PBA GovCup SF: Meralco vs TNT

McDaniels vs Durham
(Photo credit: Hoops PH)

Get ready for a slobberknocker of a Best-of-Five series between sister teams Meralco Bolts and the TNT Katropa.

Vastly improved, the Bolts finished the conference as the 2nd seed and easily disposed of the resurgent Alaska Aces behind the prowess of super-import Allen Durham and new recruits Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan. From where we are watching the games, it feels as though head coach Norman Black was able to address his team's weaknesses from previous conferences-- a need for a low post presence (this has been Durham's role from day one), a trusted scorer/ shot creator (Maliksi, who is absolutely the farthest thing from being gun-shy) and a rim protector (Almazan).

Sure, old hands Baser Amer and Chris Newsome are still delivering every now and then, but the addition of the above players makes the Bolts even more dangerous and well-rounded, similar to Black's previous champion teams. They're not really that exciting to watch, but they just keep wearing teams down be it a high-scoring affair or a grit-and-grind match.

It's going to be exciting when they finally lock horns with TNT, which beat them earlier this conference in a high-scoring affair (Durham finished with 43 while KJ McDaniels had 51).

For one, while the Bolts are the higher seed, the smart bet would be on TNT and their deep, superstar line-up. First, there's the returning Jayson Castro who has been playing like the FIBA Castro of old before suffering an injury mid-conference. In the Magnolia match-up, Castro outplayed a gauntlet of Grade A guards: Paul Lee, Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon to steer TNT to a hard-fought victory.

Then you have McDaniels, who can do just about everything you'd want from an import who's asked to make plays and knock down shots. He also averages about 3 to 4 blocks per game so to say that he's more offensive than defensive minded would be a mistake. These two are followed by national players RR Pogoy (who is unfortunately hurt), Troy Rosario, Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes.

Then there's the new addition: Ray Ray Parks.

In the off-season, rumors had it that Parks was supposedly on his way to the Bolts to join his godfather Black. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out and he went to TNT (a move that was probably hastened by the mid-conference injury to Castro).

With TNT, we've seen glimpses, and it's quite obvious that Parks will be playing a major role in this series as a definite x-factor.

So, match-up wise, we're looking at both team's best 5 guys and how we expect it to go:

Castro VS Amer
For some reason, Amer almost, always plays well vs TNT. Perhaps it's by design, with Black wanting his trusted PG to attack Castro more in hopes of forcing him to play defense. But honestly, the way Castro has been playing this conference, we don't see Amer stopping Castro any time soon. Maybe get the pesky Caram in just to give Castro different looks. Or even Nard Pinto to rough the FIBA star up.

DiGregorio VS Newsome
Newsome has been steady for the Bolts as a role playing scorer. He's shown flashes of being "the Man," but from what we've gathered he's better off as someone who puts up points and does a little bit of everything through the whole game. More Pippen than Jordan. TNT will need MDG to wax hot from the outside to help space the floor a bit for Castro to operate. The real fun begins when old TNT hand Ryan Reyes gets his turn in, locks up Newsome, and knocks down corner threes. Then, the Bolts will have a big problem.

Parks VS Maliksi
Maliksi is not going to back down from Parks, that's obvious enough. He'll go at him for sure. And it does look like he's already gotten the green light from Black as well. Bong Quinto is another option here, but the onus will be on Maliksi to knock down shots from deep to open things up for Durham inside the paint and maybe mix it up from the outside. The problem here of course, is should (or when) Maliksi get the green light, he tends to lose control and jack up shots like there's no tomorrow. For Parks, with Castro and McDaniels taking care of the scoring, he'll be asked to contribute the way Pogoy does (knock down open shots, take over the offense when Castro isn't clicking, and play defense).

McDaniels VS Almazan
Almazan has been Alma-zing for the Bolts as their rim protector and weak side big man. This is going to be a rough and tough affair where we expect everyone from Almazan to Faundo to Hodge to take a crack at TNT's high-scoring import who plays the 4 position on paper, but is really a 3 by game.

