Dear Folks,
Let's move this thing to a better and more appropriate place. Pending postings from here will be continued, okay?
Love,
sirjhay
Follow the new site: sportscastengineer.blogspot.com
Monday, April 2, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The Park Games: The WrestleMania XXVIII Fantasy Card
Looking at the definition of the word "sport" or "sports", pro wrestling qualified in every aspect of its requirements. Competitive physical activity... check! Casual or organized participation... check! Aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness... check! Entertainment... (in Eat Bulaga! tone) check na check! Of course you'd say it's not because its result is scripted and manipulated. You know what, be glad it is.
Every move inside that ring is calculated and designed to provide ultimate and awesome moments without harming your favorite professional athletes... or wrestlers. Imagine an MMA match. You see your favorite MMA fighter, say for example, Rashad Evans. You love him so much you want to see him fight until 2038. Then he faced Jon Jones. Inside The Octagon during their match, Evans ate a spinning back elbow from Jones that was so lethal Jonny Bones cracked his skull. Then brain hemorrhage. Then Evans in coma. Then Evans in the funeral. That would suck right. We know it's great because it's real. But when those kind of things happen, it sucks. Can those accidents be avoided in combat sports? Absolutely! Script it. There is what you call "calculated risks". That is what is lacking in MMA and has everything in pro wrestling. Now what does the brains behind pro wrestling do to make it so much better? Put in storylines. Not only these pro wrestlers become athletes, they're now actors!
You know what, this is getting pointless. I don't care if you like pro wrestling or not. I just wanna talk WrestleMania so bad right now. So let's do this!
WWE is now in its yearly climax. Every wrestlers dream. Every wrestling fans' wet dreams. WrestleMania XXVIII. To make our favorite sport without an involvement of a ball interesting, let's dissect the matches included in this spectacle, and try to predict the outcome of it. Take note that the match order is also a prediction. Wait until we get to the Divas match to why the match order predictions. (Let's just stop the introductions and explanations here. Dun na tayo sa ulam.)
First match: World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. 2012 Royal Rumble Winner Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship
The build-up: So random. Daniel Bryan being champion is no accident. This guy bust his ass week in and week out in that ring with precision. No other goofy stuffs done during matches. And as an actor outside of wrestling matches, yeah... he's doing fine being that kind of jerk, adding a cute AJ Lee to complete his jerk ensemble. A totally great performer.
But why Sheamus?
There is an important footnote in this match-up. These two also met in WrestleMania XXVII (last year) for the United States Championship. It was first slotted in the main card, then suddenly relegated to being a dark match (a match not shown on TV). Moving forward, him winning this year's Royal Rumble and this year's WrestleMania must be some return payment for what the powers that be (the authority) have done to him last year. That's some justice.
But their feud is so lame and so random, that I'm pretty more interested to what Eve and Zack Ryder are up to right now. I mean... can Sheamus at least say he's sick of Daniel Bryan being a total jerk? Or Daniel Bryan saying Sheamus can only beat jobbers (mid-card-and-below wrestlers)? None. Wala. If no storyline is included whatsoever, then that must mean their in-ring performance must be enough for it to sell. With Daniel Bryan, hell yeah! With Sheamus, I don't know.
Result: As much as I want Daniel Bryan to win, I think Sheamus will go over him clean (without interference or dirty tricks whatsoever) and be the new World Heavyweight Champion. Just imagine what would Sheamus be doing after WrestleMania if he loses. Continuing to beat jobbers right? That's pretty lame for some massive human being that can become a great character if only creative has something for him. If he's the champion, creative will have something for him. Daniel Bryan has a character now so he can leave the belt alone.
Second match: Randy Orton vs. Kane
The build-up: Randy Orton is now a graduate of "This is what happens when you get injured before The Grandaddy of them All" scheme. If Big Show didn't botch this RKO then Randy would have had a full month of steam to even enter the World Heavyweight Championship match and make it a Triple Threat match. But he only had a couple of weeks. WWE cannot afford a WrestleMania without one of their mega-babyfaces in the card. So pick some guy who you wanted to win and at the same time put him over. TA-DAAAAN! It's Kane!
Result: Kane by disqualification. A mad Orton will use some foreign objects to trample the Big Red Monster. A punt in the head to Kane is possible, thus ending the feud. Otherwise, this will move on to the next PPV event, Extreme Rules, in a more "brutal" fashion.
Third match: Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs. The Big Show for the Intercontinental Championship
The build-up: Are we all just amused of having a gentle giant character on TV? And it's more amusing to have that gentle giant run over a mean dude who picks him apart for no apparent reason. Big Show getting over as a babyface is such a fun thing to watch. Cody Rhodes as that annoying heel who humiliates Big Show every single Raw and SmackDown! is so perfect. Though their feud is not in that mainstream level, the simplicity of it is perfect enough for fans to follow.
Result: The Big Show getting a win despite Cody Rhodes using dirty tactics. Rhodes is a pretty good performer, but he shelved that IC title for quite long and not even defending it. It's time to let it go. And yeah, replace your entrance music. (Cody Rhodes is included in the " Present Worst Wrestling Entrance Themes" list. The number one on the list? Wade Barrett.)
Fourth match: Team Johnny (Captained by David Otunga; Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz) vs. Team Teddy (Captained by US Champion Santino Marella; Booker T, The Great Khali, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder). Winner gets to run both Raw and SmackDown!
The Build-up: This is the annual "Throw in everybody so they can finally say they have their own WrestleMania moment!" match (previously known as Money in the Bank Ladder Match). The stipulation is appropriately placed and (majority of) the characters are fit to it. It's just so unfortunate that Christian won't be a part of this anymore for an official reason unknown yet. The inclusion of Christian was probably the golden moment there when John Laurinaitis offered him to be in the team and in exchange for a win, Christian will have "one more match" (a shot at a world title). Shades of Vince McMahon right? And what does a Vince McMahon on TV means? A power corrupted boss whose hobby is to screw his disloyal employees over and over. That's great TV! And the thing that is adding color to this feud is the counter to that heelish attitude in Teddy Long. The face-to-face screaming, shoving, slapping, and mocking these two do to each other is well done. I just wish the entire twelve men roster have a lengthy brawl this coming final SmackDown! before WrestleMania. That would be the perfect teaser for this match.
Result: Team Johnny will win it, guaranteed. Maybe it's high time to put some new Vince McMahon-like authority figure on TV. The winning pinfall will likely be by David Otunga over R-Truth. Otunga is the only significant man in Laurinitis' side right now. Mark Henry won't be, because of a certain "Lord Tensai" (previously known as Prince Albert, Albert, and A-Train) will come and according to news, he will become Johnny's head honcho. Why R-Truth? Just a wild guess.
And one important note. With the late inclusion of The Miz, I'm seeing he'll probably mess things up big time for Team Johnny that it will nearly cost them the win, until somebody saved it for them. And after the match, The Miz will have an earful of bashing from his other teammates (and Johnny of course), and he'll transfer that frustration somewhere along the show. Just you wait.
Fifth match: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve
The build-up: It's this year's "Celebrity Match" combined with the "much necessary" Divas' match. Just that simple. A noteworthy side note? Eve's heel turn. An even more noteworthy side note? On the WWE website, this is in line to be the first match of the evening. Would you like to see WrestleMania open with a Divas' Dance (otherwise known as Divas' match).
Result: Celebrity's team winning of course. Kelly Kelly getting the pin over Eve using her very deadly finishing move... The Roll-Up.
Sixth Match: WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship
The build-up: This was bound to happen upon Jericho's return. We all just wished the result of the Royal Rumble was kept to its original plan (I still think Jericho was booked to win it) so creative won't mess things up on building this match. But hey, have we complained about how Jericho's rant of CM Punk stealing his "Best in the World" schtick? How he ended in that Elimination Chamber match (got kicked in the head and out of the chamber, unconscious)? How he is outmaneuvering Punk in their ring encounters? How he inserted that worked personal shots against Punk? If you are complaining about Jericho's attitude and his meanness towards CM Punk, then he's done his job. You already bought in to his schtick. (DISCLAIMER: Chris Jericho is my favorite of all time.)
CM Punk? Yeah. He's the greatest thing that is happening right now in the WWE. His straightedge character perfectly fits to a heel Jericho in a way that various readjustments to their gimmicks won't be necessary. They just have to sell their products in the ring which I think won't be a problem. Chris Jericho won't be the first Undisputed Champion if he didn't do anything good in the ring until now. CM Punk won't be 3-time world champion if he didn't do anything good in the ring. Great match up ahead!
Result: Jericho winning is fine. Punk winning is fine. But for the sake of prediction, CM Punk will win over Jericho in a slightly controversial fashion. I really think WWE will give CM Punk a reward of having the biggest WrestleMania moment of his career. But guaranteed this feud will continue over to Extreme Rules.
Seventh Match: The Undertaker vs. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee
The build-up: The storyline is great. Their execution of promos are slightly horrible, but when it's time to drop the atomic line, they do it so well. With future hall-of-famers like these guys, they don't need such bullshits that I need to say like I said to the other six (and the next match). Let's just recap the story.
From The Undertaker's side: he can't accept the fact that he was dragged in a mobile stretcher after their match last year even though he won it. He's willing to give Triple H a shot at immortality (ending the unendable streak) just so he could redeem himself. From Triple H's side: he know he could beat The Undertaker but he refuses to face him because he sees The Undertaker as a marquee brand for the future of the WWE. He just accepted the match because he couldn't accept the fact that his
Result: Will the WWE creative end Undertaker's Streak? Of course not! That will not only be The Undertaker's legacy once he retires, but The Streak will also be the WWE's "marquee brand" in the future. So yeah, The Deadman will win. The only thing that I really wish to see is that all these men draw blood in this match. It won't happen. That is not the thing the PG Era is teaching. Speaking of PG Era.
Main Event: The Rock vs. John Cena
The build-up: "Icon vs. Icon" match at WrestleMania X8. Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock. The past generation against the present generation. Even just their names put on to that match is enough to draw 4 million people. But in principle, it drew more. Thanks to the great build-up they did other than past versus present. It was so great, it can be summed up to four words. Hogan accepted being heel. (Hulk Hogan had the run of being heel in WCW, but he seemed it didn't work. When he came back to WWE, he recreated nWo for a necessary work for the future match against The Rock. Rocky won, and Hogan back to babyface status in an instant after the match).
Ten WrestleManias later, here we are again. Past versus Present. The Attitude Era against The PG Era. The Rock and John Cena. Again, those names drew 4 million people. But with the build-up to it, it became less. Who messed it up? Honestly, it's John Cena.
He didn't want a heel turn even though male fans are begging him to turn heel (while women and children are slightly curious of how a Cena-heel would look like so they want it too deep down). With the way Rocky is rolling in between WWE and movies, there's no way WWE and the fans could turn him heel, and during his heydays, he had done that. While Cena, he wasn't really a heel when he was still a mid-card jobber to Brock Lesnar. It was the perfect opportunity for him to explore his dimension of character as a wrestler, with The Rock willing to get Cena over once everything is done. Would two babyfaces make a good match at each other. No! This match became Rocky as the face and John Cena as a pretty-messed up dude. No wonder Rocky makes fun of his lady parts. And with the way Cena perfectly executing his promos against The Rock (heel promos in my opinion), he really should have turned heel.
Result: The Rock winning in a controversial fashion but not by disqualification. The cause of controversy? Guess it in five seconds. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... TA-DAAN! THE MIZ (I told you to wait)! After the match, Cena and Rock will beat The Miz to hell and they'll raise the hands of each other when it is all over. John Cena and The Rock will have a legendary match and The Miz will be buried in The Grandaddy of them All!
Watch out for the Sportscast Engineer! Happy
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
My Soccer Dream
I had a dream last night. I let my extra-celestial ultra-body friends (translation: me pondering about it for a significant period of my toilet time) interpret my dream. I grabbed a pen to draw it. It looked shit. Then I grabbed another pen to write it. All I wrote was the mash-up lyrics of Taylor Swift's "Love Story" and "Video Kill the Radio Star". I grabbed my laptop to see if I can type it. I ended up playing Madden 2005 where I gave the Patriots their fourth Super Bowl title. Then finally... I saw Paint. An eternity of canvas space to draw my dream and express my ideas. I'm ready to share my dream last night, so I typed it. And for the first time in Internet blogging history, I will share you my dream last night. Be glad!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Ladies and Gentlemen... Here's the National Team's Prospect for Naturalization (Once Again)!
Just when I was about to go to sleep to prepare for my tomorrow's run, I saw this... uhm... clip.
Scouts, pay close attention!
It's so dumb, the one who made this video forgot how to count.
Kapag hindi ako nagising bukas ng maaga, I'd definitely blame JaVale McGee.
Scouts, pay close attention!
It's so dumb, the one who made this video forgot how to count.
Kapag hindi ako nagising bukas ng maaga, I'd definitely blame JaVale McGee.
