The Long (and Hard) Road

     Recently, former Ateneo guard/forward Kirk Long expressed his desire to play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).  Knowing full well that his American heritage prevents him from applying, he is apparently taking steps to get the PBA to make an exception to his case.

     Kirk, the son of Faith Academy pastor Jeff Long, was actually born and raised in the Philippines, where their family has spent their years spreading the word of God.  The younger Long joined the Ateneo Blue Eagles in 2007 and became an integral part of their unprecendented 4 championship run.  He also played 4 years of high school basketball, giving him 9 years of playing experience here in the country.

     This Long case is bringing back the arguments brought on when Alex Compton, another player of pure American heritage born in the Philippines, applied for the PBA as well and here are just some of my short (pun intended) random thoughts about this whole situation. 

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How to Build a UAAP Championship Team

     As Ateneo celebrates its fourth straight championship with dreams of more entirely possible, big words like "destiny" and "dynasty" are going to be thrown around.  Before everyone begins to believe that there's nothing stopping Ateneo in the future, other schools should take note that stopping the Blue Eagles takes only 2 steps.


Step # 1 Yo Teach!!!

     As the UAAP gained popularity, big-name coaches have arrived to ply their wares, and Ateneo snagged one in Norman Black.  The thing is, though, it's not Black's PBA and NBA experience that's made him an incredibly successful UAAP coach. It's the fact that he is a teaching coach that's separated him (and his team) from the rest of the pack.  When commentators talk about how Black doesn't play rookies often, it's not just a coach "thing." Black teaches players skills and waits for their skill to develop before placing them in deep water situations.  All players in the Ateneo program get better as they get older.  Everyone from Chris Tiu (ball handling) to Rabeh Al-Hussaini (defense)  to Kirk Long (outside shooting) to Nico Salva (decision making) have all shown improvements and became stars only in their 3rd or 4th years.  The way people view the UAAP sometimes skews the fact that the players are young and their skills have not fully matured.  Coaches that remember that and take time to develop skills instead of worrying about wins will be rewarded handsomely.

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Peeking at the UAAP 2

     I've been quite candid that I'm not as comfortable blogging about the UAAP since I don't watch a lot of its games, but if I am blessed with more freebies like the one I got last Sunday (ahem, attention Aly Yap and Harvey Keh), I could do more.  In any case, here are some observations From the 50 Peso Seats.

• With Glenn Capacio leaving as FEU coach (probably due to health reasons), FEU wasted no time in shoring up its staff.  They now have at least 5 (!) assistant coaches.  While that is too many for my taste, I'm glad to see former greats Johnny Abarrientos and Vic Pablo coaching on the bench.

• Like I mentioned on Twitter, Ateneo was very lucky to get past Adamson.  Yes, Blue Eagle defense was tight in the 4th quarter, leading to a scoreless Falcons team in the home stretch, but Falcons did have 3 consecutive "in and out" shots in that stretch and the final turnover that killed them was by a too strong pass from Lester Alvarez.  Offensively, there was too much dribbling, especially from Bacon Austria and to a lesser extent Kirk Long and Tonino Gonzaga, leading to too many broken plays.  They need players ready to shoot upon Slaughter's kick outs.  Perhaps they miss Ryan Buenafe, who Tibibord wrote an excellent post about here.  Blue Eagles and their fans need not thump their chests just yet. They need a lot more work.

• How good is Smart Gilas training? Observing Aldrech Ramos and Greg Slaughter at work, any basketball fan will know their dominance has as much to do with their height and talent as with their training and experience.  There was an aura of calmness in both players, in their scoring, defense and passing, as they led their respective teammates to victory.  They never took bad shots, found open teammates and most impressively, jumped straight up (with arms raised up) whenever trying to defend.  It seemed like they were playing at a different (aka superior) level and speed.

