Down to a two-man race for ROY

Sayo ang Pilipinas, akin ang Tondo!

JVee Casio, Paul Lee, Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter.

This season's top four draft picks have more than lived up to the hype; after the Philippine Cup-- the race couldn't be any tighter. Petron's Lutz' crazy efficiency was off the charts, Powerade's Casio was putting in clutch performances left and right when called upon, Rain or Shine's Lee quickly took control of a franchise while Lassiter trumped them all with a stellar two-way display in leading his team (along with Casio) to the Finals.

Texters mercifully euthanize Aces

Instant classic: Alapag vs Tenorio

In an out-of-town game that featured ugly, long dry spells for both squads, the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters were able to accomplish two things: keep their Governor's Cup title hopes alive AND take the hapless, lethargic and downright pitiful Alaska Aces out of their misery.

Proving that they are not yet done and are bent on giving sure fire future Hall of Fame coach Chot Reyes a nice sendoff (he's off to man the SMART Gilas Pilipinas program full time and turn the team over to Ateneo coach Norman Black by next season), the Texters regrouped from a slow first quarter and just took the air out of the Aces the rest of the evening.

Thoughts on ABL Finals Game 1

KKS has been keeping an eye on the ASEAN Basketball League since its inaugural season a few years back and it's just a joy to watch how the game has elevated from an ugly JV-type of basketball to somewhere along the lines of our very own NCAA (still a farcry from the PBA, let alone the UAAP). The tempo is faster, scoring is up and athletes are coming in from all over Asia to entertain the fans.

This afternoon's ABL Finals Game 1 between the San Miguel Beermen and Indonesia Warriors brought just that-- excitement, entertainment and quality basketball. Yes, there were several ugly dribbling forays here and there courtesy of IW's Stanley Pringle and Jerrick Canada and SMB's Chris Banchero, Leo Avenido and import Duke Crews BUT overall, it was a highly competitive match that was decided only in the final three minutes.

ABL Finals: Battle of the Pinoy PG Future

Pag sumali to sa PBA, mababawasan
ang female fans ni James Yap 

We're just minutes away from the ABL Best-of-Three Finals match-up between the Philippines' San Miguel Beermen and the Indonesia Warriors and it's quite nice to see the ASEAN league continuing to blossom in terms of reach, popularity and quality of games.

The  last two seasons, teams were vying for not only the best available imports, but for Filipino players to beef up their roster. This season, some teams opted to stick with mostly natural players and actually did quite well before retooling mid-conference (as anyone who's looking to improve should, regardless of nationality).

No Fight in Aces

L.A. Tenorio needs better teammates

The Alaska Aces, currently in the midst of an ugly ass-whooping from former coach Tim Cone's BMeg Llamados, need change.

Coach Luigi Trillo is trying his darndest to teach the Xs and Os to the players, but they are just not responding. Several times, the guys on the court settle to certain positions and do not even bother to move without the basketball. Hell, only their import Jason Forte and star point guard L.A. Tenorio seem to be even remotely interested in handling the rock.

What to make of Powerade

Yan yung larong Arriba Letran!  

Are they here to stay, buying time or are on they way out?

Those are the questions tacked on the insides of my brain whenever the Powerade Tigers hog the limelight by virtue of the scoring prowess of ace Gary David. It's really hard to measure the value of a PBA superstar specially when you know he's on a team that's probably not going to make deep runs for the foreseeable future.

Not when they opted to trade away David's true successor and the 2nd most important player in their rotation the last two conferences in rookie Marcio Lassiter. Yes, JVee Casio has been gifted with more than the lion's share of Skip Bayless' precious "clutch gene" but you don't build teams around point guards. It's either a wing or a big. That's it.

Asi Defies Father Time

Can I get an encore?

The Meralco Bolts are surging.

No, they're no where near championship caliber-- at least not yet. But the pieces are slowly starting to fall into place. Mac Cardona will never change or adapt, he'll always be the gunslinging assassin from days of old. Either you bench him or let him play the way he does-- which Coach Ryan Gregorio has done quite brilliantly. Sol Mercado lacks consistency, but the tenacity and talent is undeniable. Chris Ross is fast blossoming into a super quick, defensive pest at PG. Reynel Hugnatan is and will forever be a lock as the PBA's most under rated all around clutch performer.

