First Crack at a New Career!

(No) thanks to the retrenchment rumors (although it's more than that but definitely not less) i found myself handling new duties for the rest of the year. Hmmm, let's make it simple: adjust to the times (and the job) or adjust to a jobless (and a lot of times, timeless) life. Let's just say most of us were willing to cooperate. After all, when the powers-that-be says "win-or-go-home", you give it your best shot.

And best shot is what i promise to dole out the rest of the days. You don't make the shots you don't make... That said, here's the first attempt (well, there were a few others which might be considered .gif avatar-quality or might pass as a nice video tag for that personal ringtone) at video editing stardom.

Ok maybe not yet and maybe not ever as people below will tell you. But anyway, here's the video (i actually made a youtube account to flaunt my new-found craft and so i could link it here) and below it are the people who made this new, tough venture as easy as possible (always a tough task for a-ma-teurs) and quite honestly, could be as fun as writing (Don't worry love, you are still my first and only true one.)

The video:



Real big thank you to the following who from hereon out will i be forever grateful to even if i don't ever/even improve on this (As i said, tough task but hey i am really trying here)

Ron del Mundo/Christopher Dineros - Editors of BTV/Solar Sports and previously with Sports Desk, House of Hoops, One U, Olympics and a lot of other "short" forms. Oo na, oo na madami "pitik" yang ginawa ko pero di nyo pa natuturo kung pano pagtrim at iba pang mga dapat matutunan sa basic editing. Sabi nga ni Ron, "we all have to start somewhere" (or something like that) so yun ala-una na ngayon matutulog kahit may laro bukas para i have "started somewhere" na. At sabi nga ni Pipoy, "magsulat ka na lang" (or something like that, most likely something really with that inference), i still will respect his suggestion but as mentioned, i have to learn this stuff so my writing will now have a new "kabit", so to speak. Ulit, maraming salamat at sana di kayo magsawa na turuan ang tangang tulad ko.

Che - For lending the laptop (a lot of times) and for helping me out in actually installing the Adobe Premiere program, among other things. And yes, lamang na ako sa surat and eventually sa editing. (Very arguable on one count or the other)

Enteng - For the goddamn criticism of my first ever editing attempt months back--- he sort of called it a glorified power point presentation. Heck, i thought it was too. But hey, someone has got to start somewhere. Sunod digdi, Chris Webber highlights na assuming makakua ka Chris Webber highlights.

Greenday - For the scoring i used on the video above from one of my own personal favorite group. This Espionage single kept bugging me really and how i wanted it to be used in any of the plugs in any of the sports channels. Now that i am a so-called writer-slash-producer maybe i can use that as a musical background somewhere...

Jason Williams - and his fans. The clips i used were actually "stolen" from some (free) downloaded videos over the past couple of years.

And finally, for this new job. i learned a few terms called episodics, generic, omni and many others (Believe me, i never knew such terms existed in our prod group's "longest" form days.

It's a long road ahead, but i have just to take it.

An Antsy Proposition

Ants are the little unappreciated creatures which do their job no matter what. In short, they are the queen ant’s bitch and you can do nothing about it.

Some ants fast facts (thank you, Google) which may or may not contain subliminal messages with what we are trying to describe here:

There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world. One of which is called the IPOLO-ANT, found exclusively in a mountainous region somewhere in Rizal, Philippines.

Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies. We are optimistic and hopeful about the “can live for many years” part but quite questions the queen ant’s decision to “have a million babies” It’s not yet a million but as of this time the baby ants have been named. Because ants are rather, errr, antsy I’d be posting only the initials of the babies’ names: S.S., B., S.A., C.O and half brother C.S., and the newborn, S.F.

An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. Sometimes they carry loads of minidv’s and betacam tapes. Ants don’t have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet. But don’t let that tiny, tiny mouth fool you. When it bites, it’s sure to itch! Remember the fly against the carabao story? That’s a different one but you get the gist. They don’t have ears but they listen. Oh yes, they do.

When ants fight, it is usually to the death! Ha! Sometimes some of them just write blogs to fight to the death. Coward-ish, but it could save one ants life.

