Blue collar approach

Just another day at the office
(Photo credit to the owner)

The Philippine Basketball Association is a showcase of Filipino basketball talent, skill and athleticism. It is a league wherein mere mortals are turned God-like, idolized by many and legends are formed. It rewards those who shine brightest, sure, but it also gives notice and praise to those who work in the shadows.

One look at the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup league statistics and you will be very surprised to see two non-household names making huge waves for their respective teams. On one side is the Mahindra Enforcers' Mark Yee (18mpg 12 ppg 10rpg) and on the other is Barako Bull Energy's Willie Wilson (36mpg 13ppg 10rpg). Both under-rated and definitely far from being part of their team's offensive sets. They will never really make the headlines (unless Yee opts to get his Hokage on again and use that special pwet ninjutsu of his), so please allow us this much Internet space to show them some of our basketball geek affection.

Here comes the Carnival

Mark Yee has given
Kia some inside swag
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

When playing coach Manny Pacquiao openly declared that his Kia Motors Carnival (then Sorento) is in the PBA to compete and serve as a reflection of his boxing fire, many brushed it off as false bravado. Admittedly, we were just waiting for any trade patterns so we can proclaim this expansion team as yet another "farm" team for the PBA powerhouses.

Well, guess we were wrong on that one.

They managed to win a game versus Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup before, predictably and expectedly, sucking the rest of the way. This conference, they brought in a giant of an import in Puerto Rican behemoth P.J. Ramos (who is better than advertised, props to his agent Ms. Sheryl Reyes) while adding some firepower by way of former ASEAN Basketball League MVP Leo Avenido and point guard Rudy Lingganay-- so yeah, they're not in this league to simply make Pacquiao an even bigger household name than he already is. They're actually in the PBA to win games and compete (which a few years ago shouldn't be an issue, but thanks to the likes of Barako Bull, GlobalPort and the original Air21, is already a feat in itself nowadays).

So how are the Carnival doing?