And then there's Asi Taulava.

Rain or Shine is Paul Lee's Team

"You reach, I teach." - MJ

The writing was on the wall since day one.

Rain or Shine wanted change. They wanted to contend. They brought in fiery and feisty mentor Yeng Guiao and had young coach Caloy Garcia slide down a notch. They had enough of Sol Mercado's on and off, "buddy basketball" game opposite cornerstone Gabe Norwood. They signed a bunch of Guiao guys.

Then the draft came in and they picked the only guy among all the PBA hopefuls who could put it all together.

B-Meg's new groove

Yancy is REMINDING EVERYONE that
there are TWO dominant De Ocampo's
in the PBA today

Apologies for the 2-week hiatus, had to put all of my attention on something that could ultimately lead me to greater things-- professionally. But now that it's over, let the good times continue rolling and let's get right down to business.

Air 21 versus B-Meg in a meaningful out-of-town game that was close early before the Llamados regrouped in halftime and came out on a mission. While the story of the game was clearly between the awesome duel of imports Marqus Blakely (BMeg) and Zach Graham (Air21) who both treated fans to a brilliant case study on the difference between all-around players versus clutch gene scorers, it's always more fun to dig deeper.

The Replacements

Reunited and it feels so gooooood (sa Gilas ha)

SMART Gilas II head coach Chot Reyes has finally surrendered to the silent war being played by both Manny V. Pangilinan and San Miguel Corporation parties. There's no point in waiting for players from the San Miguel camp to submit their Letters of Intent to play for flag and country. We don't need divas be it player's decision or orders from the management.

This writer is on the side of Reyes because he was chosen to spearhead the National team. Not just another Pangilinan squad, but a team that will be sent out to actually represent us in international tournaments. Had the roles been reversed, I'd do and say the same things. That the best players should play for the National team. That their respective employers allow them to do so-- I refuse to believe that James Yap, Marc Pingris, Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos have no interest whatsoever in playing for Gilas II.

The Great Encore

Coach Chot needs to go out with a bang

Zero and two.

It''s been a while since we've seen the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters anywhere near the bottom of the standings-- let alone actually be the last placed team. We've put an even bigger emphasis on this fact since all teams will only be playing nine games in the current PBA Governor's Cup eliminations format. That means, Coach Chot Reyes only has seven games left to salvage a Semis appearance which is being challenged at the moment by a slew of injuries to his key personnel.

Boosters ready to defend

The Pinoy LeBron
doppleganger is back!

So much for the Meralco Bolts' mini-celebration after they were able to secure their very first franchise victory over sister team, the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters. The Manny V. Pangilinan-owned team was quickly brought back down to earth by rivals Petron Blaze Boosters of the proud San Miguel Corporation family.

Led by all-around import Eddie Basden, the Boosters stamped their collective class over the hapless Bolts despite having star guards Dondon Hontiveros and Marcio Lassiter in street clothes. Basden was joined by perennial All Star Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot and even Denok Miranda and keeping the Bolts at bay early before stepping on the gas in the second half for the win.

What are you trying to prove?

This guy is too good not
to sign up for SMART Gilas II

Though the right words are being said, it's pretty obvious that the local basketball scene continues to be divided-- more today than before. San Miguel Corporation continues to hold back some of their employees (two of which are among the Philippine Basketball Association's best) from signing up with SMART Gilas 2, and now we're hearing talks of a B-Meg coach Tim Cone-former SMART Gilas I coach Rajko Toroman PBA All Stars gearing up to take on Yao Ming's Shanghai Sharks in the next few weeks.

First, this shouldn't even be an issue right now. Coach Tim and Coach Rajko are arguably two of the best and brightest bench tacticians in the country today. There's no argument to be made against them coaching the PBA All Stars, hell, even Talk 'n' Text/ SMART Gilas II head coach Chot Reyes would probably slide over for either of the two guys.

Rain or Shine scores back-to-back wins

Ready? Sing!
My toes, my knees, my shoulders, my pwet.

Just a couple of days separated from their victory over the still adjusting Alaska Aces, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters were able to score another win this time over newly minted PBA Commissioner's Cup champions BMeg Llamados 100-94.