When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce. They call it retrenchment in an ant colony lingo. So, yeah queen ant’s bitch all the way even if you disagree with ‘em.

And the point in all these? Study everything first before making THAT decision because really, it can bite you in the ass. And eventually, it’ll itch. And no i am not talking to the moon.

Poker (Stars) Realizations

Addiction to poker is not the problem it is the solution. Somewhere along the way--- going all in or folding at the right (or wrong) time makes you realize a lot of things about the game and the people playing it. You could say the same thing about life. Heck, that life is a game cliche? That never grows old really. Just be willing to play it.

Put your chips all-in. Forget your stack, forget the pot odds and forget the tendecies of your opponents. Most of the time, letting go of everything could mean the biggest rake in your life.

+++

Bluffing. Pretension. You meet a lot of people who act this way in this lifetime. You really can't blame them. Several times, it's their natural action to impress. To impress to others the fact that they have something when in fact, they have none. What you don't know won't hurt you? That's a big bull shit. Big lie. Big bluff.

+++

Milking the cow. To be a successful poker player, you should have the skill to maximize any potential winning hand. That's a double-edged sword right there. Go for the kill when you have the chance because at any point during the turn or the river the other player might eventually get that killer hand. When you have the chance to one-up anyone in life? You do it right there in then. Underestimating anyone (or any situation) might have serious repercussions. Including being drowned by the river.

+++

Paranoia pays off. Eventually. Take this instance: You hit a trio on the flop but the turn and river showed a possible straight. Do you take a chance? Are you open to possibility that you will bet everything to gain nothing? Is the juice worth the squeeze? Is the juice worth the squeeze. . .

Random Rant: Denied and denial

DENIED. Disconnected for 48 hours from the internet i joked with friends over the weekend that i am getting a fever out of it. Specifically being disconnected with my fantasy leagues. Lo and behold, i missed on a Jason Terry signing in one league--- which i am not whining much about because so far i am holding on to the number one spot (1200 entry fee, damn i can almost taste it but you never know what will happen). So yeah, i feel very uncomfortable being away from the internet.

+++

DENIAL. There's a Guava resto at Serendra where we went to last Saturday to celebrate Che's birthday. The food wasn't bad at all (Specifically their so-called Monggonissa, low uric acid as told by their menu) but the mosquitos did bother us a lot over the course of the dinner--- Ka Abogado, bente lang ang monggo sigurado iwas dengue pa. But i thought it was a nice "celebration" and all. Metrowalk's Menu saved the night a couple of hours later because of the price of their San Mig Light bucket--- almost half the price compared with Metrowalk's Aruba. So yeah, avoid places like Aruba and Guava, it's good to try them once in a while but still, it's not worth it if it's not worth it. (Unless of course, you're one of them Serendra people who pretty much don't care what in their wallet)

+++

DENIED. Jason Williams was not allowed to return to the NBA this season. Needing 30 unanimous votes from the NBA governors, JWill got 26 nods as 6 other teams denied his request. All good, all good. i just hope six NBA governors die tonight because of their decision. Sure, i can wait 'til next year but he could have had played this year! Die! Die! Die!

+++

DENIAL. i was finishing some work-related stuff earlier this evening and got me thinking that i am actually doing it for a new team now. Quick specifics: Local Production Sports got the boot and in the process our team, let's call it Sports Desk, got reshuffled to various channels and i was assigned to BTV). It's a blue, blue feeling. i can't really explain it. i am still motivated, i still want this job. But but... It's simply sad.

Random Rant #8094

Always, always i am at awe at people who know how to play the piano. So much so, i'd trade both my hands just so i can learn how to play and master that craft. Sure, i know that Rivermaya's 20 Million (That's in the first album) starts with C-Em

+++

Been reading up on a lot of random things (Well, not random interests anyway) over the net including a poker forum (www.pokerforums.org) where i discovered i have still lots and lots of lessons to learn in this sport (Yes, it's a sport and you can't argue with me.)

