Pinoy Basketball Fan

from inboundpass

THERE won’t be a 14-game sweep of the elimination round this season.

Far Eastern University ended Ateneo de Manila’s quest to emulate the 2007 University of the East Red Warriors after scoring a come-from-behind 72-66 win in the 71st UAAP seniors basketball tournament last July 31, 2008 at the Araneta Coliseum.

FEU displayed remarkable endgame poise and leaned on the heroics of forward Aldrech Ramos and slotman Reil Cervantes to hand Ateneo its first loss and in the process share the top post together with its victims and defending champion De La Salle University at 5-1.

In doing so, the Tamaraws also rendered Ateneo big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s career-high 33 points academic. The ex-Philippine Christian University Baby Dolphin’s output was the highest since Adamson slotman Kenneth Bono recorded the same output in the elimination round two years ago.

“My big men struggle every time they face Ateneo because of Al-Hussaini. But in the endgame, we able to stop them,” said FEU coach Glen Capacio.

Al-Hussaini missed a crucial short jumper, which almost extend the Eagles’ 66-65 lead entering the final minute. Ramos, who had 12 points, scored the go-ahead jumper in the ensuing play to give FEU a 67-66 lead with 47 ticks to go.

FEU’s solid defense then prevented Chris Tiu from scoring the much-needed basket in the pivotal seconds, which cost Ateneo the game.

Asked if Mac Baracael, FEU’s fallen forward, was still the catalyst of the team’s strong play, Capacio said: “I don’t know what it is. Maybe it is the desire and the heart of the players who are working now.”

The Tamaraws have won two straight games since Baracael was shot by a still unknown assailant a week ago. According to Capacio, center Robert Kave has decided to leave the team to return to Papua New Guinea tomorrow.

Kave was with Baracael and Ron Cabagnot when the incident happened outside the FEU Gym along Morayta.

The Tams, despite not finding any answers to Al-Hussaini’s onslaught, still managed to claw back into the game thanks to solid guard play.

After Al-Hussaini scored on two free throws to hand the Blue Eagles a 60-57 lead at the 4:53 mark, FEU guards Andy Barroca and Benedict Fernandez combined to move FEU to move within a basket at 65-66, with 1:21 left.

The loss was painful, especially for the Katipunan faithful, who were celebrating the feast day of the founder of the Jesuit order, St. Ignatius. Ateneo seemed to have the game under control after erecting a 56-46 lead early in the fourth, where Al-Hussaini looked unstoppable in the shaded lane.

Reil Cervantes, who led the Tams with 14 points and 13 rebounds, put the finishing touches on his squad’s win with a two-handed slam in the dying seconds of the ballgame.

by Nelson Beltran

Barangay Ginebra is one win away from tying a league winning run but coach Jong Uichico says they’re more concerned with maintaining their form and winning attitude as they await either Magnolia or Air21 in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference Finals.

Observers feel the Kings might be due to lose a game, having made an amazing 12-game romp dating back to the double-round elimination phase of the season-ending tourney. Others say the law of averages may finally catch up with the Kings in the best-of-seven finals starting either Sunday or Wednesday.

The Ginebra mentor, however, hardly entertains these thoughts, saying they’re focused on giving their best shots in every game. He doesn’t mind either that a win in the title playoff opener will enable them to tie the Alaska Milk’s 13-game romp established during its 1996 grand slam season.

The longest streak of 21 games, however, still belongs to Crispa which did the feat in the 1983 season. Three years earlier, Crispa also made a record of 19 straight victories in a conference — All-Filipino.

“We’re not thinking about the streak. Our job is to win as many games possible,” said Uichico, the fourth winningest coach in the league with seven titles tucked under his belt.

Ginebra is enjoying a respite after sweeping past Red Bull in the semifinals. The Kings are doing light workouts, not knowing which ball club they will be playing in the finals.

“The last time I was asked to pick which team I preferred to play, I got burned. The team I picked eventually beat us,” said Uichico.

Neither did he name the team he thought they would have a better match-up in the series. “I’m not good at that,” he said.

Uichico said the Kings are determined to win the crown that will make Ginebra the fifth most winningest team in the league after San Miguel (with 17 titles), Crispa (13), Alaska Milk (12) and Toyota (nine). At the moment, Ginebra shares the distinction with Purefoods with seven championships each.

He had won six crowns with San Miguel (now known as Magnolia), is looking for his second title in two seasons with the Kings.

Unbeaten dating back to the elims, the Kings have preserved their clean slate in the playoffs, blanking the Sta. Lucia Realtors in their best-of-three quarterfinals confrontation and shutting out the Bulls in four games in the semis.

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I was told of a basketball player who seems to be “under the saya”. Instance no. 1, there was a time when his mother was staying in the cager’s house. He’s married by the way, blessed with kids. So there was a fight between the cager and his wife, and the topic was simply about the basketball player’s mother lengthy stay in their humble abode or something to that effect. So to make the story short, the player asked his mother to leave the house past midnight. The mother pleaded if she can just leave when the sun rises since it would be too dangerous. The player insisted and gave his mother money for cab fare.