Monday, March 12, 2012
The Park Games: Fixing a Sunday TV's Heart
I am supposed to write this entry on 2017 (the year where AKTV's contract with the PBA will expire) but I have to do it now. I cannot take it anymore. I cannot fathom another Maxene Magalona LIVE song number. I cannot imagine another group of teeny boppers invading one afternoon to another. The lies The Buzz produce. The terrible showbiz program put up against The Buzz. The tagalized movies. And boxing. I cannot take local Sunday TV programming anymore. The good Sunday shows are always overwhelemed, dominated, and manhandled by a group of teeny boppers (I don't know their names), people who never thought of taping their song numbers (Party Pilipinas), people who never thought of singing it live in their song numbers (ASAP), people who made me believe that everything showbiz people do on TV is a lie (Boy Abunda and co.), and people who produce terrible showbiz program (no other metaphors can match the horribleness of Showbiz Central).
And the tagalized movies? Holy kamote! They just know... no, not know... they MASTERED the art of ruining a first class movie, making it a paper to shit on. I mean, hell! They're killing my favorite first-class movies one by one. Sino nakaisip nito? Dapat sa kanya makulong!
And boxing. A four-fight Manny Pacquiao-main event card will last from 10 AM to 4 PM. That's bullshit! Do you like seeing that kind of boxing on TV? Yes? Go to hell.
Sunday TV already have Abraham, Moses, Elijah (Pepito Manaloto, Talentadong Pinoy, and documentaries), and news. But Sunday needs a savior. Sunday needs Jesus. And Sunday TV Jesus has been here since 1975. Yes, the PBA is the Messiah. And a little tweak would do so our Sunday viewing will be like heaven. (Maybe I should have just stop using Biblical references, shut up, and just include "save Sunday TV" in my prayer intentions at St. Jude Thaddeus Novena every Thursday. That's how desperate I am for a solution to this mess.)
Before we start, let's set these things to begin with: 1) GMA and ABS-CBN are the two biggest networks; 2) Manny Pangilinan owns TV5; and 3) pretend from now on that Manny Pangilinan owns GMA. (Pretend? That's where we're heading anyways, right?)
So the fixes that I will suggest will basically be done by GMA and TV5, since TV5 has the savior. To ABS-CBN, you are all grown men to figure out what to do against competition. Besides, you run Studio23, so go to hell!
Now, where do we begin?
8:00 AM - 12:00: Anything goes for both networks. (It's up to them to put whatever good in here. My TV is not yet turned on during these times, so I don't really care. Besides, they're grown men too. Kaya na nila to.)
Horrible TV starts at Party Pilipinas. Though other people like watching it, why not move one or two of TV5's primetime show to the noontime slot at GMA. Say we cut Party Pilipinas to a 1.5 hour show (and only put the good things that happen there, like the fairly cute Julie Ann San Jose, and the super hot and sexy Rachelle Ann Go) and move Talentadong Pinoy along with it (there is a good reason to move it here, just wait). Surebol na tataas ang rating ng TP because of it's promotion to GMA (yes, GMA is the higher-rank than TV5). Then we put the teeny boppers show and and evolved Showbiz Central (merging it with Paparazzi) into TV5's noontime slot. A group of teenagers with decent fan base and a showbiz show on a solo timeslot? It will rate for sure. So our noontime slot will look like this...
For GMA:
12:00 PM - Party Pilipinas: Good Stuff Only (more Julie Anne, more Rachelle Ann, and fine... more Jennilyn Mercado... wait, what? alright, no Jennilyn Mercado...)
1:30 PM - Talentadong Pinoy
For TV5:
12:00 PM - The Teeny Boppers Show. (Yeah I know the title. Tween Hearts right? It just felt right to call it that way. Mas hip.)
1:00 PM - A Tsismis Show that features a gremlin, a certified gay guy, an elephant-in-the-room gay guy, a woman that is made out of boobs, and Pia Guanio. (May manonood nito. Surebol.)
The road is getting clearer as afternoon approaches. I think no one will complain if the Pepito-Manaloto-onwards programs will move to afternoon. So we can clear GMA's primetime slot for the savior. Throw in the news as well just before the game starts. For those who are scoring at home...
For GMA:
3:00 PM - Pepito Manaloto. (This show just connects to everyone.)
4:00 PM - Kap's Amazing Stories. (Do they still have this one? Please inform me. Seriously.)
4:45 PM - The Chris Tiu Show. (No matter what title, no matter what kind of show, someone and someone will watch it just for the sake of seeing Chris Tiu.)
5:30 PM - 24 Oras Weekend
Then TV5 will do just a little adjustment to give way to the PBA's first Sunday Game. Kaya bubunot ako sa mga shows ng TV5 na mapupunta sa 3 PM slot. At ang nabunot ko ay.......... TADAAN! WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE!
For TV5:
3:00 PM - Who Wants to be a Millionaire. (Mas madadali ba yung mga tanong ngayon compared nung si Christopher De Leon ang host, o mas bobo lang ako noon?)
4:00 PM - PBA Sunday first game. Our savior is here! (Don't throw a marquee match in here, we'll get to there later.)
Now it's 6:30, and our savior kicks in full speed! PBA sa GMA! What a sound! I was wishing, hoping, and praying for this when Solar and PBA fell out. And that same sound made me wanna work with GMA so, so, so, so bad. PBA sa GMA! 'stig! And to get the ratings higher, why not put these kind of games in here. The so called Marquee Matches.
1) Barangay Ginebra vs. BMeg (no-brainer)
2) Talk 'n Text vs. Petron Blaze (no-brainer)
3) Meralco vs. Barangay Ginebra (Barangay Big Dome in full force just to boo Mac Cardona)
4) BMeg vs. Powerade (Coach Tim Cone's beginning of a championship run in a new team cut short by a that-time-streaking Powerade team? That's unforgivable!)
5) Powerade vs. Rain or Shine (Coach Yeng Guiao's declaration of a first championship was delayed by a that-time-became-lethal Powerade team? That's unforgivable!)
6) Rain or Shine vs. Barako Bull (co-head coach of the no-BullShit team. Even with little fanbase, people will take intense action anytime!)
7) Barako Bull vs. The-team-where-they-traded-their-top-rookies-that-year (Don't these kids want a revenge shot at an organization who throw cow shits to them?)
Side notes:
1) I wish I could include Air21. Their a certified no-BS team right now. I love watching them. But the reality of them having very little to no marketability hurts me. Truth hurts.
2) Alaska and Petron are not boring and weak teams. They don't just have serious rivals in the league right now to make a marquee match.
3) The most boring teams right now, ironically, are Manny Pangilinan's teams. Talk 'n Text and Meralco. The reason for TNT; they always win. The reason for Meralco; they're the most predictable team.
And don't forget the playoffs. GMA will definitely have a piece there. In fact, the (MY) original plan is that GMA will cover the entire Philippine Cup Finals. If it falls on a weekday, the game starts right after the news. Screw all the primetime telenovelas of GMA! Let's put the National Championship in this TV! Good idea! True? True. True!
Alright, let's get back to the schedule. Now it looks like this...
For GMA:
6:30 PM - PBA sa GMA! (yeah!)
9:00 PM - 10:00 PM - Inside the PBA (It is written in the constitution that adapting a US show for a local version is not wrong, and will be a hit. Just think StarStruck and American Idol.)
A post-game show that will cover the entire week of the PBA is just fitting to cap the week that was for the PBA. Plus sa GMA pa ipapalabas, so people can catch up to what happened in the league if they missed it so badly for some apparent reasons.
And to seal the deal, let's give the 10 PM onwards slot to documentaries or films that are relevant to society right now. Just like last night. Kara David's documentary about Japan and their road to recovery was just... wow! I'm speechless about it. It just made me say in general "now THAT'S good TV!"
Of course, hindi natin pwedeng iwanan ang TV5. That room that the PBA second game vacated is now gift-wrapped to the new shows TV5 are up to, notably Kanta Pilipinas and Extreme Makeover Home Edition (see why we need to put TP somewhere else). These shows badly need primetime slots that is obviously being hogged by Willie Revillame. So there is your time-slots.
For TV5:
6:30 PM - Kanta Pilipinas
8:00 PM - Extreme Makeover Home Edition
9:00 PM - Under Special Investigation (Up side, this show has great features. Don't deny it. Down side, it's another hour of Paolo Bediones. If you hate him, bad for you.)
10:00 PM - Sunday Night Movies NOT TAGALIZED (Please! Oh, please...)
Pagsama-samahin ulit natin. So we could see the beauty Manny Pangilinan is about to approve.
GMA
12:00 PM - Party Pilipinas: Good Stuff Only (New Show!)
1:30 PM - Talentadong Pinoy
3:00 PM - Pepito Manaloto
4:00 PM - Kap's Amazing Stories (It still exists!)
4:45 PM - The Chris Tiu Show (New Show!)
5:30 PM - 24 Oras Weekend
6:30 PM - PBA sa GMA!
9:00 PM - Inside the PBA
10:00 PM - Sunday Night Specials
TV5
12:00 PM - The Teeny Boppers Show
1:00 PM - A Tsismis Show that Features a Gremlin, a Certified Gay Guy, an Elephant-in-the-Room Gay Guy, a Woman that is Made Out of Boobs, and Pia Guanio.
3:00 PM - Who Wants to be a Millionaire
4:00 PM - PBA on TV5! (Not on AKTV. We'll get to there at the end.)
6:30 PM - Kanta Pilipinas (New Show!)
8:00 PM - Extreme Makeover Home Edition (New Show!)
9:00 PM - Under Special Investigation
10:00 PM - Sunday Night Movies NOT TAGALIZED!
AKTV
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM - Boxing. (Just plain and simple. Doesn't matter who is fighting. You have five solid hours of it.)
Boy, did I save someone's brain cell or what?
Once this truly happen, our Sunday TV programming is saved. Cable and satellite won't save us. This will save us.
Enjoy watching!
And the tagalized movies? Holy kamote! They just know... no, not know... they MASTERED the art of ruining a first class movie, making it a paper to shit on. I mean, hell! They're killing my favorite first-class movies one by one. Sino nakaisip nito? Dapat sa kanya makulong!
And boxing. A four-fight Manny Pacquiao-main event card will last from 10 AM to 4 PM. That's bullshit! Do you like seeing that kind of boxing on TV? Yes? Go to hell.
Sunday TV already have Abraham, Moses, Elijah (Pepito Manaloto, Talentadong Pinoy, and documentaries), and news. But Sunday needs a savior. Sunday needs Jesus. And Sunday TV Jesus has been here since 1975. Yes, the PBA is the Messiah. And a little tweak would do so our Sunday viewing will be like heaven. (Maybe I should have just stop using Biblical references, shut up, and just include "save Sunday TV" in my prayer intentions at St. Jude Thaddeus Novena every Thursday. That's how desperate I am for a solution to this mess.)
Before we start, let's set these things to begin with: 1) GMA and ABS-CBN are the two biggest networks; 2) Manny Pangilinan owns TV5; and 3) pretend from now on that Manny Pangilinan owns GMA. (Pretend? That's where we're heading anyways, right?)
So the fixes that I will suggest will basically be done by GMA and TV5, since TV5 has the savior. To ABS-CBN, you are all grown men to figure out what to do against competition. Besides, you run Studio23, so go to hell!
Now, where do we begin?
8:00 AM - 12:00: Anything goes for both networks. (It's up to them to put whatever good in here. My TV is not yet turned on during these times, so I don't really care. Besides, they're grown men too. Kaya na nila to.)
Horrible TV starts at Party Pilipinas. Though other people like watching it, why not move one or two of TV5's primetime show to the noontime slot at GMA. Say we cut Party Pilipinas to a 1.5 hour show (and only put the good things that happen there, like the fairly cute Julie Ann San Jose, and the super hot and sexy Rachelle Ann Go) and move Talentadong Pinoy along with it (there is a good reason to move it here, just wait). Surebol na tataas ang rating ng TP because of it's promotion to GMA (yes, GMA is the higher-rank than TV5). Then we put the teeny boppers show and and evolved Showbiz Central (merging it with Paparazzi) into TV5's noontime slot. A group of teenagers with decent fan base and a showbiz show on a solo timeslot? It will rate for sure. So our noontime slot will look like this...
For GMA:
12:00 PM - Party Pilipinas: Good Stuff Only (more Julie Anne, more Rachelle Ann, and fine... more Jennilyn Mercado... wait, what? alright, no Jennilyn Mercado...)
1:30 PM - Talentadong Pinoy
For TV5:
12:00 PM - The Teeny Boppers Show. (Yeah I know the title. Tween Hearts right? It just felt right to call it that way. Mas hip.)
1:00 PM - A Tsismis Show that features a gremlin, a certified gay guy, an elephant-in-the-room gay guy, a woman that is made out of boobs, and Pia Guanio. (May manonood nito. Surebol.)
The road is getting clearer as afternoon approaches. I think no one will complain if the Pepito-Manaloto-onwards programs will move to afternoon. So we can clear GMA's primetime slot for the savior. Throw in the news as well just before the game starts. For those who are scoring at home...
For GMA:
3:00 PM - Pepito Manaloto. (This show just connects to everyone.)
4:00 PM - Kap's Amazing Stories. (Do they still have this one? Please inform me. Seriously.)
4:45 PM - The Chris Tiu Show. (No matter what title, no matter what kind of show, someone and someone will watch it just for the sake of seeing Chris Tiu.)
5:30 PM - 24 Oras Weekend
Then TV5 will do just a little adjustment to give way to the PBA's first Sunday Game. Kaya bubunot ako sa mga shows ng TV5 na mapupunta sa 3 PM slot. At ang nabunot ko ay.......... TADAAN! WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE!