Just the other weekend i lost 600. The total buy-in was P800, i did win P600 for placing 3rd in the first tournament then lost badly in the second set... Lesson learned: Stop playing if you can't stop drinking (tequila.)--- but heck, an all-in tastes much like the margarita, you don't really care what happens next.

+++

What's worse than bad news? Seven days of anticipation and seven days of waiting for that bad news.

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The (bad) news consequence is this: a 10-part 500 word post over the next couple of days or the silent bliss of not writing at all. Honestly, i am prepared for anything.

+++

The news is in. Changes are coming. As with changes... It stabs you in the back, though you expect the pain... And i am not even looking at this one negatively. It's the not good, not bad kind of things.

+++

So there, another waiting. Another level of paranoia waiting.

+++

A couple of hours later... and roughly half-a-pack of Marlboro Lights...

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The news is: nobody gets the boot but why do i get the feeling that every single one in this team was kicked in the nut? Sure, there's relief... But you can't deny the feeling of pseudo-melancholy. Sure, we all can breathe a little easier now. But... But, this is like blowing up the Phoenix Suns at their run and gun, seven seconds or less prime... (The analogy begins and ends with being a fun effective squad, don't go to winning all the way because that's just not fair...)

+++

Fast fact: Sports Desk team is officially dead. DEAD. DEAD. DEAD.

White Choco--- Coming (Back) Soon

Just about the breaking news i need. Now Jason Williams needs unanimous votes from the NBA Teams for his reinstatement and return to the league. Here's hoping that indeed happens this year. Wooooot!

Today's top story:

Williams wants to return to NBA
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 3 hours, 25 minutes ago

Jason Williams, the once-flashy veteran point guard, has filed a letter with the NBA to seek immediate reinstatement into the league, an internal NBA memo revealed on Thursday. If the NBA’s Board of Governors approves his petition, which was sent to the league’s 30 teams on Wednesday, Williams could become a productive free agent for contenders needing point guard depth. League executives immediately speculated that Williams could return to the Miami Heat, who he helped win the 2006 NBA championship, or the defending champion Boston Celtics.

Even so, the Los Angeles Clippers would have exclusive rights to Williams, but it’s doubtful in their losing and cost-cutting state they would want to do anything but negotiate a buyout with him. Williams signed with the Clippers last summer, but retired before the start of training camp.

After filing retirement papers in the preseason, he sent a letter to the league office on Feb. 6 and asked to be removed from the voluntary retirement list. Williams needs a unanimous vote of the Board of Governors to waive a one-year mandatory waiting period to return from the voluntary retired list. Teams have until Feb. 27 to cast a vote, the memo said. Williams played 10 years in the NBA, including stops in Sacramento, Memphis and Miami. He’s averaged 11. 4 points and 6.3 assists for his career.

Relax, it's just paranoia calling.

Or maybe not? Maybe it's as real as the double-meaning dagger looks i get every single day. i admit, it couldn't be as piercing as paranoia perceives it to be since i may be getting those same looks from Day One, meaning it could be empty stares.

+ + +

Or maybe it's plain bullshit. Good old bluff from the hands-that-control-ye. Then again, just before the weekend, news intensified that there are indeed people who got the ax. Bye bye to you people (i'd assume i know one or two) and hello (welcome back) to paranoia.

+ + +

Or maybe it's really, really true. Because today feels like the calm before the storm. The real question really is, where you'd be when the shitstorm hit the fan.

+ + +

How do you prepare for the inevitable? You can't. But paranoia can save you. Not from the predicament itself but from false hope and expectations. Selling yourself short (to yourself) can sometimes save yourself. That won't make sense until there's an opportunity to stab yourself in the back. (Yes, that IS probable)--- Believe me, it could feel like Resurrection.

+ + +

So here we are. Curiously, it's roughly at the four-year mark since the start of the stint with Solar. This kind of timing sends shivers up your spine.

+ + +

And so, you wait. When paranoia calls, is it a bad thing?

