PBA 37th Season: First Ten

     Whether it's the rich draft class, player and coach movement, the NBA Lockout or the new TV partner, there seems to be more excitement around the PBA in this 37th season.  Here is From the Fifty Peso Seats' "First Ten" Roster.

1. In the battle of "Bringing Back an Old Trouble-making Big Man," the winner is definitely the Shopinas.com Clickers, who brought in Homer Se.  Unsurprisingly, Se was ejected two weeks into the new season. Way to go!


2.  Rain or Shine is off to a fast start and it could be good Feng Shui.  The Elasto Painters currently have the most Chinese-Filipino players in the PBA. They have Jeff Chan, Jonathan Uyloan, TY Tang and rookie Paul Lee.  Why not try to beat Shopinas at #1,  hire Wilmer Ong and have a starting five?

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Open Letter to Commissioner Chito Salud

Mr. Chito Salud
Commissioner, Philippine Basketball Association
186 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Libis, Quezon City


Dear Sir:


First of all, allow me to tell you that I am an avid PBA fan for over 20 years now.  Ever since Great Taste traded away Manny Victorino, Jimmy Manansala and cash for a rookie named Allan Caidic, I was hooked.  By extension, I moved on to the Ginebra train when Caidic became Assistant Coach to Rino Salazar.  In fact, a big part of the reason my blog, From the Fifty Peso Seats, was put up is because of this love for Asia's first pro basketball league.  This is why recent developments have caused me great concern.  I see you every time I watch the PBA live (which is often) and I know you are a hands-on commissioner.

The current semi-final series between Smart Gilas and the Baranggay Ginebra Kings has not been the dream series I anticipated it to be.  I'm not even talking about the perceived partial officiating wherein Nate Brumfield gets 27 free throw attempts, equal to the entire Smart Gilas total for the game.  You see, it doesn't matter to me whichever team wins because I love them both.  What matters is the quality and the morality of the game.


Everyone talks of how Ginebra is proving too tough for Gilas,  but there is a difference between playing tough and physical and playing dirty and unfortunately, it seems Ginebra has lost track of the line. They are intentionally hurting Gilas in the guise of playing tough. In the video below, Mark Caguioa executes a pre-meditated elbow to the back of Lassiter's head (23 sec mark).  The sad part is, this was the second elbow to the back of the head on a Gilas player in Game 1 (1st one was Yancy de Ocampo's on Douthit, 3rd video 35 sec mark).  There are other incidents too. De Ocampo chops at Douthit's fractured hand (video below). Aside from Caguioa's intentional trip on JV Casio in game 1's 4th quarter (3rd video, 2:13 mark), what scared me the most was Billy Mamaril's intentional squeezing and wrenching of Marcus Douthit's fractured hand, also in the 2nd half.  Unfortunately, I can find no videos of this incident posted yet.  Hopefully you can take a look at them too.

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The PBA Offseason Report Cards Part 1

     While the Powerade Team Pilipinas is busy battling it out in the FIBA-Asia Men's Basketball Championships, team owners and coaches of their respective PBA teams have been busy themselves.  There has been a flurry of activity in this PBA offseason that has not been seen in recent years.  Now, I'm taking the time to fill up each of the team's report cards.

Draft: Michael Burtscher (1

st round), Sean Co (2nd Round)

Other Moves: None so far

New Projected Starters: LA Tenorio, Willie Miller, Jeff Cariaso, Jon Ferriols, Sonny Thoss

 

Coach Tim Cone has always danced a "triangle" dance while the others engaged in square dancing, so it's no surprise that his first round pick, Fil-Swiss Michael Burtscher, was a surprise.  The former Liga Pilipinas player is in no way highly-touted, but he is a 6'5" player and his size will be a boost to th

e Aces' smallish front line.  If he can learn the triangle, and he did say in his pre-draft statement that he is willing to learn, then he could fill in the slot of a Poch Juinio or Reynel Hugnatan in Cone's triangle.  Former Pharex Generix shotmaker Sean Co is another of the less-touted players in the draft, but active swingmen like Co could learn a lot from veterans Willie Miller and Jeff Cariaso and c

ould soon find himself a PBA job.  