Rosario VS Durham
Who is going to stop Durham? Will TNT let Durham get his, like they did in their October 12 match-up, or will they double him and force the Bolts' other guys to salvage the win? For TNT, we're not sure Taha can handle Durham in the paint one-on-one. So the best plan is to really pull the Bolts' big man outside with stretch 4s and 5s.

The Bolts' team will need to overcome TNT's starpower from the onset. Honestly, we feel that they need to force the issue a bit more and be the aggressor, they have the 'rough' players for it, nothing dirty like NLEX, just a bit more physical. If this turns into a high-scoring affair, TNT will win 9 times out of 10. But should the Bolts be able to secure the boards and max out each possession, they'll be able to steal a few games.

Still, TNT to advance.

Your thoughts?

@kilikilishot on Twitter

Genesis

Here we go
(Photo: ABS CBN News)

In 2015, Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. had a choice to make: prepare for the PBA Draft, which has been nothing short of a birth right given his rich pedigree and building accomplishments, or try for the NBA Draft and see how far his basketball skills were to take him.

He chose the latter, though he went undrafted and hardly made an impact in the Development Leagues. It took him four years of playing for Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League (where he is the reigning back-to-back-to-back ABL Local MVP) and some for Gilas Pilipinas, before he finally opted to apply for the PBA Draft wherein he was selected 2nd overall- something that probably had more to do with off-court politics than actual basketball skill.

Because let's all be honest about it, Parks, Jr. is the most polished basketball player we have ever seen since Willie Miller and Zandro Limpot, Jr.

Name a basketball move, be it for a guard or big, and Parks, Jr. probably has it nailed all the way down to the fundamentals.



We've been hard on Parks, Jr. on our old blog and on Twitter (where he blocked us following that disappointing NU-UST series), but it was never about because he was making incorrect plays on the court. It was more like, we expected more. Because of the skillset. Because of the proven track record.

The knock on Parks, Jr. is that he doesn't play with fire. With intensity. We see flashes, but in a full 48-minute game, you see him going through the motions. But with so much ease that you'd be wanting for more. The shots are effortless. Getting into scoring position for him is easy-picking. The only time we've ever seen him being locked up, is that NU-UST playoffs wherein Kevin Ferrer was blatantly holding on to his wrists Tyron Lue-Allen Iverson style (that the refs were not calling, and from what we can remember he injured that same wrist, which ultimately led to a subpar game for his standards).

Our knock on Parks, Jr., going into the NBA Draft, is that he didn't have any advantage going in. Versus Filipino competition-- slower, smaller, he was an A+, versus guys who were about the same size but more explosive than he was, well, there's a reason why he couldn't crack a starting spot in the D-League. He was a tweener. He has the smarts to run point, but not the range, speed or strength. He's not a natural explosive scorer, not a catch-and-shoot guy, so you couldn't put him at the 2. He plays more like a natural 3, and vs international competition where 3 guys are anywhere from 6"6 to 6"9, he's just a bit too short/ not as strong.

We said that he needed to zero in on a skill, and hard. Scoring? Passing? Running? Something. To an elite level. Just enough to get noticed.

But on the Asian front-- let's not lie to ourselves. In South East Asia? Parks, Jr. is better than 90% of the field. You have seen some of the best Asian-Americans/ Foreigners and how they were tasked to match up with Parks, Jr. and the Filipino made them all look like fools on the court.

Now with the Blackwater Elite, we are starting to see an even more polished game from Parks, Jr. Though a rookie, he is arguably the most battle-tested among his peers. The way he handles himself in games, the way he plays and 'controls' the match-- had he been playing since the Philippine Cup he'd probably be a lock for the Rookie of the Year award as early as July already. The way he is able to make Allein Maliksi and Roi Sumang, both one-trick pony scorers, look even better on the court, and how he is able to revive the play of Mac Belo-- Parks, Jr. is an elite player for sure.

Sitting here after years of frustration over our love-hate relationship with Parks, Jr.'s basketball odyssey, we could definitely say this: "Parks, Jr. is the real deal, and he is worth the wait."