NU-PBA Draft

Breaking News! Discarding nepotism and politics, adjusting to the times, adapting a more aggressive innovative role, the PBA announced that they are expanding to a total of 12 teams next year! In light of this development, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny added that with the new era in Philippine basketball there should be necessary changes for the league. The commissioner-not-named-Sonny announced a free-for-all free agency and the richest draft in league history to follow. The order has been set (for lack of creativity, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny decide to do it alphabetically via team name) and the teams have retained (or hired) their coaches.

Additionally, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny also said that the tournament (quadruple-round robin) is a “one-time deal” only. Meaning that after the season, everything will go back to normal and players will go back to their original teams (Much to the chagrin of the crowd present in the proceedings) Finally, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny made a slight tweak regarding league rules: Article 4.8B Suspensions – Player/s can now be suspended and fined by the commissioner’s office if that player/s suffers an injury throughout the season. Meaning, either players play through pain or just stop the acting and pretending that they have injuries. Ergo, it’s now “win now, baby” (as heard from the commissioner himself) time for most of the ball clubs. With the first pick of the PBA Dream Draft…

ALASKA
PG – Dennis Miranda/ Cholo Villanueva
SG- James Yap/ Bon Bon Custodio/ Gherome Ejercito
SF – JC Intal/ Larry Rodriguez
PF - Ranidel de Ocampo/ Mike Hrabak
C – Mick Pennisi/ Rob Reyes

BURGER KING
PG – Jay Jay Helterbrand/ Marvin Cruz/ Egay Billones
SG – Junthy Valenzuela/Rodney Santos
SF – Tony de la Cruz/ Cesar Catli PF- Leo Najorda/ Allan Salangsang
C – Asi Taulava/Mark Isip/ Ervin Sotto

COCA COLA
PG - LA Tenorio/ Chris Pacana / Macky Escalona
SG - Don Don Hontiveros/ / Denver Lopez
SF – Kelly Williams/ Ronald Tubid/ Jason Misolas
PF – Jay-R Reyes/ Willy Wilson
C – Sonny Thoss / Yancy De Ocampo

HAPEE
PG -Olsen Racela/ Topex Robinson/ Ronjay Enrile
SG – Cyrus Baguio/ Jojo Duncil
SF – Gabe Norwood/ John Arigo/ Chito Jaime
PF – Arwind Santos/ John Ferriols
C – Dorian Pena/ Junjun Cabatu

HARBOUR
PG – Ryan Reyes/Jonas Villanueva/ Chico Lanete
SG– Mac Cardona/ Kelvin Dela Peña
SF – Gabby Espinas/ Sunday Salvacion
PF - Homer Se / Dennis Daa
C – Erik Menk / Adonis Sta Maria

PUREFOODS
PG – Alex Cabagnot/ Paolo Mendoza / Paolo Hubalde
SG – Willie Miller/ Jireh Ibañez/Magnum Membrere
SF – Nelbert Omolon/ Mark Macapagal
PF – Jay Washington/ Ricky Calimag
C– Carlos Sharma/ Rafi Reavis/ Mark Andaya

SAN MIGUEL
PG – PJ Simon/ Jeffrei Chan/ Celino Cruz
SG - Jeffrey Cariaso/ Chris Calaguio/ Jonathan Fernandez
SF – Jared Dillinger/ Larry Fonacier/ Melvin Mamaclay
PF - Mark Telan/ Norman Gonzales
C – Enrico Villanueva / Samigue Eman/ Lawrence Bonus

STA LUCIA
PG–Wynne Arboleda/ Roger Yap/ Christian Coronel
SG – Mark Caguioa/ Ronjay Buenafe
SF – Lordy Tugade/ Mark Borboran
PF – Harvey Carey/ Rich Alvarez C – Dennis Espino/ Kenneth Bono/ Paolo Bugia

TALK N TEXT
PG - Mike Cortez/ Ryan Araña/ Warren Ybañez
SG – Gary David/Ren Ren Ritualo/ RJ Rizada
SF – Danny Seigle/ Yousif Aljamal/ Richard Alonzo
PF – Nic Belasco/ Eddie Laure
C– Ali Peek/ Marlou Aquino/ Beau Belga