For TV5:
3:00 PM - Who Wants to be a Millionaire. (Mas madadali ba yung mga tanong ngayon compared nung si Christopher De Leon ang host, o mas bobo lang ako noon?)
4:00 PM - PBA Sunday first game. Our savior is here! (Don't throw a marquee match in here, we'll get to there later.)
Now it's 6:30, and our savior kicks in full speed! PBA sa GMA! What a sound! I was wishing, hoping, and praying for this when Solar and PBA fell out. And that same sound made me wanna work with GMA so, so, so, so bad. PBA sa GMA! 'stig! And to get the ratings higher, why not put these kind of games in here. The so called Marquee Matches.
1) Barangay Ginebra vs. BMeg (no-brainer)
2) Talk 'n Text vs. Petron Blaze (no-brainer)
3) Meralco vs. Barangay Ginebra (Barangay Big Dome in full force just to boo Mac Cardona)
4) BMeg vs. Powerade (Coach Tim Cone's beginning of a championship run in a new team cut short by a that-time-streaking Powerade team? That's unforgivable!)
5) Powerade vs. Rain or Shine (Coach Yeng Guiao's declaration of a first championship was delayed by a that-time-became-lethal Powerade team? That's unforgivable!)
6) Rain or Shine vs. Barako Bull (co-head coach of the no-BullShit team. Even with little fanbase, people will take intense action anytime!)
7) Barako Bull vs. The-team-where-they-traded-their-top-rookies-that-year (Don't these kids want a revenge shot at an organization who throw cow shits to them?)
Side notes:
1) I wish I could include Air21. Their a certified no-BS team right now. I love watching them. But the reality of them having very little to no marketability hurts me. Truth hurts.
2) Alaska and Petron are not boring and weak teams. They don't just have serious rivals in the league right now to make a marquee match.
3) The most boring teams right now, ironically, are Manny Pangilinan's teams. Talk 'n Text and Meralco. The reason for TNT; they always win. The reason for Meralco; they're the most predictable team.
And don't forget the playoffs. GMA will definitely have a piece there. In fact, the (MY) original plan is that GMA will cover the entire Philippine Cup Finals. If it falls on a weekday, the game starts right after the news. Screw all the primetime telenovelas of GMA! Let's put the National Championship in this TV! Good idea! True? True. True!
Alright, let's get back to the schedule. Now it looks like this...
For GMA:
6:30 PM - PBA sa GMA! (yeah!)
9:00 PM - 10:00 PM - Inside the PBA (It is written in the constitution that adapting a US show for a local version is not wrong, and will be a hit. Just think StarStruck and American Idol.)
A post-game show that will cover the entire week of the PBA is just fitting to cap the week that was for the PBA. Plus sa GMA pa ipapalabas, so people can catch up to what happened in the league if they missed it so badly for some apparent reasons.
And to seal the deal, let's give the 10 PM onwards slot to documentaries or films that are relevant to society right now. Just like last night. Kara David's documentary about Japan and their road to recovery was just... wow! I'm speechless about it. It just made me say in general "now THAT'S good TV!"
Of course, hindi natin pwedeng iwanan ang TV5. That room that the PBA second game vacated is now gift-wrapped to the new shows TV5 are up to, notably Kanta Pilipinas and Extreme Makeover Home Edition (see why we need to put TP somewhere else). These shows badly need primetime slots that is obviously being hogged by Willie Revillame. So there is your time-slots.
For TV5:
6:30 PM - Kanta Pilipinas
8:00 PM - Extreme Makeover Home Edition
9:00 PM - Under Special Investigation (Up side, this show has great features. Don't deny it. Down side, it's another hour of Paolo Bediones. If you hate him, bad for you.)
10:00 PM - Sunday Night Movies NOT TAGALIZED (Please! Oh, please...)
Pagsama-samahin ulit natin. So we could see the beauty Manny Pangilinan is about to approve.
GMA
12:00 PM - Party Pilipinas: Good Stuff Only (New Show!)
1:30 PM - Talentadong Pinoy
3:00 PM - Pepito Manaloto
4:00 PM - Kap's Amazing Stories (It still exists!)
4:45 PM - The Chris Tiu Show (New Show!)
5:30 PM - 24 Oras Weekend
6:30 PM - PBA sa GMA!
9:00 PM - Inside the PBA
10:00 PM - Sunday Night Specials
TV5
12:00 PM - The Teeny Boppers Show
1:00 PM - A Tsismis Show that Features a Gremlin, a Certified Gay Guy, an Elephant-in-the-Room Gay Guy, a Woman that is Made Out of Boobs, and Pia Guanio.
3:00 PM - Who Wants to be a Millionaire
4:00 PM - PBA on TV5! (Not on AKTV. We'll get to there at the end.)
6:30 PM - Kanta Pilipinas (New Show!)
8:00 PM - Extreme Makeover Home Edition (New Show!)
9:00 PM - Under Special Investigation
10:00 PM - Sunday Night Movies NOT TAGALIZED!
AKTV
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM - Boxing. (Just plain and simple. Doesn't matter who is fighting. You have five solid hours of it.)
Boy, did I save someone's brain cell or what?
Once this truly happen, our Sunday TV programming is saved. Cable and satellite won't save us. This will save us.
Enjoy watching!
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Park Games: Basketball Dictator's Take on the National Team (Prologue)
It is the high-time to form the Philippine National Basketball Team. Habang mainit ang lahat sa nalalapit na Olympics, magandang pagkakataon na ito para makapaghanda for the next big thing sa baskteball.
Pero bago ang lahat, here are a few notes on the Smart-Gilas team during their time as the hardcourt flag bearer:
1) Rabeh Al-Hussaini should be on the team. He's a pioneer in the lineup of Coach Rajko Toroman, but he suddenly decided to go pro and join the PBA. What happened? I do not know. This maybe...
Rabeh's agent/friend/whoever might have told him: Uy pre! wag ka na mag-RP team! Pa-draft ka na this year. Kukunin ka ng San Miguel. Magiging alaga ka dun!
Rabeh: Talaga??? E Air21 ang top pick ah. Paano yun?
Agent/Friend/WMHTH: Air21 yan pre. Air21.
Rabeh: Ah oo nga no! Air21. Sige payag na ko! Ako na bahala sa reason.
(The following exchange is fully a product of imagination. Any similarities with real-life situations are purely coincidental.)
2) The coaching staff. Coach Rajko didn't have a board of directors type of assistant coaches that he kept from start to finish. Were Coach Chot Reyes and Coach Ryan Gregorio in the Gilas bench when the team competed in the PBA? They even didn't have the same GM (it's a more hip term for SBP Executive Director, the one who formed the team) when they started and when they competed in the FIBA-Asia Championships.
3) If ever did that all-amateur team failed, their emergency button was the PBA. And Coach Rajko's main man on that sea of pro-players? The primary target? It's the rival company's biggest babyface... Jaaaaaaaaammmmeeeessss Yap!
4) The Greg Slaugther effect. He was in the team when they ran over the PBA teams in the 2011 Commissioner's Cup. He wasn't in the Asian Championships lineup. He's tall. He got moves (when he was playing for Coach Rajko). He's a ball player. He's a Filipino.
Four important points. These must be the things I all need to produce my National Team. Yes, I will form my own national team for basketball. We all have an opportunity to form the next team that will try to be the bad ass of Asian basketball, and I'm taking mine. And I'll do it the way Lee Kuan Yew did to Singapore (that's why you and/or a lot of people you know wanted to go there and live). I'll be the fucking basketball dictator of this basketball-crazy town. All shall abide. Those who refuse will be locked in to a room to figure out how would the Lakers salvage this season and make the Lakers team listen to them.
So expect more than four episodes of this series. Migraine free.
Here's a fun thing to do before we end. Let's put the question "What would happen to Smart-Gilas then? Would have they improve the fourth place finish or not?" on each points. Of course I'll answer it! So can you! There's a large comment box below which you can use. Or we could talk about it on Twitter! Follow me @sirjhaydelacruz
Here we go!
1) If Rabeh Al-Hussaini was on the team, what would happen to Smart-Gilas then? Would have they improve the fourth place finish or not?
One thing is for sure, Rabeh won't have any insecurity issues with Noy Baclao since Noy was clearly bound for the PBA that time. The rest, mahirap na isipin. Would he want to play with Chris Tiu? Would Chris Tiu want to play with him? Would he deck someone when he gets totally pissed? Would he and Japeth Aguilar become Tantrum buddies come the Asian Championships?
The best comparison for him relating to the second question must be Ranidel De Ocampo. They both have highly efficient offensive games for their sizes that makes them pretty difficult to defend. What separates them is that Rabeh is a bit quicker while Ranidel is made of Portland Cement. If Rabeh was in the Asian Championship lineup, Ranidel wouldn't be around. The result might still be the same fourth place finish.
2) If they had a fixed coaching staff, what would happen to Smart-Gilas? Would have they improved the fourth place finish or not?
Coach Rajko's general system of offense is undoubtedly phenomenal. But it would have been better if the young guys were earlier oriented to some PBA style of coaching, were coaches use their players' individual ability on their plays. Remember that semifinal game, when we had Jordan in our hands and Gilas ran that same double-screen play on top? Jordan had that play all figured-out, so their own Cinderella run continued to the finals and left us to face those fucking Koreans. Having a general system is always good for it teaches discipline. But in a clever world kailangan din ng ibang diskarte para makalusot. So if those PBA coaches were aboard Coach Rajko's ship ever since, hell yeah! We might be in London this July! (Have we faced China in that finals, we'd win by disqualification. They were ready to deck the entire Gilas team if ever they crossed paths in that finals. I'm serious! Bob Donewald is very disgusted with Gilas.)
3) If we field an all-PBA team to the 2011 FIBA-Asia...
NO! Let's modify the question... again, again, again...
3) If James Yap was fielded in the Gilas lineup, then what?
First, Sol Mercado won't be in the Asian Games lineup. No matter how Sol good is, the team was a mess that time. If James Yap was there, think Dondon Hontiveros' stint in the 2011 Jones Cup when he was in that lineup; a reliable outside shooter and a pesky defender. Only James was younger. Had he been in the final lineup, Chris Tiu's load would have been lighter and Gilas' offense would have been one step better. (Hang on a second... if only we knew earlier that Chris Lutz have those deadly hops and crossovers, he's the automatic number two spot and Marcio Lassiter will be the number three spot. Chris Tiu will come off the bench, and Mac Baracael will share the three-spot rotation with Lutz and Lassiter. Effective wingmen rotation!) Okay, they don't need James Yap.
4) If Greg Slaughter just ignored Ateneo and continued the Gilas duties, what would happen then? Would they improve the fourth place finish?
They might still end up fourth place, because there will be no Asi Taulava if there was Greg Slaughter. The team might still be the same if Greg suited for the Asian Championships. The real question is what would happen to Greg Slaughter.
(Finally! I found a way to say this! I have been keeping this since November 2011. YES!!!)
We all saw in clear, crisp, and 3D who Greg Slaughter was in the 2011 PBA Second Conference. A tall dude. Marcus Douthit backup. A piece of work. Not a mess. Again, not a mess. Although his lateral movement was obviously lacking in velocity, his effectiveness and basketball IQ was impressive enough to overwhelm expectations of everyone, including Coach Rajko himself. He was just too slow, that's why he's making love with the bench often times (and relatively lesser time compared to Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros). But whenever he's on the floor, he made sure he'll do whatever the coach requires him to do to his full extent. He's a mean presence inside the paint (madalas nga lang ma-out box). He rebounds (madalas nga lang ma-outrebound). He block shots (madalas... nya gawin to). And ultimately, he scores (he even posterized both Nino Canaleta and Roger Yap on the same dunk). He's a big man with a whopping potential. That's all we knew since then.
Fast forward to the 2011 SEA Games. (I didn't watch him in the UAAP. I didn't need to watch it. I knew Ateneo would win ever since.)
2011 SEA Games. I knew Philippines would kick everybody's ass in that tournament. I watched it for Greg Slaughter to see what's up with him.
And boy... even though no one could match up with him, he's a mess.
That lateral movement we complained about, it wasn't there. It even got worse! His footwork, a mess. He couldn't back down his guy properly. His strength, questionable. That Thai guy who looked like Jay-R Taganas... he could clothesline Greg if he wanted to. Greg looked like a sick dude back there.
Well okay, his passing was amazing during the SEA Games. Even though his passing difficulty was reduced to novice because every opponent was five-seven inch lower than him, he didn't screwed up any of those passes to his teammates especially when he was double teamed. He didn't had that passing skill during their PBA stint, so there was an improvement. But where were those other skills he was trying to develop with the Gilas team? Naiwan niya sa Katipunan?
Poor Greg. Why him?
For sure a separate column will be dedicated to him in the coming weeks to explain everything that I will answer in about a word from now.
In proper guidance, he'll have his spot as the best centers in Asia.
And now for one final tribute-liners for the Smart-Gilas Pilipinas.
Mark Barroca - You'd be my starting point guard for the "No BullShit (BS) team". The team were players just do whatever they're supposed to do in the court with no questions asked and no flashes beyond. Just pure playing.