Overall, though, Alaska seems to have made very little m

oves, perhaps thinking they could improve on last year's runner-up finish in the All Filipino Cup by having an extra year of experience on their belts.  Grade: B-

Draft: Ogie Menor, Benedict Fernandez, Edwin Asoro

Other Moves: Traded Gabby Espinas (for future draft picks), Traded Jeff Chan and Mike Hrabak (for Mark Andaya and Rob Wainwright), Traded Larry Rodriguez (for future draft pick)

New Projected Starters: Well, let's just say they would do well to even have a starting line up, any starting line up.

Financial problems facing Barako Bull have been well documented, so some of their moves, while they seem lopsided, are understandable  (letting go of Es

pinas and Hrabak are to designed to lessen payroll).  Meanwhile, it is hard to project the futures of their own draft picks as even the team is in talks 

of either leaving the PBA for good or deferring their franchise to the Smart Gilas Development Team.  Grade: INC

Draft: Chris Timberlake, Orlando Daroya

Other Moves: Traded Chris Timberlake, Orly Darroya, Paul Artadi Rafi Reavis (for Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, Paolo Bugia, Celino Cruz and Cholo Villanueva)

New Projected Starters: Jay Jay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa, Ronald Tubid, Billy Mamaril an

d Enrico Villanueva

It's a virtual Blue Roast as Ginebra will now feature five Ateneo alums from their glory years of the early 2000s.  Needing to shore up their front court, the Kings targeted Villanueva and his 6'6" frame and traded fo

r him by offering their draft picks.  Further filling up a front line that used to only have Billy Mamaril and Eric Menk are former UAAP MVP Alvarez and outside-shooting big man Bugia.  The line up will further speed up an already up tempo Ginebra squad and the addition of Cruz will bolster their already deadly three point shooting.  Meanwhile, the addition of Cholo Villanueva will, er... well, let's just say the OTHER Villanueva was more important.

Overall, Ginebra, anticipating the return of Caguioa and "Hitman" Junthy Valenzuela, got more complete by adding a brigade of long, athletic big men.  While the scoring load will still be with the guards, it does not bode well for other teams that the baranggay's line up just got more well-rounded.  Grade

: A

Draft: None

Other Moves: Traded Ron Jay Buenafe and draft picks (for Chris Ross, Francis Allera and Ma

rvin Cruz), Traded Nic Belasco (for Larry Rodriguez but the deal has yet to be approved)  

New Projected Starters: Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot, RJ Rizada, Mark Telan, and Asi Taulava

Even with Team Manager JB Baylon busy with Team Pilipinas, Coke has indeed made a splash in the off season.  Longing for a more natural point guard to help ease the load of Alex Cabagnot, the Tigers traded streak-shooting Buenafe to land Pharex Fil Am Guard Chris Ross.  Then, in moves that almost certainly signif

y that the Tigers want to win now, they traded away picks for Allera and Cruz.  With these moves, it looks like Cabagnot could afford to play shooting guard, which is his natural position, since there won't be a size disadvantage with Ross playing point.  This is officially Cabagnot's chance to show the offensive skills which helped him topple Mark Caguioa's school scoring record in the U.S. many years ago.

Overall, the moves make the Tigers younger and more athletic, so look for them to run whenever they can.  They gained by solidifying their point guard spot while losing only Buenafe, who the coaching staff couldn't use on a consistent basis anyway.  Even head coach Kenneth Duremdes seems to be finally excited to coach.  Grade: B

Draft: Rico Maierhoffer

Other Moves: Traded Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, Paolo Bugia (for Chris Timberlake, Paul Artadi and Rafi Reavis), Traded draft picks (for Jean Marc Pingris)

Projected New Starters: Paul Artadi, Roger Yap, James Yap, Jean Marc Pingris, Kerby Raymundo

Purefoods had always relied on Roger Yap and Celino Cruz, natural shooting guards, to handle point guard duties and on a team that featured scorers like James Yap, Kerby Raymundo, Don Allado, Peter Simon, that was a tough job.  The Giants have since taken care of that problem by getting themselves Artadi and Timberlake, two more natural points.  Meanwhile, the Giants have solidified their front line by trading away picks for rebounding monster Pingris and drafting highly-touted big man Maierhoffer.