And while Quinito Henson shamelessly froths at the mouth over the athleticism of the Elastopainters' Gabe Norwood (who was just a couple of adjectives away from going so far as calling Norwood the league's LeBron James), the game was won by the team as a whole.

The Future is Here for Ginebra

The future looks bright
for Barangay Ginebra

The story of last Sunday's game was Mark Caguioa, his goggles, and the way the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings easily and handily whooped the upstart Air21 Express-- who were coming off a respectable Commissioner's Cup performance.

Caguioa was joined by tried and tested veterans Rudy Hatfield, Mike Cortez and Kerby Raymundo in dismantling the hapless Express, 103-85 with the help of the solid debut of import Cedric Bozeman.

This tells us that the Kings are primed to make another deep Playoff push this Governor's Cup behind their All Star core for as long as Caguioa is able to make shots and no longer complains of headaches and what not.

Meralco finally beats Kuya

Ross' rising PG play is key

Meaning, the Meralco Bolts can now wake up in the morning, wash their faces, look in the mirror and say that yes, they finally have a victory over their big brothers in the PBA, the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters.

An asterisk could be put on this opening day conquest though, with most of the Texters' starting unit inactive (Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, Harvey Carey and Kelly Williams) and the remaining guns like Ranidel de Ocampo, Jarred Dillinger and Ali Peek not at 100%. Whatever, this is basketball-- if you can suit up, then you can play as the greats would always say.

The (interim) Luigi Trillo era begins

Trillo: 1st 2 moves for the Aces:
open up the offense, play Baracael

So the (interim) Luigi Trillo era opens for the Alaska Aces not with a bang but a whimper, a lopsided ass-whooping that, to their credit, they tried to fight in the 3rd quarter for but just couldn't pull off defensive stops with any consistency.

Why did they drop Joel Banal again?

Oh, right, to return to the Triangle Offense that was stripped off them by now B-Meg and recently minted Commissioner's Cup champion coach Tim Cone. During the off-season, they had two choices: to go with Jojo Lastimosa-- who actually played within the system, or the young Trillo who was having a coaching renaissance of sorts in the PBA Developmental League.

Boosters on full tank; run over Tigers

The game was decided in favor of the Petron Blaze Boosters the minute the Powerade Tigers' Rabeh Al Hussaini blew his top (as always) and got himself ejected on yet another immature play.

Al Hussaini's best years were under Coach Norman.
You know, when he was focused.

Yes, the Boosters were already up in the score cards after the 1st half thanks to a more aggressive (and well rested) looking Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos and import Eddie Basden. But the game was close early up until Al Hussaini lost his cool to the man who replaced him in the Boosters' fold-- Dorian Pena.

Pena was doing nothing out of the ordinary (for the bruising enforcer anyway), so the brunt of the blame falls squarely on Al Hussaini who managed only 4 points and 0 rebounds while playing in spurts in the first two quarters. The Tigers fought back and even took the lead when Al Hussaini was on the bench behind veterans Rommel Adducul and Jondan Salvador who were all too happy to dish out the same Pena, WWE-style physicality in the paint.

Scarborough Friendlies All Set

Forget Yao. Tseng Wen-Ting is coming to Manila!

With reports confirming that the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanghai Sharks-- owned by retired NBA star Yao Ming, are all set to play a series of friendlies versus an All Star PBA Selection, basketball is starting to resurface as the country's premier sports that could, at the very least, calm all the hostilities.

Of course, the agreement between the CBA and the Philippine Sports Commission was set about a year ago and not because of the Scarborough Shoal brouhaha-- but either party could've easily pulled the plug on the friendlies due to current events.

Second look

Kung ganitong kadikit
na depensa nga di pinipituhan e

Before anything else, let it be known that this writer is at peace with the BMeg Llamados winning the PBA Commissioner's Cup title over the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters. Tim Cone was coaching and reaching deep into his bag of tricks, James Yap was playing like the University of the East version and not the Purefoods-Mr. Kris Aquino one, and Marc Pingris was putting on a defensive clinic on Ranidel de Ocampo.