Asi Taulava - From Yao Ming, to Hamed Ehadadi, to Yi Jianlian. You were always the underdog to these people but you found a way to stop them through all these years. That's your legacy big man.
JVee Casio - Your big time plays kill a lot of people; your fans for excitement and your opponents for craziness. And you'll still continue to do it.
Jimmy Alapag - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. Probably your last run in the national team.
Chris Tiu - With your looks, no one really believed you were a bad ass on the basketball court until you gave them a knee to the body everytime you had a chance.
Japeth Aguilar - You risked your PBA career just to be a part of this. Probably when you experience hip cramps while watching your teammates during the Asian Championships, you must've thought "...hindi na pala dapat ako umalis ng PBA..."
Mac Baracael - The top of the key dude. You'll do great in Alaska.
Marcus Douthit - The change of citizenship must be so worth it. And yes, thanks!
Kelly Williams - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. You'll have another run for the team. In MY team and in the real world's team.
Marcio Lassiter - You and your other Gilas buddies are a sure shot superstars because of your excellent performance with the team. So it really sucks when they underestimated your value when you were placed on the table. Now that the deal is dead (or is it...) you can now explode in your games.
Chris Lutz - You are an obedient student to Coach Rajko. Because if you were not, I would have seen you cross-over on one of those games, and probably broken T.G. Moon's ankle. Good dude!
Ranidel De Ocampo - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. Fifty percent chance of getting in the next team. I wish you decked someone during the Asian Championships. Kumpleto na sana ang viewing pleasure ko.
Dylan Ababou - A poor man's Danny Seigle. Yes, that is you. That's why you were benched. OK lang yan! Ikaw pa din ang mas murang version ni Danny Seigle.
Jason Ballesteros - You're now in the team that is being captained by Gilbert Lao. Name and other teammates are still in the works.
ENJOY THE WEEK!
Pero bago ang lahat, here are a few notes on the Smart-Gilas team during their time as the hardcourt flag bearer:
1) Rabeh Al-Hussaini should be on the team. He's a pioneer in the lineup of Coach Rajko Toroman, but he suddenly decided to go pro and join the PBA. What happened? I do not know. This maybe...
Rabeh's agent/friend/whoever might have told him: Uy pre! wag ka na mag-RP team! Pa-draft ka na this year. Kukunin ka ng San Miguel. Magiging alaga ka dun!
Rabeh: Talaga??? E Air21 ang top pick ah. Paano yun?
Agent/Friend/WMHTH: Air21 yan pre. Air21.
Rabeh: Ah oo nga no! Air21. Sige payag na ko! Ako na bahala sa reason.
(The following exchange is fully a product of imagination. Any similarities with real-life situations are purely coincidental.)
2) The coaching staff. Coach Rajko didn't have a board of directors type of assistant coaches that he kept from start to finish. Were Coach Chot Reyes and Coach Ryan Gregorio in the Gilas bench when the team competed in the PBA? They even didn't have the same GM (it's a more hip term for SBP Executive Director, the one who formed the team) when they started and when they competed in the FIBA-Asia Championships.
3) If ever did that all-amateur team failed, their emergency button was the PBA. And Coach Rajko's main man on that sea of pro-players? The primary target? It's the rival company's biggest babyface... Jaaaaaaaaammmmeeeessss Yap!
4) The Greg Slaugther effect. He was in the team when they ran over the PBA teams in the 2011 Commissioner's Cup. He wasn't in the Asian Championships lineup. He's tall. He got moves (when he was playing for Coach Rajko). He's a ball player. He's a Filipino.
Four important points. These must be the things I all need to produce my National Team. Yes, I will form my own national team for basketball. We all have an opportunity to form the next team that will try to be the bad ass of Asian basketball, and I'm taking mine. And I'll do it the way Lee Kuan Yew did to Singapore (that's why you and/or a lot of people you know wanted to go there and live). I'll be the fucking basketball dictator of this basketball-crazy town. All shall abide. Those who refuse will be locked in to a room to figure out how would the Lakers salvage this season and make the Lakers team listen to them.
So expect more than four episodes of this series. Migraine free.
Here's a fun thing to do before we end. Let's put the question "What would happen to Smart-Gilas then? Would have they improve the fourth place finish or not?" on each points. Of course I'll answer it! So can you! There's a large comment box below which you can use. Or we could talk about it on Twitter! Follow me @sirjhaydelacruz
Here we go!
1) If Rabeh Al-Hussaini was on the team, what would happen to Smart-Gilas then? Would have they improve the fourth place finish or not?
One thing is for sure, Rabeh won't have any insecurity issues with Noy Baclao since Noy was clearly bound for the PBA that time. The rest, mahirap na isipin. Would he want to play with Chris Tiu? Would Chris Tiu want to play with him? Would he deck someone when he gets totally pissed? Would he and Japeth Aguilar become Tantrum buddies come the Asian Championships?
The best comparison for him relating to the second question must be Ranidel De Ocampo. They both have highly efficient offensive games for their sizes that makes them pretty difficult to defend. What separates them is that Rabeh is a bit quicker while Ranidel is made of Portland Cement. If Rabeh was in the Asian Championship lineup, Ranidel wouldn't be around. The result might still be the same fourth place finish.
2) If they had a fixed coaching staff, what would happen to Smart-Gilas? Would have they improved the fourth place finish or not?
Coach Rajko's general system of offense is undoubtedly phenomenal. But it would have been better if the young guys were earlier oriented to some PBA style of coaching, were coaches use their players' individual ability on their plays. Remember that semifinal game, when we had Jordan in our hands and Gilas ran that same double-screen play on top? Jordan had that play all figured-out, so their own Cinderella run continued to the finals and left us to face those fucking Koreans. Having a general system is always good for it teaches discipline. But in a clever world kailangan din ng ibang diskarte para makalusot. So if those PBA coaches were aboard Coach Rajko's ship ever since, hell yeah! We might be in London this July! (Have we faced China in that finals, we'd win by disqualification. They were ready to deck the entire Gilas team if ever they crossed paths in that finals. I'm serious! Bob Donewald is very disgusted with Gilas.)
3) If we field an all-PBA team to the 2011 FIBA-Asia...
NO! Let's modify the question... again, again, again...
3) If James Yap was fielded in the Gilas lineup, then what?
First, Sol Mercado won't be in the Asian Games lineup. No matter how Sol good is, the team was a mess that time. If James Yap was there, think Dondon Hontiveros' stint in the 2011 Jones Cup when he was in that lineup; a reliable outside shooter and a pesky defender. Only James was younger. Had he been in the final lineup, Chris Tiu's load would have been lighter and Gilas' offense would have been one step better. (Hang on a second... if only we knew earlier that Chris Lutz have those deadly hops and crossovers, he's the automatic number two spot and Marcio Lassiter will be the number three spot. Chris Tiu will come off the bench, and Mac Baracael will share the three-spot rotation with Lutz and Lassiter. Effective wingmen rotation!) Okay, they don't need James Yap.
4) If Greg Slaughter just ignored Ateneo and continued the Gilas duties, what would happen then? Would they improve the fourth place finish?
They might still end up fourth place, because there will be no Asi Taulava if there was Greg Slaughter. The team might still be the same if Greg suited for the Asian Championships. The real question is what would happen to Greg Slaughter.
(Finally! I found a way to say this! I have been keeping this since November 2011. YES!!!)
We all saw in clear, crisp, and 3D who Greg Slaughter was in the 2011 PBA Second Conference. A tall dude. Marcus Douthit backup. A piece of work. Not a mess. Again, not a mess. Although his lateral movement was obviously lacking in velocity, his effectiveness and basketball IQ was impressive enough to overwhelm expectations of everyone, including Coach Rajko himself. He was just too slow, that's why he's making love with the bench often times (and relatively lesser time compared to Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros). But whenever he's on the floor, he made sure he'll do whatever the coach requires him to do to his full extent. He's a mean presence inside the paint (madalas nga lang ma-out box). He rebounds (madalas nga lang ma-outrebound). He block shots (madalas... nya gawin to). And ultimately, he scores (he even posterized both Nino Canaleta and Roger Yap on the same dunk). He's a big man with a whopping potential. That's all we knew since then.
Fast forward to the 2011 SEA Games. (I didn't watch him in the UAAP. I didn't need to watch it. I knew Ateneo would win ever since.)
2011 SEA Games. I knew Philippines would kick everybody's ass in that tournament. I watched it for Greg Slaughter to see what's up with him.
And boy... even though no one could match up with him, he's a mess.
That lateral movement we complained about, it wasn't there. It even got worse! His footwork, a mess. He couldn't back down his guy properly. His strength, questionable. That Thai guy who looked like Jay-R Taganas... he could clothesline Greg if he wanted to. Greg looked like a sick dude back there.
Well okay, his passing was amazing during the SEA Games. Even though his passing difficulty was reduced to novice because every opponent was five-seven inch lower than him, he didn't screwed up any of those passes to his teammates especially when he was double teamed. He didn't had that passing skill during their PBA stint, so there was an improvement. But where were those other skills he was trying to develop with the Gilas team? Naiwan niya sa Katipunan?
Poor Greg. Why him?
For sure a separate column will be dedicated to him in the coming weeks to explain everything that I will answer in about a word from now.
In proper guidance, he'll have his spot as the best centers in Asia.
And now for one final tribute-liners for the Smart-Gilas Pilipinas.
Mark Barroca - You'd be my starting point guard for the "No BullShit (BS) team". The team were players just do whatever they're supposed to do in the court with no questions asked and no flashes beyond. Just pure playing.
Asi Taulava - From Yao Ming, to Hamed Ehadadi, to Yi Jianlian. You were always the underdog to these people but you found a way to stop them through all these years. That's your legacy big man.
JVee Casio - Your big time plays kill a lot of people; your fans for excitement and your opponents for craziness. And you'll still continue to do it.
Jimmy Alapag - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. Probably your last run in the national team.
Chris Tiu - With your looks, no one really believed you were a bad ass on the basketball court until you gave them a knee to the body everytime you had a chance.
Japeth Aguilar - You risked your PBA career just to be a part of this. Probably when you experience hip cramps while watching your teammates during the Asian Championships, you must've thought "...hindi na pala dapat ako umalis ng PBA..."
Mac Baracael - The top of the key dude. You'll do great in Alaska.
Marcus Douthit - The change of citizenship must be so worth it. And yes, thanks!
Kelly Williams - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. You'll have another run for the team. In MY team and in the real world's team.
Marcio Lassiter - You and your other Gilas buddies are a sure shot superstars because of your excellent performance with the team. So it really sucks when they underestimated your value when you were placed on the table. Now that the deal is dead (or is it...) you can now explode in your games.
Chris Lutz - You are an obedient student to Coach Rajko. Because if you were not, I would have seen you cross-over on one of those games, and probably broken T.G. Moon's ankle. Good dude!
Ranidel De Ocampo - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. Fifty percent chance of getting in the next team. I wish you decked someone during the Asian Championships. Kumpleto na sana ang viewing pleasure ko.
Dylan Ababou - A poor man's Danny Seigle. Yes, that is you. That's why you were benched. OK lang yan! Ikaw pa din ang mas murang version ni Danny Seigle.
Jason Ballesteros - You're now in the team that is being captained by Gilbert Lao. Name and other teammates are still in the works.
ENJOY THE WEEK!
Monday, February 20, 2012
A Quick Update on The Powerade Tigers' Crazy World
No migraine can stop me from celebrating the justice that's been served well.
On my first TPG edition for February (Regular The Park Games post happens on the first and third Monday of the month. FYR.), I wrote these things regarding the Lassiter-Baclao/Guevarra trade.
It will not happen. It's a guaranteed veto... It will not happen. Commish will not make it happen.
Apparently, I was right! It WAS vetoed. See it here! Now na!
It must be a trend that whenever I put something in here, people concerned listens. First it was coach Bo Perasol, when I said during the Powerade-Rain or Shine Semis Game 1 GameBite that he needs to call 117 to find the missing game of Marcio Lassiter, Cio exploded in that Game 2. He must've read this! Now, its Commissioner Chito Salud. Plus Coach Tim Cone (Hi Coach Tim!) who is a certified reader of this. Look at this classy list of readers! Be one of them too! Now na!
And follow me on Twitter @sirjhaydelacruz
I know lampas na ang third Monday. Probably on Wednesday, the post for third Monday is here. With this classy list of readers, I don't wanna write here the words headache, migraine, and shit over and over again. Feel me?
On my first TPG edition for February (Regular The Park Games post happens on the first and third Monday of the month. FYR.), I wrote these things regarding the Lassiter-Baclao/Guevarra trade.
It will not happen. It's a guaranteed veto... It will not happen. Commish will not make it happen.
Apparently, I was right! It WAS vetoed. See it here! Now na!
It must be a trend that whenever I put something in here, people concerned listens. First it was coach Bo Perasol, when I said during the Powerade-Rain or Shine Semis Game 1 GameBite that he needs to call 117 to find the missing game of Marcio Lassiter, Cio exploded in that Game 2. He must've read this! Now, its Commissioner Chito Salud. Plus Coach Tim Cone (Hi Coach Tim!) who is a certified reader of this. Look at this classy list of readers! Be one of them too! Now na!