RAIN OR SHINE
PG – Jimmy Alapag/Paul Artadi/ Tyrone Tang
SG – Solomon Mercado/ Kelvin Gregorio/ Aaron Aban
SF – Mark Pingris/ Mike Holper
PF – Reynel Hugnatan/ Douglas Kramer
C – Kerby Raymundo/JR Quiñahan

RED BULL
PG –Jason Castro/ Donald Dulay/Froilan Baguion/Pong Escobal
SG – Joseph Yeo/ Rob Wainwright/ Aris Dimaunahan
SF - Niño Canaleta/ Wesley Gonzales
PF – Don Allado/ Jondan Salvador
C – Joe Devance/ Billy Mamaril / Alex Crisano

/Dream Rant

i am a sad story.

"Leaf by leaf, page by page. Throw this book away."

- Ben Folds Five in Smoke.

There is no rest for the wicked. Not even a soul to keep, and no more heart.

SMB Postmortem

After dissecting the guards play it’s now time to tackle San Miguel’s rotation on the wings and the paint.

Don Don Hontiveros – Just when we thought the loaded line-up of San Miguel has shattered much of Don Don’s swagger and confidence, the Cebuano guard made sure he finished the year with a bang--- that he did, first against Ginebra continued his mad streak against Talk N Text. Relatively inconsistent in the eliminations and sub-par (by Hontiveros standard) but quietly effective in that stretch, he stepped it up in the latter part of the season showing Siot and the rest of the Beermen fans why he is so oh-important to this team.

In game two versus the Kings, he scored 35 points then followed it up with 34 points in the clinching game. To rehash, in both these games the Beermen were trailing and none of these stats are the garbage-type of production. Then against TNT, he continued his scoring spree with a 39-point output in game three and being a constant number option all throughout the series not to mention defending the likes of Cardona, Alapag and Dillinger. Clearly, Don Don has become the most important and valuable player in the SMB camp right now. He is effective on both ends of the floor and a grizzled veteran that could replace Olsen as the on-court leader.

Lordy Tugade – Much has been said about “unfair” trades in the league where certain player X (serviceable) is shipped for player Y (a scrub)--- for economical reasons. With Tugade, not only they unloaded Tugade’s contract but they also traded a player who San Miguel thought could be a consistent contributor on both ends of the floor. Despite the numbers, Tugade has become sort of a black hole on offense and defense for the Beermen. Sure, the numbers are there (20 points or more thrice, double digit scoring 13 times in the eliminations) but he gets those numbers at such an ineffective rate. He attempted 139 three-pointers (44 made for 39 per cent) out of 272 total shots for the season meaning almost half of his shots are from beyond the arc despite the fact that he is a good penetrator (62 of 132 2FGM, or 47 per cent) and hits his freebies as well.

This lack of effort brings me to my point: why acquire a player that is redundant with one of your stars (Don Don)? Tugade can be effective in SMB’s system but he has to know his role on offense and should take more responsibility defensively. Provided that he had spotty minutes versus Talk N Text, but SMB was still competitive in those games despite his injury.

Danny Seigle – How things turn quickly. Three months ago this dynamite had zero capability to explode. Then the playoffs came, and boom! he’s was near to his old dominant self. After playing just 5 games (First three and last two) in the eliminations, Seigle reintroduced himself to the PBA fans with his knack for scoring the basketball. The much-maligned forward scored 16 points in 20 minutes in their first knockout game against Air 21 then followed it up nicely with over 10 markers and 4 caroms per outing in the best-of-three series against Ginebra. However, it was just the beginning of a nice ending to the conference for Danny S. He scored 29 points in game four and followed it up with 32 points in the overtime loss in the final game. He was even rebounding the ball grabbing 8 rebounds or more in half the games.