BUT... since the game is being replayed this very minute over on AKTV, we couldn't help but look back and question the foul called on Kelly Williams with 1.2 seconds to play that led to the Llamados' import Denzel Bowles to take (and make) two free throws to force overtime (where they had a major advantage in terms of personnel).

Meralco scores big pick-up

Reyes and Espinas: Palit jersey

After days of speculation, the Alaska Aces (under interim coach Luigi Trillo) have decided to send offensive-minded big man JayR Reyes to the Meralco Bolts for energy power forward Gabby Espinas in a trade that addresses both teams immediate needs.

The Bolts are looking for a big man to possibly supplant the aging and sure-fire future Hall of Famer Asi Taulava at the center position while the Aces want to move to a more uptempo approach with a rebounding athlete. At first glance, it's quite easy to deduce that the Bolts are the clear winners of this trade given the fact that Reyes is not only three years younger than Espinas, but is also only scratching the surface of his true basketball potential.

Coz you gotta have faith

Love you bro. Aiiiiiight?

During turbulent times, episodes of trials and great challenges, it is always convenient to take the easy way out. No one will call you out for it, no one will crucify you for your actions—you simply went with what was the most logical thing to do.

But sometimes, you stick to what you know inside despite all odds and circumstance. Sometimes, you abandon reason and thought and trust your gut. Sometimes, if not most of it, we live life by the minute—all by faith.

When the B-Meg Llamados found themselves unable to quickly dispatch the defending champion Talk ‘n’ Text Tropang Texters, head coach Tim Cone could’ve made the right adjustments on the floor. By “right” we mean, the ones that we all believe would work for him outright. Like putting in Yancy de Ocampo over ineffective Joe DeVance. Or sending Josh Urbiztondo, Mark Barroca or both to the bench in favor of Jonas Villanueva. Simple solutions that could or would’ve worked either way—but don’t tell that to Coach Tim.

Tactical error

Can't win 'em all

Now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled somewhat, the losing part of last night’s epic PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals Game 7—the  Talk ‘n’ Text Tropang Texters should keep their heads unbowed for putting up an awesome display of heart and fight.

They were ahead by nine points midway in the fourth quarter in a grind-it-out game they had no business in winning since it wasn’t their style. The overtime forcing free throws off a foul by Kelly Williams on B-Meg super import Denzel Bowles shouldn’t be taken against the former PBA Most Valuable Player.

Tim Cone, Denzel Bowles reward BMeg planet

Monster Bowles took over in OT

What a game!

It came down to a battle of attrition, with the BMeg Llamados fighting back to force overtime after the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters started falling down one after the other in the 4th quarter.

Import Donnel Harvey fouled out. James Yap-stopper Ryan Reyes hurt his knee on a drive. Ali Peek fouled out. Ranidel de Ocampo went down. Jimmy Alapag, who was playing like the reigning PBA MVP and was making up for lost time with an efficient and explosive scoring display, was suffering from cramps. Jayson Castro, injured ankles, knees, hamstrings and all, came back to play but it just wasn't enough in the end.

Play to win

Regardless of the conclusion of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals later on today, we've been treated to two conference's worth of prime time, premium basketball action. The players are literally leaving everything out on the floor and the fans, in turn, are responding to it by filling the venues, watching online and missing out on their favorite tele-novelas.

Both the BMeg Llamados and Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters have been fighting tooth and nail thus far, and the Finals MVP will surely be given to the individual who deserves it most (unlike some instances regarding the Season MVP wherein guys win via media votes and not by what they have done the whole season). That being said, here are the frontrunners (and maybe darkhorses) when it comes to the Finals MVP award.

And yes, KKS only recognizes locals and not the imports no matter how Godly they are on the floor. They don't need the added publicity or write-ups anyway right?

The nominees:

Act a fool

Coach Bo Perasol is losing his guys one by one

After going on public to dismiss any other and all trade rumors concerning the Powerade Tigers in the PBA after sending Marcio Lassiter to Petron, team executive Ronnie Ascuncion (the guy who replaced the respected JB Baylon) went back on his word and did what should be Phase 2 to the "master plan."