And follow me on Twitter @sirjhaydelacruz
I know lampas na ang third Monday. Probably on Wednesday, the post for third Monday is here. With this classy list of readers, I don't wanna write here the words headache, migraine, and shit over and over again. Feel me?
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Park Games: Powerade's Crazy, Crazy, Crazy World
Where did it all began?
a. When the Powerade Tigers got fed up of playing less than 15 games per conference and suddenly thought this "You know what... how about let's go to the playoffs and play at least one game in there... and win one more game... and win four of the next seven... and win at least one more. What would that feel?" thing.
b. When Gary David finally discovered how to become Super Saiyan on that two games against B-Meg.
c. When Gary David just transformed to Super Saiyan every game and decided not to average 20 plus points per game anymore, changing it to 30 plus points per game.
d. When everyone was questioning JVee Casio's worth in the team in the long run.
Whatever of them happened, it lead to this frenzy of very fortunate events that benefited them and the entire league.
Which lead to the two BSs in Philippine basketball that I have been dealing since then:
1) Larry Fonacier is the Finals MVP.
Let me go on my take first. If Petron went to go to The Finals, he is the sole guy to blame. He gave away like 400 points worth of and-ones and four-point plays during the entire series. Jimmy Alapag made up for his defensive liability by his more creative and killer playmaking. Offensively, Larry only had that funny killer-look and Denok Miranda shaded him well. Defensively, those 400 points worth of and-ones and four-point plays he gave away. Now comparing that to what he did in The Finals - just consistent offensive game, and still NO defense - it will make little or no merit whatsoever para mabawi yung mga masama niyang play during semis. He didn't bring his game one level higher, just that same consistent (and sometimes deadly) offensive game. If he locked down Gary David and made him score around just (and I mean JUST) around 15 points per game, then we can talk.
Now their take? Just consistent offensive game. Oh yes, it's just the FINALS. Paki nila sa nangyari nung semis. Kung consistent ang usapan, e ano pa ang tawag mo kay Gary David. We could always tweak history and choose the best player outside of the basketball heavyweight champions. E ayaw nila. Ayun, kaya si Larry na lang.
2) Marcio Lassiter to Petron for Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra
Gary David was ranting about this on Twitter (with Snow Badua style of mysteriousness), until Coach Chot Reyes spilled totally spilled the beans.
Super Marcio for Baclao, the bench guy, and Rey... who?
We know how deadly it will be when Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter play together. Those are Coach Rajko Toroman's wrecking crew on the wings and on the perimeter. It will be a joy for me to see this two play side-by-side again, only to be blocked by these two circumstances. One, sentimentally, you don't want to see Marcio go away on the Tigers because of how instrumental he was on that phenomenal run. Makes dear sense but this reason could go be dead in time. But the next one is unforgivable and unrational that if the PBA have their own version of the ESPN Trade Machine, it will say "THIS TRADE AIN'T HAPPENING YOU DUMB ASS!". Marcio, the third best player of the conference, for that bench guy and... somebody remind me who was that again?
For someone who will make it reasonable, Marcio is like the combined talents of the two. Baclao plays awesome defense no doubt about it. But benching him too long will definitely affect his confidence and his game as well (ask Doug Kramer). That IF Powerade MIGHT get him, it will take some time to get his Ateneo groove back (ask Doug Kramer again), especially since he will likely come off the bench AGAIN (ask Doug Kramer again). And the other guy? Please tell me he's one hell of an offensive guy. Please tell me. Please tell me. Please tell me. No? AMP!
It will not happen. It's a guaranteed veto. If a tweak will happen, Arwind Santos for Marcio Lassiter is the most reasonable trade I can see (if I want to see Lutz and Lassiter play together). It will not happen. Commish will not make it happen.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Hay.
Crazy stuffs are indeed not healthy for a team. Sa lahat ng bagay na kailangang preparado, mahalaga din na panatag ang utak at nakafocus sa laro. For Powerade, all these post-season and off-season madness will truly affect them, specially that it's a tossed salad of positive and negative energy. Will they ride the momentum or will they crumble with all the drama off the court?
Isa lang ang dapat nila isipin, from the Powerade coaching ministry, to soon to be Super Saiyan 3 Gary David, to Rudy "Da Anay" Lingganay. Ganyan talaga ang nangyayari sa malalakas na team.
A three-week rundown after the jump break!
a. When the Powerade Tigers got fed up of playing less than 15 games per conference and suddenly thought this "You know what... how about let's go to the playoffs and play at least one game in there... and win one more game... and win four of the next seven... and win at least one more. What would that feel?" thing.
b. When Gary David finally discovered how to become Super Saiyan on that two games against B-Meg.
c. When Gary David just transformed to Super Saiyan every game and decided not to average 20 plus points per game anymore, changing it to 30 plus points per game.
d. When everyone was questioning JVee Casio's worth in the team in the long run.
Whatever of them happened, it lead to this frenzy of very fortunate events that benefited them and the entire league.
- We had Richard Del Rosario in the AKTV Center panel night in and night out during the first four games of each semifinals series. That's eight nights of game analysis and comic relief. Had not Powerade won against B-Meg, we will not see him in the panel, ever!
- We saw the battle of the top two draft picks of the year, JVee Casio and Paul Lee... in a series! This is the perfect point where Lee-Casio debates begin. It's wrong to compare two players in a single regular season game. Unless the PBA made an out-of-this-world turn that will feature 50 regular season games each team in one conference, then we can talk.
- They made the race to the National Championship (Don't stop me! I like it that way.) relatively more wide open. Had B-Meg won, the Llamados will be the clear favorites. Talk 'n Text and Petron will still beat the crap out of each other and B-Meg will enter The Finals with fresher legs and more firepower. They will be the clear favorites.
- In that Game 3 Finals match, the Texters gave us a lesson about championship basketball 101. In that same game, we saw this fucking shot!
- The commentary in this one is WAY better.
Which lead to the two BSs in Philippine basketball that I have been dealing since then:
1) Larry Fonacier is the Finals MVP.
Let me go on my take first. If Petron went to go to The Finals, he is the sole guy to blame. He gave away like 400 points worth of and-ones and four-point plays during the entire series. Jimmy Alapag made up for his defensive liability by his more creative and killer playmaking. Offensively, Larry only had that funny killer-look and Denok Miranda shaded him well. Defensively, those 400 points worth of and-ones and four-point plays he gave away. Now comparing that to what he did in The Finals - just consistent offensive game, and still NO defense - it will make little or no merit whatsoever para mabawi yung mga masama niyang play during semis. He didn't bring his game one level higher, just that same consistent (and sometimes deadly) offensive game. If he locked down Gary David and made him score around just (and I mean JUST) around 15 points per game, then we can talk.
Now their take? Just consistent offensive game. Oh yes, it's just the FINALS. Paki nila sa nangyari nung semis. Kung consistent ang usapan, e ano pa ang tawag mo kay Gary David. We could always tweak history and choose the best player outside of the basketball heavyweight champions. E ayaw nila. Ayun, kaya si Larry na lang.
2) Marcio Lassiter to Petron for Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra
Gary David was ranting about this on Twitter (with Snow Badua style of mysteriousness), until Coach Chot Reyes spilled totally spilled the beans.
Super Marcio for Baclao, the bench guy, and Rey... who?
We know how deadly it will be when Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter play together. Those are Coach Rajko Toroman's wrecking crew on the wings and on the perimeter. It will be a joy for me to see this two play side-by-side again, only to be blocked by these two circumstances. One, sentimentally, you don't want to see Marcio go away on the Tigers because of how instrumental he was on that phenomenal run. Makes dear sense but this reason could go be dead in time. But the next one is unforgivable and unrational that if the PBA have their own version of the ESPN Trade Machine, it will say "THIS TRADE AIN'T HAPPENING YOU DUMB ASS!". Marcio, the third best player of the conference, for that bench guy and... somebody remind me who was that again?
For someone who will make it reasonable, Marcio is like the combined talents of the two. Baclao plays awesome defense no doubt about it. But benching him too long will definitely affect his confidence and his game as well (ask Doug Kramer). That IF Powerade MIGHT get him, it will take some time to get his Ateneo groove back (ask Doug Kramer again), especially since he will likely come off the bench AGAIN (ask Doug Kramer again). And the other guy? Please tell me he's one hell of an offensive guy. Please tell me. Please tell me. Please tell me. No? AMP!
It will not happen. It's a guaranteed veto. If a tweak will happen, Arwind Santos for Marcio Lassiter is the most reasonable trade I can see (if I want to see Lutz and Lassiter play together). It will not happen. Commish will not make it happen.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Hay.
Crazy stuffs are indeed not healthy for a team. Sa lahat ng bagay na kailangang preparado, mahalaga din na panatag ang utak at nakafocus sa laro. For Powerade, all these post-season and off-season madness will truly affect them, specially that it's a tossed salad of positive and negative energy. Will they ride the momentum or will they crumble with all the drama off the court?
Isa lang ang dapat nila isipin, from the Powerade coaching ministry, to soon to be Super Saiyan 3 Gary David, to Rudy "Da Anay" Lingganay. Ganyan talaga ang nangyayari sa malalakas na team.
A three-week rundown after the jump break!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Talk 'n Text's Most Uncomplicated Clutch Defense in The Finals
Coach Chot Reyes must have read in his fortune cookie this morning that Powerade's three-man bombs will volt-in and turn into one in the clutch-stretch of the game.
If you're Coach Chot, you don't have to be scared with it. In fact, you have to love it.
It didn't matter if Gary David, Marcio Lassiter, and JVee Casio each drop 30 every game while they still have a slim lead entering the last minute or two of the game. Powerade are easy to defend in those cases (unless one of them makes the same Alex Cabagnot mistake that Ryan Reyes did, you'll be in trouble).
There you have are three guards (Marcio is a guard). Those three are all in the floor. You have taller guards that could defend those three (put Ryan, Jared Dillinger and Jason Castro) wherever they are. Whoever their two bigs are, it doesn't matter because they're all the same. You just put Ranidel De Ocampo and Kelly Williams to defend the shaded lane. You're up by two possessions with three possessions remaining in the game. Here's what will happen.
They'll look for a three. The two bigs will just serve as screens to protect Gary and Marcio that will be coming from the weak side and the baseline. Cover the screen at the weak side! On the baseline, switch! Just be sure to cover Casio again. Don't worry about the mismatch! The bigs won't shoot. If you cover them, they won't get a chance to shoot a three. Believe me! They'll go for a three. Just keep them covered. If JVee, Marcio, and Gary screens each other, then much better! Just switch defenders. And keep it tight! Go guys!
The bottom line is that Powerade's offense was so predictable coming down on those last 40 seconds or so of the game. Talk 'n Text (and everybody else) was so sure that a three is coming so they had the luxury of defending the perimeter without the worries of mismatch whenever a switch happens (unless they thought Romel Adducul will launch a three). A simple defensive pattern down the stretch, yet so phenomenal. 2-0 Talk 'n Text!
If you're Coach Chot, you don't have to be scared with it. In fact, you have to love it.
It didn't matter if Gary David, Marcio Lassiter, and JVee Casio each drop 30 every game while they still have a slim lead entering the last minute or two of the game. Powerade are easy to defend in those cases (unless one of them makes the same Alex Cabagnot mistake that Ryan Reyes did, you'll be in trouble).
There you have are three guards (Marcio is a guard). Those three are all in the floor. You have taller guards that could defend those three (put Ryan, Jared Dillinger and Jason Castro) wherever they are. Whoever their two bigs are, it doesn't matter because they're all the same. You just put Ranidel De Ocampo and Kelly Williams to defend the shaded lane. You're up by two possessions with three possessions remaining in the game. Here's what will happen.
They'll look for a three. The two bigs will just serve as screens to protect Gary and Marcio that will be coming from the weak side and the baseline. Cover the screen at the weak side! On the baseline, switch! Just be sure to cover Casio again. Don't worry about the mismatch! The bigs won't shoot. If you cover them, they won't get a chance to shoot a three. Believe me! They'll go for a three. Just keep them covered. If JVee, Marcio, and Gary screens each other, then much better! Just switch defenders. And keep it tight! Go guys!
The bottom line is that Powerade's offense was so predictable coming down on those last 40 seconds or so of the game. Talk 'n Text (and everybody else) was so sure that a three is coming so they had the luxury of defending the perimeter without the worries of mismatch whenever a switch happens (unless they thought Romel Adducul will launch a three). A simple defensive pattern down the stretch, yet so phenomenal. 2-0 Talk 'n Text!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Top Status Message and Tweets for January 18, 2012.
This day is nothing short of an epic for Philippine Basketball. Lahat nagpipigil ng ihi at hininga para lang makita ang susunod na sampung segundo ng laro. No one wanted to miss a beat. Everyone was aware that a 10-point lead could disappear in one switch of a channel, and vise-versa. Kung gaano ka-intense ang mga laro, ganon din ka-intense ang panonood ng mga fans.
And their feelings are that intense too, they wanted to tweet and status each crucial play.
So I thought of putting the best tweets/comments/status message relating to what had transpired since 5 P.M. In case you were too busy to wait if Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona will sell you his kajillion peso condo unit, or too concerned about the Internet crashing down because of SOPA / PIPA, here's what happened:
5:00 PM - Broadcast starts for a couple of Game 7 semifinals. GAME 7! TWO GAME 7s! This is more rare than a Marian Rivera wardrobe malfunction!
