October 14: The Primer
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Talk N Text. The return of Renren Ritualo at the shooting guard spot is the biggest problem for Coach Derrick Pumaren. While the Rainman was gone, his reliever Mac Cardona finally turned out to be of the same size for the pure scorer uniform other players like Danny Seigle and Mark Caguioa have long snug into. The catch with the blue tights and red cape is that the wearers have to eat much of the minutes in their spots-- 42 and 47 both averaged well into the 30s last time they were around. If Pumaren somehow solves this hitch in his rotation of the two stars, then we can all willingly give the first Finals seat to the constellation of the Phonepals.
Magnolia. The loss of rebounding robot Dorian Pena to an injury dampened the Beverage Masters’ rights to the #1 spot. Timely but unpolished replacement Samigue Eman looks like he’s more on the path of the Balingit than of the Taulava, thus their problems in facing more war-hardened frontlines like those of TNT and Alaska. With an insane rotation at the wings (Seigle, Lordy Tugade, Chris Calaguio, Wesley Gonzales?!), however, Coach Siot Tanquingcen may not be really be that bothered about offensive rebounding.
Red Bull. Let’s reminisce. Their number one scorer Tugade was given to San Miguel a season ago. “Uh-oh, say buh-bye to playoffs, Barakos!” everyone said. Leo Najorda replied with a “Surprise!” and brought the Bulls to a win short of a third straight Finals appearance. Next conference, Enrico Villanueva was dealt in exchange of a Don Camaso and Yeng Guiao was relegated to mere spectatorship during the elections. “Tough luck,” critics consoled. But then Carlos Sharma and Cyrus Baguio pulled Red Bull to six games in the semis. Reflect on the NOW. Larry Fonacier gone, Rich Alvarez gone. Could it finally be an All-Filipino trophy?
Alaska. The switch of steady veteran Nic Belasco for younger but slower duplicate Junjun Cabatu may not be a very wise move for the Fiesta Conference champs, especially if the alibi would just be the usual “for the future” angle. The Aces after all already got two rookies of practically the same quality in the last draft, Ken Bono and JR Quinahan. Plus, Sonny Thoss is still no Kerby Raymundo maturity-wise, and two more leaders of the team (Jeffrey Cariaso and Mike Cortez) are likely to miss much of the Philippine Cup. The jist: can 2007 MVP Willie Miller then play his trophy’s worth this superstar-filled conference and lead his army of babies back to the Finals?
Ginebra. The Kings should really be in the Final Four, being the defending champions and all, but Rudy Hatfield’s AWOL-ship and the scathed muscles of Rafi Reavis makes Ginebra no better than Alaska. They do have the league’s best backcourt now, with Macky Escalona and Paul Artadi enabling enough firepower for Ronald Tubid to permanently become Sunday Salvacion’s back-up at the 3rd position. The problem is, without a better rebounder (thus, an outlet-passer) than the inconsistent Billy Mamaril and the declining Eric Menk, even The Fast and The Furious would find it hard to jumpstart the Ginebra F1 machine.
Purefoods. The Giants’ preseason championship should be good for the team’s morale, especially that they are coming back from a disappointing 6th place finish in the 32nd season after being Finalists twice the year before. The downside is that Seigle doesn’t really average two points a night (just as he did during his team’s preseason match with PF), so despite all the reconstructions, the Giants will have to play as the Davids once again till 2008. Coach Ryan Gregorio’s resident Goliaths James Yap and Kerby Raymundo will be returning juiced up though; with an impressive mix of veterans and youngsters at the post, the Giants won’t be on their knees for very long.
Air21. Thanks to three highly-touted neophytes, the Express enter Season 33 as the dark horses—YET AGAIN. Year after year, this squad gets to parade the most promising players in the league and year after year that’s all they manage to accomplish: make more promises. Right now they have a UAAP Mythical Five, plus a Snatcher, a National Team out-of-place, and a brittle version of Mark Caguioa (who’s currently injured as of writing). Think they can finally wear out the “mga-bata-pa-kasi” jinx? Maybe that roaring basketball manliness is the X-factor the Air21 management finds more in prospect Robert Jaworski than in present mentor Bo Perasol?
Welcoat. From edible dragon hotdogs to possible playoff underdogs. Having a better frontline than the defending champions doesn’t assure the Dragons of at least a quarterfinal win though, with their wing positions being virtually featherless. Denver Lopez and Froilan Baguion have improved tremendously, but unless they become a Miller-Cortez by October 14, Leo Austria will have to expect his team to retain the best in turnovers title after Season 33.
Sta. Lucia. The Realtors have another formidable roster with the inclusion of PBL wavemaker Ryan Reyes and 3rd pick flop Joseph Yeo. And as if they are a more mature version of the Air21 jinx, they still don’t look like they’re on the way to greatness. The surprise explosions of Kelly Williams and now Tiger Alex Cabagnot last year gave Sta. Lucia a near-fantasy 1st place status in the team standings, only to suffer an avalanche on their way to elimination. Additionally, physically decent center Marlou Aquino plays as if he’s not already getting enough villas for his salary.
Coke. The Tiger management deserves applause for the efforts to restore smiles around the camp through their off-season moves, most notable of which was the acquisition of flexible center Mark Telan. Ali Peek will no longer be dissected alone and John Arigo won’t have to worry of a possible Coke collapse while he’s resting since Yeo is now gone for good. Binky Favis is smarter than this, however; minus the firepower of rifle-thin Arigo, the Tigers have no sharper teeth to use.
Is Talk N Text really an effortless 1515 away from their first trophy since Alapag’s rookie days? We’re talking here about Southeast Asia’s toughest basketball league, mate. My answer to that is an arrogant “HELLO???”
posted by arvee @ 12:58 AM,