Big man Doug Kramer, who enjoyed a prolific Philippine Cup before struggling to find minutes in the big import-flavored PBA CC, was sent to the Barako Bull for undersized veteran power forward Jondan Salvador. Now, by all accounts, there was a time that Salvador could be argued as the better and more polished post player of the two. But as far as their PBA careers go, Kramer is on his way up the ranks of solid bigs in the mold of Dorian Pena and Sonny Ali Peek, while Salvador is being shipped from one team to another as an end-of-the-bench rotation player ala  now new Tigers teammate Alex Crisano.

PBA CCF Game 7: Looking for answers

Tensai idea: Pingris on Castro. 

So after an exciting playoffs that was marred/ made beautiful by physicality, great scoring bursts, emotional plays and near fisticuffs, we've come down to a winner-take-all Game 7 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup. In one corner stands the league's standard bearers for the last two years and a half-- the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters bannered by the SMART Gilas 2 Men's National Basketball team, and the rising BMeg Llamados on the other.

Going into Game 7, we've seen coaches calling out players, end-of-the-bench guys making headlines with dirty plays, certain comparisons with an early 90s anime that didn't really reward fans with a fitting ending (other than the All Star pick-up game which was nice but blah) and so on. But there are other compelling storylines that haven't grabbed national focus just yet, and we'd like to think that we've got some listed below (because hey, we have no lives other than the games):

The Jayson Castro Show

Thy name is JAYSON Castro

Last season, he was sharing Finals MVP honors while winning two of three titles and ultimately losing the MVP award to his mentor. In the Philippine Cup, an under-rated yet highly-coveted teammate edged him out in Finals MVP voting.

In Game 6, down 2-3 in the Finals, there was no one on the floor who wanted it more than Jayson Castro. Hell, there was no one on the court even near his level-- and he's doing so much damage for the Talk 'b Text Tropang Texters' cause despite playing with two bad ankles and a host of leg injuries.

Yap Awakening

Size, speed and shooting: James Yap

Any time you are able to pair a solid, nay, good big man with an ever-improving All Star guard, chances are your team is bound to contend no matter the odds. Throw in a bunch of great role players led by this side of Asia's most tenacious forward and you may have just enough firepower to overcome and overthrow a dynasty.

In the pivotal Game 5, the B-Meg Llamados went to their 1-2 punch of 7"0 6"10, Best Import of the Conference, big man Denzel Bowles and the suddenly rejuvenated and reloaded guns of 2x PBA MVP James Carlos Yap. Scoring 28 and 30, respectively, Bowles and Yap were pretty much "superstar-ing" their way all over the hapless Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters who still cannot squeeze anything off trusted National vets Ranidel de Ocampo and reigning MVP Jimmy Alapag.

Back in the fold; Lina at it again

It's plays like this that makes
Pena invaluable for any team

After playing like the rebounding monster/ enforcer of old in the Barako Bull Energy's failed Commissioner's Cup bid, Dorian Pena finds himself back in the Petron Blaze Boosters' fold in exchange for young big Carlo Sharma and veteran PG Celino Cruz.

In the overly-physical Semifinals match-up against the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters, Pena was the big reason why the series went as long as it did. Yes, Danny Seigle (who we believe and would bet money is on his way back to a title contender sooner than later) did have a lot to do with their huge run, but it was Pena's presence in the paint that made it difficult for opponents to bury the rag-tag Energy squad.

Texters load up; Series tied 2-2

You may hate the shirt, but you have
to love the multiple championships

Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters' head coach Chot Reyes does it again.

After throwing stars Ranidel de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag under the bus in the post-game interview of their Game 3 loss, Coach Chot was able to make himself look like half a genius with RDO's solid bounce-back performance.

While Alapag continues to struggle with his cover of BMeg Llamados' Josh Urbiztondo and PJ Simon, RDO was able to play free tonight-- attacking the rim and not settling for jumpers. It also helped the Texters' cause that Jarred Dillinger decided to take over the game, as KKS predicted, and played lights out on offense and defense.

The Fireball Rises

Coach Tim has The Fireball on target

If you were to tell me that a 2009 PBA draft reject were to outplay the reigning league Most Valuable Player in three straight games of the 2012 Commissioner's Cup Finals, I'd slap you silly for the blatant dumbness of it all.