• R.R. Garcia and Terrence Romeo have continued to show why they are the valedictorians of the Allen Iverson School for Non-Passing Point Guards, which is sad considering they have arguably the best all-around big man in Aldrech Ramos.  Lester Alvarez, L.A. Revilla (DLSU) and Emman Monfort (ADMU) seem to be trying their best to catch up in the non-passing achievement.  I miss Jun Reyes, TY Tang and Olsen Racela.

• It was painful to watch DLSU play.  They were like an army equipped with cannons but then used pocket knives to fight.  They have tremendously talented big men yet they end up dribbling the shot clock away and shooting from the outside or worse, throwing the ball away.  They're young but they can do a lot better with someone better on the bench. They need better direction and better plays.  It's time the Archers let go of the Pumarens.

• UAAP fills me with hope.  Hope is brought by players like Norberto Torres, Arnold Van Opstal, Oping Sumalinog, Lester Alvarez, Alex Nuyles and R. R. Garcia, young ballers dripping with talent and a coach away from greatness.  It will be interesting to watch their development.

• UAAP also fills me with chagrin.  Chagrin is brought by players like Bacon Austria, Frank Golla and Joshua Webb.  I mean why do these guys have uniforms anyway?  These dudes need to do more positive things than dribble, use up the clock then cause a broken play on offense.  Love their intensity, but they need to rein it in and contribute more. 

many thanks to aly yap, bekshoot.wordpress.com and inboundspass for the photos.

Peeking at the UAAP

     Being an absolute sports geek, it's pretty amazing that I've never paid for tickets to see a UAAP Basketball game.  Admittedly, I am not as obsessed a fan of the UAAP as I am the NBA, PBA or the UFC, but I have seen my share of games.  Recently, I got to watch two UAAP games and, thanks to the generosity of high school buddies Harvey Keh and Aly Yap, I still haven't paid for tickets.  


     Anyway, here are some thoughts I gathered while watching:

• Far Eastern University does have the deepest bench this season.  A number of their bench players would have started for other teams.  The question now is, can Coach Glenn Capacio maximize it?

• Eric Salamat has small hands.  This contributes a lot to him being a turnover machine and a volume shooter. 

• University of the Philippines doesn't need better players or better coaches.  It needs a ball handler to emerge as a leader, because half the time they can't get their plays to even begin.

• Aldrech Ramos is an absolute beast.  It's a shame that Far Eastern University guards RR Garcia and Terence Romeo went to the Allen Iverson School of Non-passing Point Guards.  Otherwise, Ramos would be averaging over 25 points a game.

• The UAAP crowd may yet be the biggest collection of non-basketball fans watching a basketball game (crouches to avoid a flying chair).  Watching the reaction of the crowd, I just want to grab the mic and remind them that a) not all calls will go your team's way and b) it is not automatically "luto (rigged)" if you think calls cost your team the victory.

• Coach Norman Black should consider playing with no centers at times.  I know he likes a traditional Center and Power Forward tandem and that works fine when Justin Chua is in the game, but other centers like Golla and Escueta are different stories.  He should go with Mico Salva and Arthur de la Cruz together instead.  These two have better basketball I.Q. than Golla and Escueta.

     On an unrelated note, I bought a couple of Fire Floss Buns from Bread Talk after the game and I had this observation:

• It might not be a good idea to buy French Baguettes (which they display uncovered near the entrance) at Bread Talk.  When I was there, I saw a woman pinch the bread with her bare hands several times and I'm not even sure she bought it.

Fifty Peso Shots: July 2010

Some shots from the cheap seats:

• A long-awaited light heavyweight match ups has been set up in the UFC.  Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida will face Quinton "Rampage" Jackson  The Dragon vs Rampage match should be a slam bang affair with both looking to rebound after big losses.  I'm looking forward to Machida bouncing back with renewed energy.  Rampage actually nixed this match up earlier to shoot the A Team movie, he can only hope his performance will be miles better than his impression of B.A. Barracus.