So the big question is… Is Danny Seigle really back? Maybe, maybe not. Such an unsure conclusion only mean that San Miguel SHOULD aggressively trade him now. Try to ship him (and his contract) when his value is at an all-time high (at least during the injury days) and the campaign for a Trade-DS idea should start now. Getting a young prospect is the ideal situation, but a couple of (high) picks will do as well. The real question remains, how loyal is SMB to a (once) franchise player like Seigle…

Marc Pingris – If not the injury to Dorian Peña, Pingris would never have gotten off the bench consistently in the playoff round specifically in the TNT series. As SMB went small (Pingris played the PF spot most of the time), he produced not surprisingly some eye-popping numbers. He scored in double digits four times (11,11 in the first two, and 28 16 in the last). However, it was in the rebounding end that he can be most appreciated. In the last 5 games he grabbed at least 7 boards including a 12-rebound effort for a double-double in Game Five.

Much has been said already of Siot’s benching of Pingris in the final minutes of the final game. All under the bridge now, but Siot should wake up and smell the coffee: Ping brings energy to the table. To do that, he has cut minutes with the other bigs (clue: DS) to give Pingris his rightful consistent time on the court.

Jay Washington – Similar to Pingris but much more addicted to the outside shot is J-Wash. The Fil-Am had solid minutes for the entire year (14.7 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 1.1 BPG) but it was against Talk N Text that he really played his best. Vengeance errr.. versus his former team he upped those averages to 19.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG and 1.4 BPG. Ok, there was that missed easy lay-up in game six that could have changed the complexion of the ending or the ill-advised threes here or there (just a 30 per cent shooter from beyond) or a needed improvement from the line (49/79 FT’s, or 62 per cent).. But clearly the package of a versatile forward is there for the run and gun system of Siot.

Dorian Peña – The monster rebounder was badly missed by the Beermen against the Texters. He did play two games in that series but was very ineffective in very limited minutes. While a very bad free throw shooter (Just above 56 per cent), his real value comes from eating the glass either offensive or defensive. He is also quite effective against smaller defenders as well (Please, don’t foul him) and is quite potent inside the paint. To a run and gun team, a rebound starts everything. To a run and gun team, wild misses are expected. Peña is quite effective in starting the break (defensive rebounds) and re-starting an offense (offensive rebounds).

Mick Pennisi – Another new acquisition this year is the Pennisi. The formerly very hated, now just a little hated center from Red Bull has been serviceable to say the least for SMB. Unlike Peña, he is more comfortable playing outside and is one of the few centers in the league that can hit the 3 point shot. But at what cost? This year, Mick took 144 three-pointers and made 44 of them--- respectable at a 33 per cent clip. On the rebounding end, he’s done as nicely as well at 7.2 per game. Again, the question at what cost? Height is might but he shouldn’t be taking too many three pointers. In a team that features already high-volume shooters from the perimeter, do you really need another player (who is supposedly a big man) to take those shots away? Does he fit the system? Probably, to an extent. But will a Dorian Peña type of player be a more fit and be more valuable to SMB? Probably so.

Other players in the team are Wesley Gonzales and Kenneth Bono who played sparingly in the playoff rounds and the eliminations. Both players showed they can be effective when given the minutes. Then, there are the likes of Chris Calaguio, Eman Samigue and even Danny Ildefonso waiting on the bench.

Conclusion: What’s the final deal, then? Who stays? Who goes? First, lest we forget Siot Tanguincen did a horrible job in the TNT series (and a number of games in the eliminations) but we should also remember that this is the same coach who stuck to his troops when the going got tough (Later part of the elims when SMB was struggling, then the pair of wild card games and the comeback victories against the Kings). The point here is, he is still a young coach who is just learning the ropes (albeit the hard and painful way)… Much like this SMB team. Give him another shot (another conference), after all, a third or fourth place finish is still respectable (albeit painful to accept)

For the Fiesta Cup an important-laden tournament here’s a proposal for Siot and how he should handle the rotation (For the management, omitted players should mean they should have been traded before the conference even begins)

PG – Villanueva/Custodio (Cortez/Baguion)
SG – Hontiveros (Calaguio)
SF – Pingris/Gonzales (Tugade/Seigle)
PF – Washington/Bono (Ildefonso)
C - Peña/Eman (Pennisi)