Overall, the Giants did well for themselves.  While I think Maierhoffer may be an overrated prospect at no. 2, the Giants were not wrong to pick him (and forego Ross) with a draft as weak as this and with Timberlake already coming via trade.   Solving their two nagging problems (lack of point guard and overloaded front line) in a couple of trades is certainly no laughing matter.  Now, the GIants have a legitimate chance to contend, if only they can get Coach Ryan Gregorio to actually coach and not just give the TV cameras multiple poses and facial reactions.  Grade: B+  (If they fire Gregorio and promote Assistant Coach Koy Banal, the grade automatically becomes an A)

(to be continued soon)

logos were taken from the PBA website

Breaking (Well-Conditioned) Hearts

     In my recent bowling league night, I bowled a total of thirteen consecutive strikes, and while only twelve is needed to bowl a perfect game, I didn't get one because my 13 strikes were split between two games.  I bowled 7 to finish the first game and 6 to start the second.  To make matters worse, I missed the cash prize given for games over 255 because neither of my games were over 255 (242 and 253)! What a heartbreaker!  

     My own heartbreak got me thinking about sport's biggest heartbreaks.  Here are some that I find to be history's biggest heartbreakers and heartbreaks.

Heartbreaker: Steffi Graf

Victims: Jana Novotna and Martina Hingis

     Both Novotna and Hingis, chasing the prestigious French Open Championships, both played tremendous first sets and second sets to bring their finals match to match point.  Graf, however, refused to wilt under the pressure and displayed the fiery form that won her 22 Grand Slam titles.  In both instances, Graf escaped the second set, and then thoroughly dominated the third set, much to the delight of the crowd and the chagrin of the other finalist.  While Novotna and Hingis both retired with their respectve Grand Slam Titles, I'm betting neither will ever forget how Mrs. Andre Agassi broke their hearts.

Heartbreaker: Los Angeles Lakers

Victims: Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings

     On their way to three NBA Championships and numerous trips to the NBA finals, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by the trio of Phil Jackson, Shaq O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, made sure they broke several hearts along the way.  The first to experience the pain would be the Blazers of the 2000 season.  Leading big in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, it would seem the Rasheed Wallace-Steve Smith led Blazers would get to taste the NBA Finals.  Unfortunately, the ultra-talented squad, which also featured Bonzi Wells and Arvydas Sabonis, went through an inexplicable dry spell in the last four minutes of the game.  This paved the way for a historic comeback by the Lakers, including a tremendous ally-oop from Kobe to Shaq.  That loss turned out to be last hurrah for the Blazers as that same talented team soon began to implode.  In the coming years, that team became known as the Jail Blazers and soon after that, Portland missed the playoffs for the first time in over two decades.

     The Sacramento Kings were also a talented bunch who fell victim to the Lakers date with Destiny.  The Kings, led by Chris Webber and Vlade Divac, looked to have the Lakers number and needed Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals to take the Lakers to the brink.  However, a broken play by the Lakers resulted in a bad shot, a ball tapped to the outside and alas, that dagger three by Robert Horry.  The Kings and their fans never lived that shot down and never really challenged for the title again. 

Heartbreaker: Shawn Michaels

Victims: All wrestling fans in the universe

     It is only fitting that the Heartbreak Kid would be in this list.  While wrestling is entirely scripted, it doesn't mean the fans won't have their hearts broken.  When Nature Boy Ric Flair, a former 16-time World Champion, was punished by Vince McMahon, he couldn't afford to lose a match, lest he be banished to retirement.  Despite this, the Nature Boy still yearned to battle the best, who at that time, he deemed to be Michaels.  So in Wrestlemania 24, Flair fought tooth and nail against the younger Michaels, almost to a tie, until Michaels finished him off with a super kick to the face.  While almost everyone expected the WWE Hall of Famer Flair to lose and retire, his loss that night still triggered tears to fall from the thousands in attendance, including the victor, Michaels.

Heartbreaker: Bal David

Victims: San Miguel Beermen

     Despite a depleted line up propped up only by import Jeff Ward and Nelson Asaytono, the San Miguel Beermen still managed to put up a tremendous fight against sister team, the Gordon's Gin Boars (Ginebra).  The two teams engaged in a fierce semi-finals knockout match, which even went into overtime.  With the Beermen in the lead with just seconds to go and the Boars having no timeouts, it seemed the underdogs were about to steal it.  The Flash, Bal David, however, threw up a seemingly-impossible half court shot that drilled a dagger into many a beermen fan's heart.  While San Miguel and Jeff Ward would be reunited for another go the following year, they never did win a championship together.