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Foregoing Dinner

     Much has been said about President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's expensive dinners at Le Cirque and Bobby Van's Steakhouse.  While people keep showing their outrage, her apologizers (aka freeloaders) keep hammering that nothing is wrong because the president a) is entitled to eat in first class establishments (rather than a hotdog stand) and b) it was personal money and not government money.  I think the problem the people have is not as much as where she ate or whose money was used, but more of how much was spent.

     All in all, it was approximated that she spent around $ 35,000 or approximately PhP 1.75 million, and that ladies and gentlemen, is a lot of money.  Perhaps the apologizers have yet to see the light because they can't see how much $ 35,000 really is.  That's why I'm doing them a favor by helping them see how much, in sports terms of course.

Being Smart About It

     In order to lock up the country's top collegiate stars to the national team development program, Manny Pangilinan and Smart Communications offered young stars like Chris Tiu and JV Casio three year salaries that would match whatever they would receive as rookies in the PBA.  Currently, PBA rookies can receive a maximum of PhP 150,000 a month.  That being the case, GMA's two dinners would be enough to pay the monthly salary of all 11 local players (naturalized recruit C.J. Giles not included).

Putting Up a Fight

     In the historic UFC 100, one of the preliminary matches featured a fight between two tough up and comers C.B Dolloway and Tom Lawlor.  The fight pay for both fighters, including the victory bonus was $ 30,000 (Lawlor had $ 16,000 icluding the $ 8,000 win bonus and Dolloway received $ 14,000), well within the $35,000 GMA and her party spent to stuff themselves silly.

Pac Man Watch

     Due to Manny Pacquiao's popularity, ringside tickets to his next fight in Las Vegas against welterweight champion Miguel Cotto has reportedly inflated by as much as 22 times.  As last reported by Top Rank officials, ringside seats are now available from scalpers for $ 22,000.  Counting in airfare which is approximately $ 1,000, two-night villa stay at Caesar's Palace for $ 5,000, and $ 2,000 for gambling money at the black jack tables, that is a complete luxury weekend at the cost of two lovely dinners.    

Developing the Next Superstar

     In his book, Adam Copeland on Edge, the wrestling superstar revealed that the first paycheck he received from World Wrestling Entertainment was a weekly one worth $ 210.  Suppose you adjust for inflation, the weekly wrestling development contract could have doubled to $ 410 weekly.  President GMA's two dinners?  They could have paid for a developing wrestler for over one and half years! If she's not down with that, I've got two words for her...

Got Balls?

     One of the Philippine Bowling Teams greatest needs has always been equipment, especially bowling balls.  High performance balls cost around $ 220 (retail) right now.  With a national bowler's salary pegged at around $ 204 dollars a month, it's almost impossible to build a six-ball arsenal.  With GMA's dinner, though, it will be child's play to accumulate 159 bowling balls.  That number means a total of 26 six-ball arsenals.  That would mean new six-ball arsenals for our 6 person senior men's team and their two alternates, our 6 person senior women's team and their two alternates, the 4 person youth boy's team and their alternate and 4 person youth girl's team and their alternate!  Now foregoing dinner to provide our four national bowling teams with the equipment needed to compete?  That takes balls.

Enjoying the Rivalry

     Ateneo vs La Salle in UAAP basketball is always an event and tickets, even scalped ones, are hard to come by.  That's why according to reports, ringside seats have gone up to over a thousand pesos.  Supposing your scalper is a real tool and he sells you tickets at PhP 1,750, using the money that paid for GMA's two dinners would enable you to buy 1,000 tickets.  That's the number of graduates in my graduating batch of 2000.  Now that would be a sea of blue at ringside.

     I'm not really a Math wizard, but I'm pretty sure I've made my point.  The next time President GMA wants to bring her entourage over for dinner, she might want to try the hotdog stand.  Sabrett dogs? They're great with relish and mustard. 

Sigh...