7:23 PM - Powerade Tigers booked the first ticket to The Finals (and to Digos, Davao del Sur). POWERADE TIGERS and THE FINALS! When was the last time you saw these words in the same sentence together and being this one a fact? NO! NONE! NEVER!
9:31 PM - Alex Cabagnot missed a 50-ft prayer that would have won the game and the series for them. Talk 'n Text won against Petron 92-91. 92-91! Have you seen a Game 7 with that kind of final score???
Hindi ko na problema kung wala kang nalalaman sa mga kinuwento ko. Let's just get to the post proper. Random comments. Random tweets. My own tweets might be included. Hangga't sinisipag pa ako. Let's do this after the jump break. GO!
And their feelings are that intense too, they wanted to tweet and status each crucial play.
So I thought of putting the best tweets/comments/status message relating to what had transpired since 5 P.M. In case you were too busy to wait if Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona will sell you his kajillion peso condo unit, or too concerned about the Internet crashing down because of SOPA / PIPA, here's what happened:
5:00 PM - Broadcast starts for a couple of Game 7 semifinals. GAME 7! TWO GAME 7s! This is more rare than a Marian Rivera wardrobe malfunction!
7:23 PM - Powerade Tigers booked the first ticket to The Finals (and to Digos, Davao del Sur). POWERADE TIGERS and THE FINALS! When was the last time you saw these words in the same sentence together and being this one a fact? NO! NONE! NEVER!
9:31 PM - Alex Cabagnot missed a 50-ft prayer that would have won the game and the series for them. Talk 'n Text won against Petron 92-91. 92-91! Have you seen a Game 7 with that kind of final score???
Hindi ko na problema kung wala kang nalalaman sa mga kinuwento ko. Let's just get to the post proper. Random comments. Random tweets. My own tweets might be included. Hangga't sinisipag pa ako. Let's do this after the jump break. GO!
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Park Games: Presenting the Curious Case of Japeth Aguilar
Sa sobrang curious nung case (huh???), I don't know where to start. But we could begin with one question (and it might lead to another... and another... and another).
Japeth Aguilar is spending an awful lot of time in the bench, right?
With Talk-n-Text suffering from a lot of injuries that made his key players either playing hurt or chose to sit on the bench because they are really hurt, the TNT Nation could really use a healthy pair of legs (yes Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams, how are those doing?) and raiseable arms (yes Jimmy Alapag, those might hurt this morning you wake up from bed after your 29 point-Gilas-mode explosion last night). Japeth have those two. And yes he is a player of his own kind that comparing him to Jimmy, Ryan, or Kelly is pretty wrong, but considering those injury bugs everyone expects him to at least average not below 30 minutes a ballgame. Last night, he was benched the entire fourth quarter. To make you scratch your head even harder, a goofball of a defender (yet effective) named Rich Alvarez (and let's not forget, he's a 2000-whatever Rookie of the Year!) ate those minutes that was supposed to be Japeth's, including those situational substitutions Coach Chot Reyes was doing during the end game. Kung si Gilbert Lao ang ipinasok dun at magkakaminuto instead of Japeth, ay dyoskopo! Pakiuntog na lang ang ulo ko.
So what happened to this guy that could run up-and-down 31 straight times and can jump 18 feet high and 13 meters long (I really want to exaggerate his athleticism para mapansin mo din. Kung hindi, sorry)? Why? What is the because?
(Breaking down Japeth's game... yeah! I've been waiting for a long time to do this!)
Aside from being that athletic, he has a good medium-range jumper. He can knock down those 18 ft. pull-up jumpers with ease (because he jumps high and nobody bothers to reach for it) and in a consistent fashion. He's also an effective wingman (with limitations that I'll tell you later) and could really do serious morale damage if those fastbreaks can be perfectly executed. And note this, he's a hell of a help-defender.
Question (eto na yung another na sinasabi ko kanina)... is he doing any of this in the semifinals?
No. This is what he is doing.
- When he gets the ball into the low post, he'll either back his defender down with one dribble and pass it immediately back outside when his defender is Rob Reyes, a guy who's smaller and a lot less magulang to use his chest, or he'll totally back his defender down and try to make a shot out of it that will eventually miss when his defender is Danny Ildefonso. That will surely happen, specially if you're not the primary option for offense.
- When he gets the ball into the high post, he'll face up his defender and put the ball on to the floor. Whatever he decides to do with it, nothing will happen. He'll either pass or force it up causing a miss or a turnover. He'll miss because you won't see him go for at least a lay-up. He'll turn it over because you won't see him use his body to protect the ball on his way to the hoop or make intelligent passes. Bottom line, he's terrible when he puts the ball on the floor.
- He can't get it on on fastbreak plays. When he's in the floor, Talk-n-Text is not running. When he's off the floor, the Texters are on the 5th gear. Marami ngang wingmen ang Talk-n-Text, but don't these guys wanna go for the one who does morale damaging slam dunk finishes? If there's any team that believes in momentum and firing up the players, diba sila yun?
- He's defending Arwind Santos one-on-one... outside. Without the ball. It seems he knows that he's useless outside so he'll rotate with the defense, go for help and completely lose sight of Arwind. The next thing they know, Petron make that pass to the weak side baseline where Arwind is waiting defenseless. Two points for Petron, and Japeth gets the blame.
- Because he's defending in the perimeter and Petron not eager to pull the trigger on the three-ball, the probability of the rebound going to Japeth's hands is like what... a snowfall in Baguio City?
Coach Chot's fault? (another question... dumadami na!) Not really. Japeth had a lot of chance to improve his game, but it's not his fault either if he's being a bench warmer. He got to WKU and went out being the most athletic 6'9" player in the Philippines. He never got to improve his off-the-dribble move during the Gilas days because they ran a system that should be in full operation 48 minutes of the game. When defenders figured him out, he became BFFs with Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros on the bench. Then came the PBA comeback like he's a human pogo stick. When Petron figured him out, he's now getting to know the towel boy better.
Game 7 on Wednesday. It's definitely a win-now mode. Imagine if Japeth is set up by his teammates to his medium-range, his pull-ups, his fastbreaks, and all his strengths, then Talk-n-Text might make it's improbable comeback. Specially now that everyone discovered Larry Fonacier is a solid liability in defense, it's time for Talk-n-Text to really go to their strengths. And it's time for Japeth Aguilar to use his strengths.
Mag-iimprove pa ba siya? Oo naman. Hindi pa siya hinahabol ni papa time kaya napakadami pa nyang taon para palakasin ang laro nya. Kasabay siguro nun ang pag-improve ng decision making skills nya.
Follow the sportscast engineer on Twitter @sirjhaydelacruz. There is more after the jump break!
Japeth Aguilar is spending an awful lot of time in the bench, right?
With Talk-n-Text suffering from a lot of injuries that made his key players either playing hurt or chose to sit on the bench because they are really hurt, the TNT Nation could really use a healthy pair of legs (yes Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams, how are those doing?) and raiseable arms (yes Jimmy Alapag, those might hurt this morning you wake up from bed after your 29 point-Gilas-mode explosion last night). Japeth have those two. And yes he is a player of his own kind that comparing him to Jimmy, Ryan, or Kelly is pretty wrong, but considering those injury bugs everyone expects him to at least average not below 30 minutes a ballgame. Last night, he was benched the entire fourth quarter. To make you scratch your head even harder, a goofball of a defender (yet effective) named Rich Alvarez (and let's not forget, he's a 2000-whatever Rookie of the Year!) ate those minutes that was supposed to be Japeth's, including those situational substitutions Coach Chot Reyes was doing during the end game. Kung si Gilbert Lao ang ipinasok dun at magkakaminuto instead of Japeth, ay dyoskopo! Pakiuntog na lang ang ulo ko.
So what happened to this guy that could run up-and-down 31 straight times and can jump 18 feet high and 13 meters long (I really want to exaggerate his athleticism para mapansin mo din. Kung hindi, sorry)? Why? What is the because?
(Breaking down Japeth's game... yeah! I've been waiting for a long time to do this!)
Aside from being that athletic, he has a good medium-range jumper. He can knock down those 18 ft. pull-up jumpers with ease (because he jumps high and nobody bothers to reach for it) and in a consistent fashion. He's also an effective wingman (with limitations that I'll tell you later) and could really do serious morale damage if those fastbreaks can be perfectly executed. And note this, he's a hell of a help-defender.
Question (eto na yung another na sinasabi ko kanina)... is he doing any of this in the semifinals?
No. This is what he is doing.
- When he gets the ball into the low post, he'll either back his defender down with one dribble and pass it immediately back outside when his defender is Rob Reyes, a guy who's smaller and a lot less magulang to use his chest, or he'll totally back his defender down and try to make a shot out of it that will eventually miss when his defender is Danny Ildefonso. That will surely happen, specially if you're not the primary option for offense.
- When he gets the ball into the high post, he'll face up his defender and put the ball on to the floor. Whatever he decides to do with it, nothing will happen. He'll either pass or force it up causing a miss or a turnover. He'll miss because you won't see him go for at least a lay-up. He'll turn it over because you won't see him use his body to protect the ball on his way to the hoop or make intelligent passes. Bottom line, he's terrible when he puts the ball on the floor.
- He can't get it on on fastbreak plays. When he's in the floor, Talk-n-Text is not running. When he's off the floor, the Texters are on the 5th gear. Marami ngang wingmen ang Talk-n-Text, but don't these guys wanna go for the one who does morale damaging slam dunk finishes? If there's any team that believes in momentum and firing up the players, diba sila yun?
- He's defending Arwind Santos one-on-one... outside. Without the ball. It seems he knows that he's useless outside so he'll rotate with the defense, go for help and completely lose sight of Arwind. The next thing they know, Petron make that pass to the weak side baseline where Arwind is waiting defenseless. Two points for Petron, and Japeth gets the blame.
- Because he's defending in the perimeter and Petron not eager to pull the trigger on the three-ball, the probability of the rebound going to Japeth's hands is like what... a snowfall in Baguio City?
Coach Chot's fault? (another question... dumadami na!) Not really. Japeth had a lot of chance to improve his game, but it's not his fault either if he's being a bench warmer. He got to WKU and went out being the most athletic 6'9" player in the Philippines. He never got to improve his off-the-dribble move during the Gilas days because they ran a system that should be in full operation 48 minutes of the game. When defenders figured him out, he became BFFs with Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros on the bench. Then came the PBA comeback like he's a human pogo stick. When Petron figured him out, he's now getting to know the towel boy better.
Game 7 on Wednesday. It's definitely a win-now mode. Imagine if Japeth is set up by his teammates to his medium-range, his pull-ups, his fastbreaks, and all his strengths, then Talk-n-Text might make it's improbable comeback. Specially now that everyone discovered Larry Fonacier is a solid liability in defense, it's time for Talk-n-Text to really go to their strengths. And it's time for Japeth Aguilar to use his strengths.
Mag-iimprove pa ba siya? Oo naman. Hindi pa siya hinahabol ni papa time kaya napakadami pa nyang taon para palakasin ang laro nya. Kasabay siguro nun ang pag-improve ng decision making skills nya.
Follow the sportscast engineer on Twitter @sirjhaydelacruz. There is more after the jump break!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
GameBite: Powerade def. Rain or Shine in OT 104-99 (POW leads 2-1)
Quick thoughts on one half (plus five minutes) of this highly competitive game:
(Special mention na lang for the benefit of the first half contributors. Jervy Cruz, Powerade bench, Sean Anthony)
-Entering the third quarter, both teams shooting terribly from the three-point country. At this juncture, Powerade made a very special tweak that made them look like they're going to take game 3. Play zone defense. With that zone, Rain or Shine looked liked lost souls inside the court and Powerade able to capitalize on the offensive end. Kaya umabot ng 11 points ang lamang nila nung third quarter. Rain or Shine was doing it right when they pound the ball quickly inside to the big man before the opponent could set their zone up, resulted to quick points by Beau Belga and Larry Rodriguez during that stretch. Coach Yeng Guiao could've figured that one quickly, but not the players inside (were those Belga, Rodriguez, Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, and Gabe Norwood?). They should've called for time sooner.
- When they called for time, that's when they all said "aaaaahhhh... okay..." on Powerade's zone. In the end, Jeff Chan scored 19 points entering the fourth (seriously not so sure here. pba.ph isn't nba.com or espn.go.com yet where they keep live stats accurately. I told you, I'm not a stats dude).
- It's nice to see Romel Adducul demonstrating command in the paint whenever inside. It's sad to see Romel Adducul on the free throw line if you're on the Tigers side.
- Majority knew that Powerade's perennial nightmare is the fourth quarter. Rain or Shine could've sealed the deal, until Gary David happened. After an 8-point run by himself, we suddenly had a freakin' ballgame!
- Ang ganda sana ng last play ng Rain or Shine. Perfect na perfect! Paul Lee attracting two defenders leaving guys open outside. Lee just opted for Beau Belga. Belga just overshoots that Robert Horry-type of three. (Sorry Beau, you're not him. But hey, those kind of shots made Big Shot Rob that way, too! So cheer up! Mang Inasal lang ang katapat nyan.)
- Remember what Doug Kramer did to UST on the first game of the 2000-whatever UAAP finals? Then he almost did it again tonight? Galing pumwesto no? We should name him Doug "Puwistow" Kramer. (Huwag natin kalimutan si Rudy "Da Anay" Lingganay.)
