 4 TNT v 5 GP

To be the Man, you have to beat THE Man
(Photo credit: smartgilasbasketball.com)

This match-up is going to be quite interesting: a re-calibrated championship team going up against young up-and-comers who want to take over the basketball world.

Ladies and gentlemen the PBA gives to you: 4th seed TNT Katropa versus the 5th seed GlobalPort Batang Pier. On one side is the King of the Jungle, FIBA Asia all-star guard Jayson Castro, and on the other stands the young lion, Terrence Romeo.

But if you are expecting a plain, old school shootout between the two, we doubt that TNT's going to be a willing dance partner given their spread-out, "collegiate" approach.

Natural born killer

Mamba Mentality
(Photo credit: gmanetwork.com)

Terrence Romeo just dropped 44 points on the Rain or Shine Elastopainters.

We repeat, forty-four points to go with 6 rebounds and the same number of assists. If you took away today's match up versus RoS' angry lot of shooting guards and small forwards, Romeo is still averaging a league-best 27ppg to go with 4rpg and 6apg on an absurd 44% clip from 2-point territory and 43% from 3.

What separates Romeo from all the other gifted scorers that we have seen both past and present, is that he doesn't appear to be quite the forgiving type. He will score at you in bunches, and will not stop pressing down your throat with his foot not until Coach Franz Pumaren yanks him out of the game or reminds him to let Stanley Pringle and friends join in the fun.

All Ineligible/ Anti-Gilas

#whatif Anti-Gilas
(Photo credit Sports5.ph)

While we await the official announcement of Coach Chot Reyes’ Gilas 24-man pool (with the 12 former Gilas cadets already shoo-ins), here is an interesting thought: why not create a “practice team” of “FIBA ineligible” PBA players who are also, mostly, Gilas-caliber?

We are not trying to create any drama here, just that we feel that these guys could readily give Gilas a run for its money considering their overall talent and global experience pre-PBA.  Just to make it even more interesting, we would want maybe Coach Norman Black or Tim Cone to handle this roster:

Alex Cabagnot
Chris Ross
Stanley Pringle
Chris Newsome
Chris Banchero

Evolution

The Golden Boy
(photo credit: pba-online.net)

GlobalPort Batang Pier’s Terrence Romeo is redefining the way he is known to the local basketball world in two PBA Philippine Cup games played so far. Though the “Golden Boy” is averaging his customary 27 points, he is now actively keeping his teammates involved by issuing 7 assists as well.

Change looks like it’s coming, eh?

Before we proceed, we’d like to ask: who is the better basketball player? A guy scores 40 points or a guy who puts up 15 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists while also deferring to a teammate when it comes to taking the game-winner?

Trade reaction: Joseph Yeo to Meralco

The Ninja
(Photo credit: pba-online.net)

Don't you just love a busy off-season?

The Meralco Bolts have reportedly acquired the services of shooting guard Joseph Yeo in exchange for Rey Guevarra in what is definitely a steal of a trade. Yeo, despite being "called out" by GP team owner Mikee Romero, still managed to average 24mpg 9ppg 3rpg 3apg last season while Guevarra, 6mpg 2ppg 1rpg, has been in Coach Norman Black's doghouse and with good reason.

What is the reason you ask?

Real talk: Guevarra is just not that good a PBA playe; and is definitely not on the same footing as Yeo.

41st Leo Awards Fallout

He's got the whole world, in his hands
(Photo credit to the owner)

What a season it has been for the Philippine Basketball Association-- controversial commissioner, ugly gossips, banned media man, terminated marketing head and all.

We will let certain people worry about it, as we only truly care about the sport of basketball and the players (and coaches) involved. Like we previously said and will forever maintain, we will laugh at all the gossips and rumors (through Twitter), but we will not write about it on this blog as we prefer to keep this one all about basketball.

No backdoors involved.

Yesterday was Game 4 of the 2016 PBA Governor's Cup Finals AND also the 41st Leo Awards which recognized and celebrated this season's best individuals. Here we try to offer our two cents' worth on the winners:

Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award - Junemar Fajardo
Where did this come from? Fajardo's one of the nicest guys on the court and all, but uh... okay, he gets fouled a lot and hardly retaliates so that's well and good. It also sets a good example and puts a nice spotlight to an otherwise "blah" award that people don't really care about. Here's a high-usage rate player, the PBA MVP, playing the game the right way and not at all concerned with theatrics, show-boating or even the hard fouls.

Season of learning

The Slash Brothers
(Photo credit: cnnphilippines.com)

You win some, you lose some.

Now that the PBA has expanded to twelve teams (soon to be thirteen), winning a title—let alone staying competitive, is becoming a much more difficult task. There are a lot of factors that affect a team’s chances of winning, none more than the possibility of high caliber players (even coaches) being pirated by big-money franchises.

Heck we even learned this season that even big-money, sister, franchises are not safe from “cannibalizing” one another; a fate suffered by the Star Hotshots, who lost both their grand slam coach Tim Cone and versatile wing Joe DeVance, at the hands of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

Three teams have already been officially eliminated in the season-ending PBA Governor’s Cup: the Hotshots, GlobalPort Batang Pier, and Blackwater Elite. Here are some of the things we noticed in their respective campaigns, where they went wrong and could build on moving forward and through the 2016 PBA Draft.