Whilst the PG lineups looks thin (Again, Baguion is replaceable but the team do need a respectable third string guard if anyone gets injured) and Custodio can be paired in the back court with Jonas, there might be a need to find a second (real) point guard. A deal for Seigle (or Tugade, only one should go if no quality players are taken in return) can net a good guard that can play the point. Handling the paint job are Washington and Pena (and when he slides to the four, Pingris) but there is now the need to develop the likes of Bono and Eman even further with the aging players in Pennisi, Ildefonso and Seigle. Even if no trades are made, it is vital for San Miguel to start inserting them in the rotation or the selection of Eman and trade for Bono will just look like wasted efforts. Ideally, this should what the team depth chart and rotation look like (*Again ideally, the import must be able to slide to the 2-spot, meaning he has to have ball handling skills; Another option is get a natural SF import but that can be redundant with the likes of Washington/Pingris already)

PG – Villanueva/P G*/ Custodio/3rd-string PG
SG – Hontiveros/Custodio/Calaguio/Gonzales/IMPORT
SF – IMPORT/Pingris/SF**/Gonzales/ Hontiveros
PF – Washington/ /Pingris/Bono/
C - Peña/Pennisi/Bono/Eman/
* netted from a Seigle/Tugade trade
** Who ever is not traded between Seigle/Tugade

And the system? More run and gun!

SMB Postmortem: POINT GUARDS

After a wild and wooly, up and down year, the season has ended for the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA All-Filipino Conferece after losing to the loaded Talk N' Text Tropang Texters in six games. Who takes the blame and who should get the axe. Who impressed and who should stay. Who deserves to be in the team and be retained. Here's a quick look on how the key players performed this year and if they should stay or be cut, traded, or benched for the next conference:

Olsen Racela - Much has been said about Olsen's capability to lead and even be moved to a more prominent role in the coaching staff of the Beermen. That time is now and it's best for him and the team for Olsen to retire. However, there is too much of pride for players to do so and i don't think he can easily walk away from the game especially after a rather bad performance against TNT. If he decides to make another run at it, one conference should be enough and should be in limited minutes (around 10). Retiring (Or suggesting, forcing him to) will just mean that the management has gained enough confidence to fully trust the young guys.

Why retire now? While Olsen showed flashes of brilliance this year (Elims vs. AIR 21: 15 poiints, 9 assists in 34 minutes|Elims vs. GINS: 18 points, 6 assists in 24 minutes) there are a few signs that the point guard's play is now going down especially in the Talk N Text series. He failed to crack double digits scoring and shot 9 of 30 from the field. Moreover, he struggled mightily against Jimmy Alapag.

In the long run, offensively, he can still be effective. However, it is on defense that he will be a weakness. Pass the torch, it's time.

Bon Bon Custodio - There is no player in the SMB line-up that was both much-maligned and much-praised this conference. That is what you basically get with a rookie and a player like Bon Bon. In the eliminations, he scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting against Alaska; Then in a game vs Rain or Shine, he dished out 10 assists. He can hit the three albeit inconsistenlty (12 of 47 for the season, or just above 25 per cent); and gets in the passing lanes at times although he still needs to work harder defensively (6 steals once, and 4 takeways thrice for the season)

The surprise of the draft has lots of things left to be desired but the potential of being an above average contributor is there, and pushing it a bit, even to superstar level. With rookies, you take the good with the bad. With Bon Bon, you just hope he matures faster and improves the basics further so as to become an effective player in this league. With the way he was given minutes and responsibilities, that could come sooner than later. There could be deals available out there, but in the end, his rookie contract will be cheaper than most and

Jonas Villanueva - With all the changes in the line-up and all the marquee players arriving at the SMB camp, he was the odd man out in the rotation. But when the going gets tough (injuries) he had to be called upon and he, in some ways, delivered. Not bad for a third-string point guard (even fourth, if you are counting Bon Bon as a PG). His minutes during the eliminations had been sporadic; he scored in double digits four times, but scored 5 points or lower 11 times. As court general, he doled out 6 or more helpers five times and did not fail to register at least 1 assist but one time all throughout the season.