- Paul Lee botched a couple of crucial plays down the stretch. First, his foul on Gary David in an attempt to strip the ball while he was shooting a three, which David nailed and made the game tied and send it to overtime. Second, he dribbled the ball to his foot and sent it out of bounds during overtime. After nya grumaduate, he walked to his bench head down, sat in there, and covered his face with his towel. He is disappointed. He thought he let his team down. He's thinking of redemption on Tuesday. He's thinking of sending Powerade six feet under the ground. And I tell you these are the ingredients of a player who is bound to be included in the PBA's 50 Greatest Players.
- Gary David's final lay-up? On TV, I knew he was going to fake even before he faked Gabe Norwood. When you see a player who seems like he's ready to jump, but saw his strong leg stretched instead of his both knees bent getting ready to jump, dude's gonna fake. Gary caught the ball, saw Norwood, bent his left knee but stretched his right leg. Those leg formations aren't for jumping. So yes, he did fake. Ewan ko lang kung ano ang masasabi ko if I watched it live. How did I know that he's gonna fake? Salamat sa walang sawang panonood ko ng Intramurals game sa university namin. Young college ballers do it all the time, wala nga lang kumakagat sa fake.
- Gary David. 5th straight game with 30 plus points. Monumental.
What should Rain or Shine do the next game?
If I have a chance to coach a college intramurals team, I'll apply only one principle on defense in order for us to win. I don't know if coach Yeng Guiao will do this. But if he does, dalawa lang yan: it's either we're thinking alike, or in whatever reality-defying moment that he read my blog, just like coach Bo Perasol did back in their loss in Game 1. Something tells me this will work. And this is it.
Let the best guy go. Just stop the other guys.
No harm in trying. You'd just be down 3-1 if it failed. If it worked, you're welcome!
(Special mention na lang for the benefit of the first half contributors. Jervy Cruz, Powerade bench, Sean Anthony)
-Entering the third quarter, both teams shooting terribly from the three-point country. At this juncture, Powerade made a very special tweak that made them look like they're going to take game 3. Play zone defense. With that zone, Rain or Shine looked liked lost souls inside the court and Powerade able to capitalize on the offensive end. Kaya umabot ng 11 points ang lamang nila nung third quarter. Rain or Shine was doing it right when they pound the ball quickly inside to the big man before the opponent could set their zone up, resulted to quick points by Beau Belga and Larry Rodriguez during that stretch. Coach Yeng Guiao could've figured that one quickly, but not the players inside (were those Belga, Rodriguez, Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, and Gabe Norwood?). They should've called for time sooner.
- When they called for time, that's when they all said "aaaaahhhh... okay..." on Powerade's zone. In the end, Jeff Chan scored 19 points entering the fourth (seriously not so sure here. pba.ph isn't nba.com or espn.go.com yet where they keep live stats accurately. I told you, I'm not a stats dude).
- It's nice to see Romel Adducul demonstrating command in the paint whenever inside. It's sad to see Romel Adducul on the free throw line if you're on the Tigers side.
- Majority knew that Powerade's perennial nightmare is the fourth quarter. Rain or Shine could've sealed the deal, until Gary David happened. After an 8-point run by himself, we suddenly had a freakin' ballgame!
- Ang ganda sana ng last play ng Rain or Shine. Perfect na perfect! Paul Lee attracting two defenders leaving guys open outside. Lee just opted for Beau Belga. Belga just overshoots that Robert Horry-type of three. (Sorry Beau, you're not him. But hey, those kind of shots made Big Shot Rob that way, too! So cheer up! Mang Inasal lang ang katapat nyan.)
- Remember what Doug Kramer did to UST on the first game of the 2000-whatever UAAP finals? Then he almost did it again tonight? Galing pumwesto no? We should name him Doug "Puwistow" Kramer. (Huwag natin kalimutan si Rudy "Da Anay" Lingganay.)
- Paul Lee botched a couple of crucial plays down the stretch. First, his foul on Gary David in an attempt to strip the ball while he was shooting a three, which David nailed and made the game tied and send it to overtime. Second, he dribbled the ball to his foot and sent it out of bounds during overtime. After nya grumaduate, he walked to his bench head down, sat in there, and covered his face with his towel. He is disappointed. He thought he let his team down. He's thinking of redemption on Tuesday. He's thinking of sending Powerade six feet under the ground. And I tell you these are the ingredients of a player who is bound to be included in the PBA's 50 Greatest Players.
- Gary David's final lay-up? On TV, I knew he was going to fake even before he faked Gabe Norwood. When you see a player who seems like he's ready to jump, but saw his strong leg stretched instead of his both knees bent getting ready to jump, dude's gonna fake. Gary caught the ball, saw Norwood, bent his left knee but stretched his right leg. Those leg formations aren't for jumping. So yes, he did fake. Ewan ko lang kung ano ang masasabi ko if I watched it live. How did I know that he's gonna fake? Salamat sa walang sawang panonood ko ng Intramurals game sa university namin. Young college ballers do it all the time, wala nga lang kumakagat sa fake.
- Gary David. 5th straight game with 30 plus points. Monumental.
What should Rain or Shine do the next game?
If I have a chance to coach a college intramurals team, I'll apply only one principle on defense in order for us to win. I don't know if coach Yeng Guiao will do this. But if he does, dalawa lang yan: it's either we're thinking alike, or in whatever reality-defying moment that he read my blog, just like coach Bo Perasol did back in their loss in Game 1. Something tells me this will work. And this is it.
Let the best guy go. Just stop the other guys.
No harm in trying. You'd just be down 3-1 if it failed. If it worked, you're welcome!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
ImageBite: Talk n Text vs. Petron Game 2 (UPDATE: Petron won 91-86)
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| This game 2, Japeth Aguilar didn't start. I had a hunch he will be shelved more often in this series. If that's the case, then basing on this photo, it seems he's not in an unfamiliar territory. |
Comprehending Petron-Talk n Text Series: Raising the Bar Each and Every Game
I guess all of you will agree that the only thing missing in this Boosters-Texters rivalry is a one big brawl. Not in a way that it is meant to further injure already hurting players, but raise their intensity and the fire of this rivalry to a whole new level. Just like the Miami Heat and New York Knicks had back in the 90s. Here's an example of what am I saying.
Game 2 mamaya. Every game is a game closer to upping the stakes and raising the bar of their rivalry. Enjoy!
Game 2 mamaya. Every game is a game closer to upping the stakes and raising the bar of their rivalry. Enjoy!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
GameBite: Talk n Text def. Petron 87-83
Thoughts on the game:
- I thought everyone on both sides were injured. I looked on the TnT lineup, they seemed to be complete, plus with Ali Peek returning (ang galing! Isang malakas na applause mula sa akin para sa kanyang pagbabalik.) from that gunshot incident. Not yet convinced. I have to double check. I looked for Gilbert Lao. Ayun! Texters complete! How about Petron? Alex, check. Arwind, check. Nonoy, check. Rey Guevarra in reserve list, check. Jay Washington not there, check. Kumpleto din ang Petron. Game na!
- First quarter: Chris Lutz had 8 points while TnT had 8 scorers in that quarter. That's a nice piece of stat right there. Impressive!
- Second quarter:...
- Third quarter:...
- Okay, here's how the game went in one sentence. It was a players' game. In a game 7 essence, it's epic. In a game 1 essence, it's like an intramurals game with pro ballers playing. That game wasn't really bad at all, but it's pretty hard to dissect what should have been done in the next half or in the next quarter in order to close in to the score or to close out the game, or what really went wrong in this game (I think everyone knows one thing that went wrong for Petron this game). Kaya wala din ako masabi. If I made a point regarding on the game, it will always lead back to the reason of it was a players' game. Example:
Arwind Santos just scored two points in the second half, they should've set him up. Pero hindi, players' game kasi ang nangyari.
Japeth Aguilar is so ineffective when he puts the ball on the floor on offense, they should've set him up or let him control the boards. Pero hindi, players' game kasi ang nangyari.
- If my point still wasn't clear about the game being a players' game, then the tagalog translation for it is tinamad magcoach ang mga coach.
- And yes, kapag tinamad magcoach ang mga coach, TnT would likely appear to be the winner. If Petron applied a certain play or system on that game, even on their last offensive possession, they could've won the game. Here's how it was going to run:
Rob Reyes provides a lethal screen to get Alex Cabagnot free to receive the in-bounds pass from Danny Ildefonso. Chris Lutz and Arwind on the corners to receive a pass for a three in case Alex decides to kick it out. If pass is unavailable, Alex will drive straight to the basket to cut the lead to two with much time remaining (an and-one situation would be a very big bonus). They'll call for time if we score, so that's the time we'll talk about the next thing to do.
- But again, it was a players' game. In-bounds pass went to Lutz. He was wide open for the three, and his lane to the hoop was wide open too. Thinking he'd catch fire, he opted for a three. Short. End of story (see what I'm talking about kaya ang hirap magcomment).
- Tsismis nung eliminations that Rob Reyes was doing so well for Petron. News had during quarterfinals that he hosted a block party that included Asi Taulava as well. Now I finally saw him show dominance in the game. Rob Reyes. Teka, diba matagal nang nadraft yan? Where was that guy since he got drafted??? What the hell???
- Another sign of this game being a players' game is everyone sporting their gamefaces on. And when it comes to gamefaces, wala nang mas be-babyface pa kaysa kay Larry Fonacier. I mean, when you see the guy in attack mode, his face is like a kid being bullied all the time at school and thinking about revenge to the bullies at that moment, na parang iiyak na. I really find it funny. I don't know if Petron find it funny too, but if they do, then they shouldn't be happy because that funny gameface happened to be the one that killed them. Atomic bombs by Larry after their long bombs. Ouch!
With this one being a players' game (again... uulitin ko pa kaya 'to mamaya?), It's hard for me to think of a thing to do for the next game for either teams, because I'm not a coach (mabisang excuse pag nahihirapan talaga mag-isip kung ano ang pwedeng gawin... kasi players' game nga... ayan, sinabi ko ulit). It's not that right to blame players just because they didn't score in the first half (yes Alex, you didn't! pero bumawi ka naman nung second half.) nor just because they didn't score in the second half (yes Arwind, you didn't!) because it's a players' game (follow me on Twitter @sirjhaydelacruz so you could finally curse me for saying it again. Alam ko bad trip ka na sa kakulitan ko kaya tweet na!) and the game could have been salvaged by a couple of well executed plays.
But I want to do something exclusively for this series. One thing we cannot deny in this series is the physicality of it. Banggaan dito, hawian dun, simplehan ng bigayan sa screens, at umaatikabong pakikipagsigawan sa mga referees. Let's do a fortune telling scheme of who is likely to get involved in a scuffle between referees, players, and even coaches.
As of Game 1, here are the chances of the players who will initiate an exchange or provoke someone that will lead to an exchange:
Rob Reyes - 55% (initiate)
Jared Dillinger - 52% (initiate)
Ryan Reyes - 51% (provoke)
Denok Miranda - 40% (provoke)
Bam Gamalinda - 33% (initiate)
Denok Miranda - 26% (initiate)
Jason Castro - 21% (provoke)
Below 20% shall not be included in the list for the meantime.
Here are the chances of the coaches to get a technical foul in game 2:
Chot Reyes - 75%
Ato Agustin - 15%
Oh, and a special one. The chances of Japeth Aguilar having tantrums in the bench: 68%. I have a feeling he will be shelved for some extended time during the series. Just a feeling.
- I thought everyone on both sides were injured. I looked on the TnT lineup, they seemed to be complete, plus with Ali Peek returning (ang galing! Isang malakas na applause mula sa akin para sa kanyang pagbabalik.) from that gunshot incident. Not yet convinced. I have to double check. I looked for Gilbert Lao. Ayun! Texters complete! How about Petron? Alex, check. Arwind, check. Nonoy, check. Rey Guevarra in reserve list, check. Jay Washington not there, check. Kumpleto din ang Petron. Game na!
- First quarter: Chris Lutz had 8 points while TnT had 8 scorers in that quarter. That's a nice piece of stat right there. Impressive!
- Second quarter:...
- Third quarter:...
- Okay, here's how the game went in one sentence. It was a players' game. In a game 7 essence, it's epic. In a game 1 essence, it's like an intramurals game with pro ballers playing. That game wasn't really bad at all, but it's pretty hard to dissect what should have been done in the next half or in the next quarter in order to close in to the score or to close out the game, or what really went wrong in this game (I think everyone knows one thing that went wrong for Petron this game). Kaya wala din ako masabi. If I made a point regarding on the game, it will always lead back to the reason of it was a players' game. Example:
Arwind Santos just scored two points in the second half, they should've set him up. Pero hindi, players' game kasi ang nangyari.
Japeth Aguilar is so ineffective when he puts the ball on the floor on offense, they should've set him up or let him control the boards. Pero hindi, players' game kasi ang nangyari.
- If my point still wasn't clear about the game being a players' game, then the tagalog translation for it is tinamad magcoach ang mga coach.