Don't get it wrong, the US 2005-2006 Sunbird Awardee has legit skills for any 6"1 Filipino-American basketball player. When he first came over Philippine shores in 2006, he suited up in the PBL for UST-Kettle Korn and was already making waves as a crack point guard. He bounced around amateur leagues such as La Liga Pilipinas and then back to the PBL before entering the draft which, unfortunately for him, didn't work out.

Tim Cone will never be an underdog

Who's your daddy?!?

Prior to the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, people pencilled in the participating teams as how everyone saw them. The mighty Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters as the rightful favorites, going for their 4th title in 5 tries and the rising BMeg Llamados as the underdogs, the "good but not great" squad ready to takeover the local basketball scene.

Three games in, and we couldn't have been any more wrong.

A Pingris a day keeps The Doctor away

Don't let the box score fool you,
Pingris is the real MVP of this series for BMeg

For a guy whose inclusion in the upcoming SMART Gilas 2 men's basketball team raised some eyebrows for an apparent and obvious lack of offensive skillset, the BMeg Llamados' Marc Pingris is proving doubters wrong with his superb defensive exploits in both playoffs and Finals.

Tasked to shutdown the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters' postman and resident KKS Doctor Ranidel de Ocampo, Pingris has done all that and more by putting up (in the first 2 games) 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2 assists on average. These may not look much, but check out RDO's ugly stat line of 5.5 points and 4 rebounds with zero assists and you'll realize that yes, Pingris is getting the job done.

No Signal for Mighty Mouse, The Doctor

Will the real Ranidel please stand-up?

This series could've easily been at 2-0 in favor of the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters right now if only two of the Texters top 3 one-on-one scorers lived to expectations. Two games in, and Texters fans are still waiting for reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Jimmy "Mighty Mouse" Alapag and best damn big man in the business, The KKS Doctor, Ranidel de Ocampo to make their presence felt.

How else could you explain their abysmal showing thus far-- being terribly outplayed by their counterparts on the BMeg Llamados' front- Josh Urbiztondo and Marc Pingris?

Tabla! Texters fight back

Catch him if you can!

Talk about having the heart of champions-- the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters survived a scintillating, throwback James Yap performance behind the exploits of their own MVP-caliber player Jayson "The Blur" Castro.

Of course, there's also the dominant performance by blue collar Texters import Donnel Harvey who more than held his own against the Llamados' young giant Denzel Bowles who made a couple of crucial errors in the closing seconds-- passing the ball to the wrong guy, missing a free throw and deciding to make the 2nd one when they were down 3 and so on. Just the kind of mistakes you'd expect a 22-year-old to make on the biggest stage of them all.

Back to Castro, and how the "Man with a Million Injuries" kept the Texters in the fight in the 4th quarter when the Llamados were up by four-five points. Man-for-man, the Llamados have a good 6-7 man rotation with two legit scorers in Yap and buddy PJ Simon while the Texters have Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo and at times, Jimmy Alapag within a solid 10 man rotation.

The Great Debate: Yap or Simon

The modern day Meneses-Duremdes?

So who’s better—the two-time Most Valuable and now de facto (after a series of trades and releases) franchise player James Yap or vastly underrated and once “Super Sub,” “Scoring Apostle” Peter June Simon?

In case you haven’t been paying much attention to the BMeg Llamados of late and have only seen them in their successful PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals Game 1 campaign, Simon has quickly overtaken Yap in terms of doing more for his team—say, putting up the points because defense can only do so much at day’s end.

That’s not to say that Yap has been coasting this season—he’s playing arguably the most complete basketball game we’ve seen of him to date by moving without the ball, rebounding and looking for the open man. Before, Yap would get his assists by simply stopping up top and looking for cutters. These days, he makes solid to good kick-out passes while being on the move himself which creates for a more difficult cover for opponents.

MV-Ring

Can you hear it Gary?
We can. They're saying M-V-P.

In the NBA, the Most Valuable Player award is given after the regular season regardless if the leading candidate makes it all the way to the Finals or not. That is why we've all had the privilege of recognizing some of the world's greatest basketball players who may or may not rule your television sets or play on the biggest stage of them all.

The same cannot be said however, for the PBA. Since our favorite basketball association plays three conferences in a season, the MVP trophy is given only after 2 3/4 of the season has been played. The last couple of MVP awardees have all enjoyed championship runs, the most recent being Jimmy Alapag of the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters.