KKS Trade Reaction: Cortez to GlobalPort

Back in green... NEON green, that is.
(Photo credit: Aktv)

GlobalPort Batang Pier recently acquired the services of veteran point guard Mike Cortez from the Blackwater Elite for Ronald Pascual in what has mostly been an under-the-radar sort of trade.

Under-the-radar, since there was little to no fanfare surrounding the deal involving an oft-injured 35-year-old and the little-used sophomore. Though this could very well be a "low risk, high reward" type of deal should things go as planned for both teams.

Why, you ask?

A tale of two semifinals

Surprise X-factor for Aces
(Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net)

You will have to excuse us at some point if we are unable to post entries about the must-see semifinals matches: Globalport vs Alaska and San Miguel vs Rain or Shine. How can we, when both series have proven to be quite riveting and entertaining thus far while also being played consecutively?

Hindi mo pa na-aabsorb yung nangyari dun sa isang series, maglalaro na yung sa kabila.

Honestly, we feel that they could space the games a bit more, by a day even. But then we understand that the PBA is probably rushing the schedule a bit to hopefully fit in their Gilas-related efforts. That being said, here are a few notes that we have taken from both match-ups.

Alaska vs Globalport

- Alaska will let Terrence Romeo have fun, because they recognize that when his shots are not falling he will force the action and alienate his teammates completely

PBAPC SF: 1 Alaska vs 5 GlobalPort

The Muscle Man
(Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net)

Contrary to popular belief, this is about as evenly matched on paper as you could get as far as a semifinals pairing is concerned.

Sure, the Alaska Aces have been playing great since Alex Compton took over and specially this conference now that Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel have taken starring roles within their "we not me" system, but that does not necessarily mean that they will just walk through the GlobalPort Batang Pier squad in a seven-game series. For one, the Batang Pier have the same nice mix of hungry youth and veteran savvy as the Aces.

On one side, the Aces’ strength lies in their deep guard rotation wherein everyone is a threat to score 20 a game be it JVee Casio, Cyrus Baguio and or Dondon Hontiveros. They also have solid back-ups in Chris Banchero, RJ Jazul and Ping Exciminiano, with Abueva also able to help in the ball-handling department. For the Batang Pier, while Stanley Pringle and Terrence Romeo are the stars, it is their frontline which got them this far: Jay Washington, Doug Kramer, Dorian Pena, Billy Mamaril and Rico Maierhofer. That’s a first-class collection of veteran bigs if we say so ourselves, with the Aces having only Manuel, an aging Sonny Thoss, what remains of Eric Menk, Noy Baclao and Samigue Eman.

PBAPC QF2: 4 Ginebra vs 5 GlobalPort

All eyes are on Romeo, but they should
really be on this man
(Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net)

Well that didn't take too long, now did it?

After getting through their respective Quarterfinals Phase 1 assignments, the PBA Philippine Cup's 4th (Barangay Ginebra) and 5th (Global Port) seeds are set to meet in a knockout Phase 2 match-up to decide who will face the Alaska Aces in one side of the conference semifinals.

Pretty safe to throw away the stats now, since by now everyone should be familiar with who can be counted on for both sides. For Ginebra, the offense will always start with Greg Slaughter, followed by Japeth Aguilar, Mark Caguioa and L.A. Tenorio. Usually in that same order. For Global Port, it is Stanley Pringle (because he logs close to 40 minutes a game!), Terrence Romeo (hot or cold) and whoever wishes to contribute on offense (lately, Jay Washington has been putting together a bunch of solid, double-double games).

PBAPC16 QF: 5 GlobalPort vs 8 Barako

Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net

R.R. Garcia just cannot seem to catch a break in his young PBA career.

After being pushed to the backseat by former college and pro teammate Terrence Romeo, Garcia was finally able to show his old UAAP MVP form for Barako Bull this Philippine Cup. Unfotunately, he suffered a shoulder injury just a few weeks back which has kept him on the sidelines going into this Quarterfinals match-up with, hey, Romeo and his GlobalPort squad.

Had Garcia (29mpg 17ppg 3rpg 2apg) been healthy, he and Romeo (30mpg 23ppg 4rpg 3apg) would have been the clear focus of this battle of recognized SMC farm teams (from a fan boy's standpoint, it could have been our "what if" Jayjay Helterbrand vs Mark Caguioa dream scenario... guess we will have to wait a bit longer on this one).

Stan the Man

Out with the old, in with the new
(Photo credit to the owner)

Poker-faced and steady, he carefully surveys the field to check where his comrades are-- his shooters are busy trying to wriggle free from their defenders, his bigs already engaged in hand-to-hand combat inside the box and angling for proper rebounding position.

In the middle of the chaos of blinding lights, human flesh and glistening jerseys, he makes a split-second decision.

He puts his head down and moves forward, his defender tries to move his legs fast enough to recover. Recover in time to make a possible last gasp attempt at challenging a layup. But what the defender does not know or anticipate, is that while he has already committed to this scenario, the hero has other things in mind. He slows down just as quickly as he accelerated, enough to throw his defender off balance. Enough to catch the help wondering what is going on: "will he shoot? Will he pass? Can I get there in time?" Parallel to the time it took the defender to answer this complex conundrum is the hero scoring or assisting on an easy basket.

This is starting to become somewhat of the norm for GlobalPort Batang Pier’s sophomore point guard Stanley Pringle.