- And yes, kapag tinamad magcoach ang mga coach, TnT would likely appear to be the winner. If Petron applied a certain play or system on that game, even on their last offensive possession, they could've won the game. Here's how it was going to run:
Rob Reyes provides a lethal screen to get Alex Cabagnot free to receive the in-bounds pass from Danny Ildefonso. Chris Lutz and Arwind on the corners to receive a pass for a three in case Alex decides to kick it out. If pass is unavailable, Alex will drive straight to the basket to cut the lead to two with much time remaining (an and-one situation would be a very big bonus). They'll call for time if we score, so that's the time we'll talk about the next thing to do.
- But again, it was a players' game. In-bounds pass went to Lutz. He was wide open for the three, and his lane to the hoop was wide open too. Thinking he'd catch fire, he opted for a three. Short. End of story (see what I'm talking about kaya ang hirap magcomment).
- Tsismis nung eliminations that Rob Reyes was doing so well for Petron. News had during quarterfinals that he hosted a block party that included Asi Taulava as well. Now I finally saw him show dominance in the game. Rob Reyes. Teka, diba matagal nang nadraft yan? Where was that guy since he got drafted??? What the hell???
- Another sign of this game being a players' game is everyone sporting their gamefaces on. And when it comes to gamefaces, wala nang mas be-babyface pa kaysa kay Larry Fonacier. I mean, when you see the guy in attack mode, his face is like a kid being bullied all the time at school and thinking about revenge to the bullies at that moment, na parang iiyak na. I really find it funny. I don't know if Petron find it funny too, but if they do, then they shouldn't be happy because that funny gameface happened to be the one that killed them. Atomic bombs by Larry after their long bombs. Ouch!
With this one being a players' game (again... uulitin ko pa kaya 'to mamaya?), It's hard for me to think of a thing to do for the next game for either teams, because I'm not a coach (mabisang excuse pag nahihirapan talaga mag-isip kung ano ang pwedeng gawin... kasi players' game nga... ayan, sinabi ko ulit). It's not that right to blame players just because they didn't score in the first half (yes Alex, you didn't! pero bumawi ka naman nung second half.) nor just because they didn't score in the second half (yes Arwind, you didn't!) because it's a players' game (follow me on Twitter @sirjhaydelacruz so you could finally curse me for saying it again. Alam ko bad trip ka na sa kakulitan ko kaya tweet na!) and the game could have been salvaged by a couple of well executed plays.
But I want to do something exclusively for this series. One thing we cannot deny in this series is the physicality of it. Banggaan dito, hawian dun, simplehan ng bigayan sa screens, at umaatikabong pakikipagsigawan sa mga referees. Let's do a fortune telling scheme of who is likely to get involved in a scuffle between referees, players, and even coaches.
As of Game 1, here are the chances of the players who will initiate an exchange or provoke someone that will lead to an exchange:
Rob Reyes - 55% (initiate)
Jared Dillinger - 52% (initiate)
Ryan Reyes - 51% (provoke)
Denok Miranda - 40% (provoke)
Bam Gamalinda - 33% (initiate)
Denok Miranda - 26% (initiate)
Jason Castro - 21% (provoke)
Below 20% shall not be included in the list for the meantime.
Here are the chances of the coaches to get a technical foul in game 2:
Chot Reyes - 75%
Ato Agustin - 15%
Oh, and a special one. The chances of Japeth Aguilar having tantrums in the bench: 68%. I have a feeling he will be shelved for some extended time during the series. Just a feeling.
Big Ten Conference Match: MSU vs. Wisconsin that ended up... well...
MSU fans: whew!
Wisconsin fans: @&#@&$)**#&$!!!!!!!!
Me: SMH
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
GameBite: Rain or Shine def, Powerade 114-97 (RoS leads semis 1-0)
Thoughts on Powerade-Rain or Shine Game 1:
- The first quarter of Gary David was like coming out of the locker room 20 minutes right after the B-Meg game. He quickly nailed a couple of three-pointers to open his game. Parang hindi nagbakasyon ng 10-plus days. End of first half, he got 17 points. That's not a good start defensively.
- JVee Casio and Marcio Lassiter still didn't score much in the first half but Powerade bench players, namely Josh Vanlandingham and Rudy Lingganay, surely made up for it. Two bench guys leading the second charge. ROS defense got worse.
- Speaking of bad defense, it's quite awful to see a messed up Rain or Shine defensive rotation out of a Powerade off-ball motion offense that end up JR Quinahan guarding Rudy Lingganay 20 feet away from the basket. Little man got high basketball IQ and blew by Quinahan and powerful enough to make a couple of and-one plays from a terrible help defense.
- Speaking of Rudy Lingganay, panalong monicker ang binigay ni Dominic Uy sa kanya. Rudy "The Anay" Lingganay. The best! And mind you, take this one seriously. Siya ang pesteng maaaring sumira sa Elasto Paint ng Rain or shine.
- Yeng Guiao's halftime dissatisfaction scream must have went a little something like this. "PUTANG INA! ALAM NYO YUNG SALITANG DEPENSA?!?!?!"
- Coming in the third, it's not really the good defense of Rain or Shine that did the trick to close in at Powerade, but it's Gary David got less touches during that quarter. They started to setup half-court offenses that didn't really involved much Gary David in the rotation, which resulted to Rain or Shine not messing up their defensive rotation. Now how did David scored? Last second decisions.
"Shit! Sira na ang play. O Gary... ikaw na bahala!"
- Fourth Quarter is where Rain or shine played tremendous defense and get their transition offense going. After Ronjay Buenafe touched the ball with two hands for the first time in a half-court play, a lot of steals and a lot of fastbreaks happened after. Magic?
- Here's where I had a funny exchange with my brother. Remember how Powerade were so thankful to the Lord after their monumental upset against B-Meg? I have no intention of being blasphemous with regards to this, but hey, it's always true that "nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa."
Re-enactment of a Powerade timeout.
Alex Compton: Coach, let's call time. We need a play.
Bo Perasol: Yes Alex, we need to pray.
*buzzer
Utility boy: Coach, eto na yung whiteboa...
BP: Guys! They're up! Kaya pa natin habulin yan. Tara, let's close our eyes and pray.
*20 second silence from the team
BP: Lord, help us to execute this play. Amen.
JVee Casio: Coach, ano yung play?
*buzzer
BP: Sige, play na kayo. Kayang kaya pa yan! Focus!
Any similarities to the aforementioned sequence is completely coincidental.
- Whoever said Paul Lee couldn't make three balls is a liar-for-the-day. He nailed a lot of them in this game. Whoever said Jeff Chan isn't a deadly shooter is a total liar. (Well, we can put an asterisk to Paul Lee's three-point shooting. It was practically garbage time when he made those threes.)
- When the lead grew to double-digits in the fourth, and Gary David couldn't nail it anymore outside, I knew it was ove... hold on a second! Gary nailed one! Lead down to twelve! Ayan na! Gary David againnnnnnnnnnn... short! I knew it was over. Rain or Shine 1-0.
- Now this is where I can say that Paul Lee is given excess hype that could turn bad in the future. Tonight was a good example. Paul Lee, 3 points first half, 22 points second half. Jeff Chan, 12 points first half, 15 points second half. If consistency gets the nod, Jeff Chan is the best player of the game. But conventional media goes for explosion, so Lee gets the nod even though Chan scored consistently throughout the game. (Okay, I only made up Chan's breakdown of his 27 points divided into two halves. I'm not a stats guy, but the point I was making was pretty much clear. What, not yet? Go find another blogger.)
What does the Powerade coaching minstry... er, I mean, staff should do the next game?
First, call 117 to ask help to find a missing person in the name of Marcio Lassiter. Second, it's a pretty effective scheme to give the ball to JVee Casio in a half-court set and let him and another big man do their thing. Seeing him stroll around ROS' defense and find an open Doug Kramer underneath is a thing of beauty. They should be reminded that assists was the vital (well, maybe David's explosion was the more vital one) key to their upset against B-Meg. Third, play defense. ROS defense was just so bad that's why they got the lead in the first half, and by them not playing defense made them knocked-out in the second half.
What does the Elasto Painters need to do the next game?
JR Quinahan is reportedly absent in the next game because of his wedding. With Beau Belga being only the legit beef to man the middle, they must concentrate their collective defense underneath especially if Casio will play Steve Nash and Kramer or Sean Anthony will play Amar'e Stoudemire in the next game. So far, they've done everything right (except for that first half daydreaming) from making Gabe Norwood play defense to letting Jeff Chan do his thing and Ryan Arana do his thing and Coach Yeng Guiao do his thing. (I still believe Coach Yeng screamed that in their dugout).
- The first quarter of Gary David was like coming out of the locker room 20 minutes right after the B-Meg game. He quickly nailed a couple of three-pointers to open his game. Parang hindi nagbakasyon ng 10-plus days. End of first half, he got 17 points. That's not a good start defensively.
- JVee Casio and Marcio Lassiter still didn't score much in the first half but Powerade bench players, namely Josh Vanlandingham and Rudy Lingganay, surely made up for it. Two bench guys leading the second charge. ROS defense got worse.
- Speaking of bad defense, it's quite awful to see a messed up Rain or Shine defensive rotation out of a Powerade off-ball motion offense that end up JR Quinahan guarding Rudy Lingganay 20 feet away from the basket. Little man got high basketball IQ and blew by Quinahan and powerful enough to make a couple of and-one plays from a terrible help defense.
- Speaking of Rudy Lingganay, panalong monicker ang binigay ni Dominic Uy sa kanya. Rudy "The Anay" Lingganay. The best! And mind you, take this one seriously. Siya ang pesteng maaaring sumira sa Elasto Paint ng Rain or shine.
- Yeng Guiao's halftime dissatisfaction scream must have went a little something like this. "PUTANG INA! ALAM NYO YUNG SALITANG DEPENSA?!?!?!"
- Coming in the third, it's not really the good defense of Rain or Shine that did the trick to close in at Powerade, but it's Gary David got less touches during that quarter. They started to setup half-court offenses that didn't really involved much Gary David in the rotation, which resulted to Rain or Shine not messing up their defensive rotation. Now how did David scored? Last second decisions.
"Shit! Sira na ang play. O Gary... ikaw na bahala!"
- Fourth Quarter is where Rain or shine played tremendous defense and get their transition offense going. After Ronjay Buenafe touched the ball with two hands for the first time in a half-court play, a lot of steals and a lot of fastbreaks happened after. Magic?
- Here's where I had a funny exchange with my brother. Remember how Powerade were so thankful to the Lord after their monumental upset against B-Meg? I have no intention of being blasphemous with regards to this, but hey, it's always true that "nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa."
Re-enactment of a Powerade timeout.
Alex Compton: Coach, let's call time. We need a play.
Bo Perasol: Yes Alex, we need to pray.
*buzzer
Utility boy: Coach, eto na yung whiteboa...
BP: Guys! They're up! Kaya pa natin habulin yan. Tara, let's close our eyes and pray.
*20 second silence from the team
BP: Lord, help us to execute this play. Amen.
JVee Casio: Coach, ano yung play?
*buzzer
BP: Sige, play na kayo. Kayang kaya pa yan! Focus!
Any similarities to the aforementioned sequence is completely coincidental.
- Whoever said Paul Lee couldn't make three balls is a liar-for-the-day. He nailed a lot of them in this game. Whoever said Jeff Chan isn't a deadly shooter is a total liar. (Well, we can put an asterisk to Paul Lee's three-point shooting. It was practically garbage time when he made those threes.)
- When the lead grew to double-digits in the fourth, and Gary David couldn't nail it anymore outside, I knew it was ove... hold on a second! Gary nailed one! Lead down to twelve! Ayan na! Gary David againnnnnnnnnnn... short! I knew it was over. Rain or Shine 1-0.
- Now this is where I can say that Paul Lee is given excess hype that could turn bad in the future. Tonight was a good example. Paul Lee, 3 points first half, 22 points second half. Jeff Chan, 12 points first half, 15 points second half. If consistency gets the nod, Jeff Chan is the best player of the game. But conventional media goes for explosion, so Lee gets the nod even though Chan scored consistently throughout the game. (Okay, I only made up Chan's breakdown of his 27 points divided into two halves. I'm not a stats guy, but the point I was making was pretty much clear. What, not yet? Go find another blogger.)
What does the Powerade coaching minstry... er, I mean, staff should do the next game?
First, call 117 to ask help to find a missing person in the name of Marcio Lassiter. Second, it's a pretty effective scheme to give the ball to JVee Casio in a half-court set and let him and another big man do their thing. Seeing him stroll around ROS' defense and find an open Doug Kramer underneath is a thing of beauty. They should be reminded that assists was the vital (well, maybe David's explosion was the more vital one) key to their upset against B-Meg. Third, play defense. ROS defense was just so bad that's why they got the lead in the first half, and by them not playing defense made them knocked-out in the second half.
What does the Elasto Painters need to do the next game?
JR Quinahan is reportedly absent in the next game because of his wedding. With Beau Belga being only the legit beef to man the middle, they must concentrate their collective defense underneath especially if Casio will play Steve Nash and Kramer or Sean Anthony will play Amar'e Stoudemire in the next game. So far, they've done everything right (except for that first half daydreaming) from making Gabe Norwood play defense to letting Jeff Chan do his thing and Ryan Arana do his thing and Coach Yeng Guiao do his thing. (I still believe Coach Yeng screamed that in their dugout).
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