This past week or so, I have been disappointed and saddened by some developments in the world of sports. First, Sacramento Kings Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced that he would retireafter 12 seasons in the NBA. Then, I found out that in selecting Rabeth Al-Hussaini as this year's UAAP Basketball Most Valuable Player (MVP), the committe barely even bothered to take a look at JVee Casio of La Salle or Al-Hussaini's teammate, Chris Tiu. Lastly, as Ateneo won its first UAAP basketball championship in 6 years, the defeated La Sallians did not even bother to pick up their 1st Runner -up trophy.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim entered the NBA via the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1996 out of California and quickly showed what he could do. He was a quick and cerebral forward who was very effective both in the inside and outside. For twelve years, he averaged 18.75 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists, which is quite impressive for a player who played for four teams. He was a very consistent and professional player, always around to do his job on the court, quite a friendly presence off it, and he rarely complained or asked to be traded. Actually the knock on him was that he was too consistent, too, "vanilla," and that he wasn't a winner as he only reached the playoffs once in his career. I, however, liked his game as I deem consistency as a great asset to any team. I think it was unfortunate that he was never able to play on a championship team. Besides, he was able to win a gold medal in the Olympics with the 2000 U.S. Basketball Team, a feat that has eluded countless NBA "stars." I jst regret that his career ended not on his own terms, but with an injury. I would have loved to see him win an NBA Championship by finally joining a great team. I am glad, though, that the Kings will give him a front office job soon. He deserves it.

In basketball, the MVP award is the most prestigious individual award given to a player. In my eyes, it should be given to the player whose presence is the most key factor in the team winning. Picking Al-Hussaini, who has averaged a double double in points and rebounds this season, may not be a horrible decision, I think it's erroneous nevertheless. Ateneo's victory this season was a testament to team play and defense, two things all coaches preach. Coach Norman Black did a masterful job of molding this team and while Al-Hussaini was the most high-profile player because of his points, I think Chris Tiu deserved at least a co-MVP award or even just a mention of his name during the deliberations. Tiu was the team's clear leader this season, and while his number were great, his contributions far outreached his statistics. A certain calm and swagger can always be clearly seen whenever Tiu presided over the team's offense and this, oftentimes, kept the opponents from coming back once Ateneo established a lead. Tiu was the selfless leader, as Black said who never cared about the stats, and btw, he managed to be on the Dean's List while studying at the Ateneo. How many MVPs can boast of that? Picking Al-Hussaini just continues the trend of picking high profile players to win the award. Picking Tiu would have had better impact. What better way to convince kids that sports is not the be all and end all and that studies are just as important than by picking an unselfish leader on the court who was also Dean's Lister?

Losing is never a great thing, but losing to bitter rival is much worse. Losing to a bitter rival with controversial call up in the air (I thought Maierhoffer deserved the ejection, but it was still a close call) is the worst. Nevertheless, not coming out to receive the 1st runner-up award is the most embarrassing thing La Salle has done in quite a while. At least their other controversies, the Manny Salgado incident and the falsified player records, had unsavory individuals causing the incidents. This pitiful display of classlessness is nothing like the exemplary values being taught at La Salle. I have tons of La Sallians as friends and none of them are sore losers like this. I understand the players not wanting to come out because of the sheer frustration of losing, but the managment and coaching staff should have known better. They should have convinced their player to come out, hold their heads up high for giving Ateneo a good fight and accepted the 1st Runenr-up trophy. Instead, we've got officials silent and coach Franz "abandon" Pumaren castigating referees for what he deemed as the, "worst officiated game of his life" and a game scripted for Ateneo to win. It's great to know that Coach Pumaren also handles the NATIONAL YOUTH TEAM. It's never too early to teach the kids to find excuses for losing, eh?

These three stories have saddened me enough to write a column about it, but I would be daft to stop watching sports. After all, where else can I find great and inspiring stories like this teamwork-loaded Ateneo team, and players like Abdur-Rahim and Tiu.