But this year, it looks like we're in for one of those "history in the making," "feel good" stories.

BMeg solves TNT Matrix in Game 1

PJ Simon shines
over Yap for BMeg

If this game is any indication of what we're going to be watching, nay, witnessing for the next two weeks then they should just move the games from the SMART Araneta Coliseum that fits 17,000 plus max to the Quirino Grandstand where hundreds could enjoy it live.

The BMeg Llamados took control of the game early, surprisingly deciding to run with the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters before finally slowing the game down and playing it per possession. Coach Tim Cone entrusted the scoring to under-rated scorer PJ Simon, who pretty much had a field day on the floor by using his speed against Ryan Reyes and height over Jayson Castro. Simon was doing it all on the floor, even playing big point guard no thanks to a rather subpar performance from 2x MVP teammate James Yap.

The Gilas 2 Replacements

Quick! Sign him to Gilas 2 before
he gets traded to a San Miguel team

Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, James Yap and Marc Pingris.

All on Chot Reyes' SMART Gilas 2's roster. All under San Miguel Corporation contracts. All have yet to submit their signed letter of intent for playing for flag and country.

From an All-Asian standpoint, that team could very well contend as a legit First Five against everyone but the skilled and tall athletes coming from Iran and China. Against South Korea and Chinese Taipei? That five will more than hold its own offensively and defensively. Santos is the country's best all-around player, Pingris is arguably this side of the world's most tenacious player and Lassiter, Cabagnot and Yap are not all that bad as well.

Texters as Kainan? Nah, think Shoyo

The Talk 'n' Text SHOYO Texters

Since this writer has been a long time Slam Dunk fan back when it was still being aired (although inconsistently, some weeks it's there, others it isn't) on ABC 5 (the precursor to today's MVP-owned TV5), it's quite entertaining to see that it's being used in parallelisms with the PBA.

For that, we'd have to thank idol FireQuinito Jaemark Tordecilla, who was the first to really push for Purefoods/ BMeg's Marc Pingris to be identified as the "Pinoy Sakuragi." From the day that I first read his post about Pingris being the local version of the volatile yet extremely gifted red-haired anime, it definitely stuck and I'm just happy that we now have a moniker that best suits Pingris instead of having Mico Halili give him a childish sounding one ala Smurfinator or Ranidelsky De Ocamposchnitsky whatever.

Done Deal

Rabeh: Dominant when/if focused

Try as we may to believe that the PBA is one and on the same page in ensuring that fans get their money's worth in games which requires healthy competition and league-wide balance, at day's end it's still a business wherein winning at all costs will always be at the minds of players, officials and most of all, team owners.

Weeks after the initial trade between Powerade and Petron Blaze was vetoed (and met with so much venom you'd think the San Miguel franchise suddenly became the local, basketball version of the WWE heel stable Evolution), it's now back on the table with the same lead players but different support/ spare parts.

Gilas 2 on hold

Sa tagal mag practice ng Gilas 2,
baka manlamig na ng tuluyan ung kamay nito

The coach has been named, the players' identified and signed (except for those affiliated with the San Miguel brand) so why are we no longer hearing any updates on the SMART Gilas 2 squad?

Oh, that's right, most of the prominent names on the SG2 roster are going to participate in the grand PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals in hopes of securing a championship for their mother teams. These are times when the "Mother Land" takes a back seat then, when the players are asked and under contract to play their hearts out for the brands they wear on their jerseys and puts food on their tables.

Earn your keep

Will Cone ever convince Urbiztondo
to stop with the heat checks?

When Tim Cone was brought in by the San Miguel brass to helm the suddenly flailing BMeg Llamados in the PBA, he wasn’t signed to develop a champion team for the future. He was brought in to win, and to win now.

How else could you explain the sudden revamp of the line-up, trading away key player Kerby Raymundo for the uber-athletic JC Intal and the releasing another team leader Roger Yap to the ABL San Miguel Beermen? Yes, the Intal move was a push for a younger line-up, but it also put a clear premium on a “win now” mentality.