     Do you know any heartbreakers more gut wrenching than these? Comment or send me an email at plated_thrills@yahoo.com 

PBA Draft: Grades are In (part 1)

The Philippine Basketball Association Rookie Draft 2008 was held recently at the Market Market Activity Center and it's time to grade the teams. Please note that the grades are reflective of the teams' offseason moves, like draft picks and trades, not how well they will play in the season.

Air 21 Express ( Grade: B)

Notable Additions: Mark Borboran (draft pick 1st round), Cholo Villanueva (draft pick 2nd round)
Notable Subtractions: None so far

Notes: With teams that reach finals series, very little or no subtractions might be as important as additions. Air 21 has kept its core intact and added another mobilie big in Mark Borboran and a tough swing man in Villanueva. Borboran will figure into the mix as Air 21 likes to play big. His top 5 ranking in blocks and steals in the PBL will definitely please coach Bo Perasol as Air 21 continues to attempt to improve its defense. Villanueva may have to struggle for his minutes as the Express are loaded at the 2 and 3 positions, unless he can prove that he can play the point guard position.

Alaska Aces (Grade: C)

Notable Additions: Kelvin de la Pena (draft pick, 2nd round), Joe Devance (trade from Rain or Shine)
Notable Subtractions: Solomon Mercado (trade to Rain or Shine)

Notes: Alaska has always been about Tim Cone's triangle offense, so they almost always pick what they need and not necessarily the best player left. When they picked Solomon Mercado, I thought that was a great choice and fitting substitute for the aging Jeff Cariaso, but they quickly traded him for Joe Devance. The 2007 1st overall pick, despite having a good shooting touch for a big man, spent a rather disappointing year in Welcoat, especially when he clashed with the coaching staff. Cone says he fills a need, but they would have been better off with Mercado. Devance is still more of a shooter at the three position, where they already have Tony de la Cruz. Their need was a big man to replace aging rebounding demons Jon Ferriols and Reynel Hugnatan, and Devance has not proven he can do that. If Cone can rein in Devance and utilize his size and shooting skills well, this will look like a great choice. That is a big if, though. Kelvin de la Pena was a solid PBL player for Noosa Shoes, and if he can demonstrate that he can learn Cone's system immediately, he may yet become a good back up guard for the Aces.

Baranggay Ginebra Kings (Grade: INC)

Notable Additions: None so far
Notable Subtractions: Johnny Abarientos (retirement)

Notes: Being the recent champs, not too much movement was expected of GInebra and giving away their picks helped make sure that exactly that would happen. Nevertheless, Ginebra's line up looks very formidable already, so changes may not be necessary in the near future. Coach Jong Uichico has mentioned his interest in seeking a trade though.

Coca Cola Tigers (Grade: INC)

Notable Additions: None so far
Notable Subtractions: None so far.

Notes: The Tigers traded away picks so they joined Ginebra as inactive teams in the draft. This makes them ungradable at this point. What they can look forward to though, is a full year of Asi Taulava with this team and the possible full emergence of last year's steal of the draft, Ron Jay Buenafe. It was a prudent move to dispatch aging vets Kenneth Duremdes and Jon Arigo to the bench and go for a litlle youth. Without any additions, though, the team may be hard pressed to win it all, especially in the All FIlipino Conference.

Purefoods Giants (Grade: B+)

Notable Additions: Beau Belga (draft 1st round), Jonathan Fernandez (2nd round), Rommel Adducul (back from illness)
Notable Subtractions: Rey Evangelista, Noy Castillo (retirement)

Notes: The Giants' frontcourt will now a get a big boost with the anticipated return of Rommel Adducul and the addtion of Beau Belga. Belga a 6'6" rookie from Harbour Center, was one of the team's key players in their finals victory. He and the comebacking Adducul will give Kerby Raymundo and Enrico Villanueva the back ups they sorely missed last conference. Meanwhile, Jonathan Fernandez three point shooting in the PBL, (over 46%) will be a big help, since James Yap is the team's only pure shooter. Purefoods, though, might have benefitted more from picking a point guard to help run their offense. Roger Yap has done well, but a true, pass-first point guard will help them achieve a title run. The Giants didn't get to pick early, but they did make good use of their picks.

(part 2 to be posted soon)