PBA KO Phase Round 2 Predictions: RoS Bracket

Expect fireworks.
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Well look what we have here: for the first time in a very long while, one of the teams that will advance to the PBA Finals will not be the Purefoods franchise. This, after a heart-breaking loss to a balanced Meralco Bolts franchise that didn't even have a superstar game from main man Gary David (where did that perfect game from James Sena come from?!).

Now, in a rather odd ball of a set-up, two teams will slug it out for the right to face the waiting PBA Philippine Cup 2nd seed Rain or Shine Elastopainters. On one side there's the Alaska Aces, a team that could've easily finished 1 or 2 if not for some lapses and the other, the Bolts.

3 Alaska Aces vs 6 Meralco Bolts
The first and only time that these two teams met in the elimination round, the Aces put on a 105-64 ass whooping of a clinic on the hapless Bolts. The Bolts were never really in the game, with Vic Manuel, Dondon Hontiveros, Calvin Abueva and rookie Chris Banchero all takings turns just scoring at will and the Bolts clearly out of form with Gary David going 2/10 from the field.

The Untaming of The Beast

#LetAbuevaBeAbueva

The Alaska Aces are currently lording it over the new PBA season thanks to a hot 3-0 start in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup.

They've dropped the nuances and intricacies of the Triangle Offense in favor of head coach Alex Compton's fast-paced, open-court style that he probably (most likely) inherited from his assistant coach Louie Alas after playing for him in the now defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association with the Manila Metrostars (with a few upgrades here and there owing to Compton's innate love for learning the game). This new style has resulted in higher scores, an uptempo approach that plays to the strengths of the Aces' boat load of high scoring (by career or by rep) guards and basically, because of the higher number of possessions on offense, every one is kept happy because they all get touches.

But none of them are probably happier than Calvin Abueva, who is currently on a tear of the league averaging 19 points and 9 rebounds in TWENTY MINUTES per game. Not to mention that he did put up an insane 26 points and 22 rebounds monster effort against league powerhouse Talk 'n' Text (plus sinking the Sam Cassell "big balls dance"-worthy game winner) just a few days back.

Point Blank

Asi is a lot of things for Air21,
but playing point guard is not one of them
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Four games into the PBA Philippine Cup and the somewhat retooled Air21 Express find themselves in familiar territory: 0-4, bottom of the 10-team race.

Despite the key addition/ renewed commitment of "immortal" Asi Taulava and spitfire guard Joseph Yeo (prized off-season recruit Mac Cardona is coming off injury), the Express are struggling to put together solid games (even the "moral victory" ones) and have lost no less than 11 points per outing.

PBA 2012 Draft: More busts than stars?

Is "The Muscle" too small to dominate the PBA?

While this year's PBA Draft will go down in history as the Year of the Fajardo/Abueva (depending on which camp you happen to be cheering for), it should be noted that of the 39 players selected (in an eye-popping 6 round draft thanks to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel's binge shopping for point guards), only a handful are still in the league and about five to six of them to actually be relevant.

On top are Petron's Junemar Fajardo, the first overall pick, inconsistent but very mobile and impressive for a guy his size and Alaska's Calvin Abueva, a sure lock for the year's top Rookie prize given his impact on his team and how he is able to carry his "beastly" game over to the pros with relative ease (and how he's managed to get in the heads of a lot of veterans when it's supposed to be the other way around).

After those guys, it's really a toss up on who else is going to be a star or at the very least-- "useful" for his team in the long run.

What's up Boss Mikee?

Hey Coach Glen, let the kids play!

The PBA's leading scorer the last two-three seasons, Gary David, is finally back for the GlobalPort Batang Pier following a bunch of missed games due to nagging injuries. Though David came up with another brilliant scoring display last Friday versus the struggling Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, it wasn't enough to give the Batang Pier their 2nd win in 9 games.

Expect David to burn the twine yet again alongside 2x PBA MVP Willie Miller and the 2012 PBA Draft "steal"Jason Deutchman-- these three guys can all bury the shot from deep all day when given the go signal. But that's not where we're going with in tonight's entry. We'd like to focus more on the wishy-washy handling of the rotation and the players that are starting to get more minutes on the floor.