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!
Monday, January 23, 2012
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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