BMeg vs Talk 'n' Text: The match-ups

BMeg's dilemma: Castro can guard Yap.
But Yap can't guard Castro

What an amazing ride to the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals!

Kudos to all the players, the Barako Bull Energy and Barangay Ginebra Kings for putting up entertaining bouts day in and day out. The ball could've easily gone either way in some of the games, but at day's end, we are finally being treated to the Finals showdown that was pretty much inevitable.

The Dynasty (in the making pa ba yun sa dami ng titulo nila the last 2-3 years) versus the team that is building its way into becoming one. The Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters versus the B-Meg Llamados.


PG Josh Urbiztondo/ Mark Barroca/ Jonas Villanueva vs Jimmy Alapag/ Jayson Castro
It has finally dawned on us. The quick, long range threes. The swagger. The ballsy plays. Urbiztondo is trying to play exactly like reigning MVP Alapag only he doesn't have the passing skills to boot. Even if the Llamados keep rotating their guards, this is a one-sided match-up heavily favoring the Texters. Alapag is too savvy, Castro to quick, athletic and strong. The best chance the Llamados have is if their Urbiztondo-Barroca can hold their own early, before Villanueva checks in full time late to play lockdown D. If not, then you'll see Castro running around Urbiztondo and Barroca much like Meralco's Sol Mercado and even Ginebra's Mike Cortez did in the playoffs.

Adv. TNT

Energy implodes, send Texters to Finals

They were hit. They were bloodied.
But still the Texters rose to the occasion.

The Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters do it again. For the second straight conference, they rise from the brink of elimination to advance to the next round which is the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals.

Great series all in all, with the Barako Bull Energy squeezing out all they could from their tired, old legs. They played physical, played hard and were even fortunate enough to have grizzled champion veterans in the fold taking turns in leading them game in and game out.

Ginebra Plays The Blame Game

After another disappointing run,
Siot's walking on thin ice

Could the Barangay Ginebra Kings really have won their epic semifinals duel with the mighty BMeg Llamados had they chosen to keep Chris Alexander instead of the now “butt-of-all-chokes/jokes” Jackson Vroman?

Would they have advanced to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals had Mark Caguioa not suffered the nasty eye socket injury he did (also at the hands of BMeg but in an earlier showdown)?

True to form: BMeg advances to Commish Cup Finals

The Llamados benefited from Caguioa's absence, yes,
but this writer argues that even with Caguioa
the Kings would've still lost

The second the KKS Vince McMahon of the PBA was rumored to have met with future Hall of Fame head coach Tim Cone to discuss the possibility of bringing the American's talents to the San Miguel  fold, it was but a matter of time until both were rewarded with repetitive deep playoff runs (and quite possibly, titles one after the other).

In the Philippine Cup, the BMeg Llamados won mostly on talent rather than teamwork. Guys were coming out big, playing to their strengths while slowly adapting to Cone's intricate Triangle Offense. When that wasn't working, Cone decided to work on another facet of the Llamados' uber-talented roster: defense.

Trillo-era Begins for Alaska

It was Trillo. All along.

Forget that the man had two lousy, winless seasons with the Adamson Falcons in the UAAP despite having the uber-talented Ken Bono, sharp shooting Patrick Cabahug, wing man Mark Abadia, Ruel Hugnatan, Marvin Polyapoy, Ramil Tagupa and the closest thing the UAAP juniors had to an Allen Iverson (back in the day) Leo Canuday (who was blatantly robbed of an MVP trophy by Ateneo and Ken Baracoso) at one point or another-- Luigi Trillo has been called upon by Wilfred Uytengsu to right the Alaska Aces ship that Joel Banal has "wronged."

Granted, Trillo is enjoying a renaissance of sorts as far as his coaching career is concerned-- leading the Cebuana Lhullier team in the PBADL to respectable finishes the last two seasons and even in this one. But the guy was called upon by Uytengsu in an effort to "return to the Triangle Offense."

Championship Swag

TNT: Grace under pressure

Just the other day the Barako Bull Energy, their believers and even some underdog-rooting converts (such as this writer) were a step closer to making it into the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals. Their story was to be told for weeks, years and even ages. The "little engine that could," the "David" to the mighty Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters' "Goliath." They were only a game away.

Unfortunately, tonight happened.