However, during the Talk N Text series (and last game vs. Ginebra) Jonas, in a sense, was a revelation when given consistent minutes (and responsibility). Against Ginebra, when Olsen was thrown out, he logged in just 14 minutes but scored 7 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field. Against TNT in game one (still without Olsen), he scored 5 points but had 8 assists in 25 minutes. In game two and five, both wins, he averaged 9 points and 4.5 assists in 23.5 minutes. And even in the last three losses, he scored at least 7 points and at least 2 assists per outing.

Which leaves us to...

Mike Cortez - Up until this point i still can not understand the trade to Alaska (LA Tenorio mainly). While at first glance, Cortez could be the better defensive player (the idea was that LA was a lot smaller and Cortez bigger and bulkier) the latter is just not that efficient offensively. While it is difficult to evaluate an oft-injured player, his style of game does not fit SMB's run and gun attack at all. In four games before he got hurt, he never cracked double digit scoring (conference high is 8 points against his former team) and was scoreless in his last two outings (0/6 vs. ROS, 0/5 vs TNT). Again, there is not much use in analyzing small-sized samples especially because of injuries. But why risk with players that are often injured? And why risk waiting on them when at first they don't even fit the system? There will be no takes for Cortez in trades obviously, but the first step is not including him in the long term plan for the sake of the team and the development of other players in his position.

Froilan Baguion - No need for numbers here. But as a third-string point, he can be servicable on spotty minutes.

In an ideal world, Olsen retires and Cortez is traded which brings San Miguel's point depth down to 3 players. Is Villanueva ready to take over as a starting point guard? Is Custodio ready for heavy minutes at the point? i do like to believe so. SMB won't get a quality starting point guard via trade or free agency and the best way is to continue to develop this pair of point guards.

PBA Semis: SMB Folds in Six

i failed to update the stats and some of this series. Mainly because of two reasons; a) after falling down 3-1, i felt SMB had zero chances at a comeback win after coming from behind since the wildcard phase and b)i am just biased, sort of a sore loser when i am down thus uninspired.

But heck, for pahabol effect and last night's frustrating and painful loss to TNT there's this poster at pinoyexchange.com who made a battle for third thread... which led me to this reply

Pepman, oh pepman. A battle for 3rd thread? Is this really necessary? Your "bright" idea has inspired me though;

Pepman, oh pepman
by DT

Let us lick the fresh wounds,
and sulk in a depressed corner
Let us forget the one point loss,
and that Cardona dagger

Leave us time to hate Bon Bon,
ill-advised fouls, ill-timed shots
Leave us time to analyse this one,
his basketball IQ that rots

Let us forget Don Don and Danny
their efforts gone to waste
Let us forget Peek and Carey
eating glass, in our mouths leaving a bad taste

Pepman, oh pepman
do you post threads at random
Pepmen oh pepman
how we wish you post seldom

(Ok, must be the boredom and losing. Imagine if we'd won the series.)

And oh, congrats to Talk N Text, they were the better team and deserves to be in the Finals against Alaska.

PBA Semis: TNT Breaks SMB's Back. Again.

For while there, it looked like a replay of Game Three. There was the Mighty Mouse showing his, errr, might from the three land in crunchtime, again. (J. Alapag: 18 points and 10 assists. 16 markers were done in the fourth including a pair of three's from the parking lot. (M. Cardona: 18 points and shaking off the blues called the boos. Including his patented teardrop-hook from afar, near the three point area) There was the slew of Texters who made the right (clutch) plays to bring TNT closer to the All-Flip Finals. And oh, let's not forget the TNT rookie who was off to a hot start for the Texters. (J. Dillinger: 27 points, career-high, 4 of 7 from beyond. Including 16 or 18 in the first quarter)

Then there was Bon Bon Custodio for a boo boo or two that could have changed the complexion of the game for his team.

Oh fuck and oh well. San Miguel is just plain tired now (not an excuse but a fact) and credit the Texters for pushing the right buttons at the right time. i am not sure if they still have enough for more "comeback" victories--- lots of them in this series, and the quarterfinals against Ginebra. Down 1-to-3? Ugh. i am struggling to find the heart to bounce back on this one. i wonder how the SMB players feel.