Another incident, the cager and his cruel wife are currently in the US. So the player called the mother to come to Manila to watch over the kids while they’re on vacation. Because of motherly love, the mother flew to Manila. Now, I was told that the cager is sending the mother back to the province even though they’re not in the country yet. The reason- the wife says so. Miserable mommy goes home at the end of the month. Clue: Since they’re in the US, it means they are not in the PBA semis. I wonder why he’s in US… shouldn’t he go to the Olympics 2008 venue instead since he’s origin is from there anyway?

Nowadays, I lift weights in the FEU gym on a regular basis. With this, I have the chance to work out with some Tamaraws like Benedict Fernandez, Jens Knuttel and Mac Baracael. Last night, incidentally, as I was passing by that area, though I didn’t lift weights, I saw police cars in front of the gym. I was told Mac Baracael was shot by an unknown gunman. It was said that the gun had a silencer attached to it that’s why it didn’t create too much commotion. Good thing Mac is now safe. What isn’t safe is FEU’s chances in the current UAAP Season. We all know that Mac is considered the main man of the Tamaraws. The team is up against the UE Red Warriors.

Sometimes we perceive basketball players to be not so friendly people. In those instances it could either be they lost a game or they’re really just in a hurry. As a matter of fact they’re really friendly and sociable.

Games will be held in Pasay once more because of foreign show at the Araneta Coliseum. In the first game, Red Bull will attempt to capture game 2 of their series against the Ginebra GinKings. Chris Alexander outplayed Barako Adam Parada in their game last Sunday making 16 points and 17 rebounds in front of more than 10,000 fans who watched the game.

In the second game, Steve Thomas is back for the Express. It would be remembered that the Air21 import missed game 1 to attend a Korean Basketball League draft in the US. The Express was fined P50,000 for this. In the rule books, a team to play without an import is fined for such amount. Will Thomas be able to bring back the momentum for his team?

San Beda College’s win last Friday against College of Saint Benilde is put under protest after Sam Ekwe was found to be wearing last season’s jersey in that game.

As per NCAA rules, players wearing the wrong uniform are not allowed to take part in the action. Violation of the rule is a forfeiture of the game.

Notice the difference of where the Talk N’ Text logo is placed. Other than that (not shown in pictures) is that in Ekwe’s jersey, a catchprase of “Hoop it Up” at the back, whereas the current uniform does not have it.

A friend sent me an sms about how ill-mannered this former college player is. They’ve been going out for years. It’s kind of a May-December love affair since my friend is definitely older than the college player. You know what the motives of young people going out with an older person could be right? It’s all about the Benjamins. Money of course!

Here’s the sms:

” I wanna tell you about who _________ is. Nananamantala para sa sariling kapakanan. Wala siyang tunay na kaibigan dahil palagi iniisip ang sarili niya. Yan si _______. Sobrang sama ng ugali. Will you fool the person who lets you live in her house? Her partner, ________ (the legit one), niloloko nya for 5 years. I gave him car, mags, tires, car battery, 3 cellphones, tuition fee of siblings, plane tickets, shoes, wrist watch, havaianas, cellphone credits, milk, service from school to places, and imagine? pati vitamins ng parents niya? The worst thing is he tried to sell the cellphone I gave him to my brother? That’s how bad he is. ”

Kinda long. Yeah. We may ask why did she allow this to happen. The answer: love. We can do all the worst things in the world when we’re in love.

Now for clues. My friend obviously has a lot of moolah. She lives in the same village where James Yap, Benjie Paras and Eric Altamirano live. And for the gold digger cager, he’s definitely going to apply for this year’s PBA draft but I’m not sure how far can he soar.

He successfully transformed from being one of the team relievers into one of the team’s go-to guys. He skillfully mastered the art of clutch shooting, striking arrow spears into the hearts of the opposing teams. In his final UAAP season, he gave his all out performance to bring the crown back to De La Salle University. And when the final buzzer signalled the Green Archers’ victory, he broke down in tears. Then, he bid the Lasallian community goodbye…but not for long.

When the curtains rise for the opening of the UAAP Season 71, Pocholo “Cholo” Villanueva will once again be back on the DLSU bench. This time, he will no longer don his familiar No. 9 jersey, but will be clad in the usual green and/or white polo shirt and will be part of the talent-laden coaching staff of DLSU. Yes, he is now Coach Cholo and he will join the ranks of fellow former Green Archers, Tonichi Yturri, Tyrone Bautista, Joey Sta. Maria and Assistant Coach Jack Santiago.

“Ang task na binigay sa akin ni Coach Franz, ako nag-eexplain sa mga rookies how the system goes and explain to them the timing of the plays, and (I also do) scouting,” said Villanueva. With six rookies in the lineup, the task is not easy, but thankfully the neophytes are responding very well. “They are learning the system but they are very talented, very promising, lot of potential. Give them a year, (they will become) star players,” he added.

Having played the maximum years of eligibility, there is no doubt that Cholo Villanueva is possessed of valuable experience and knowledge about the system of Coach Franz Pumaren and the rigors and pressure involved in playing in the UAAP, and he is more than willing to share some pointers of his own to the new recruits.

“I share with them some things I know, things I learned from Coach Franz,” he disclosed. Villanueva also pointed out that while the DLSU rookies are all promising, it is crucial that the mental conditioning of the players is in top shape. ”Halos kalahati ng team, new guys and haven’t experienced playing in the UAAP Senior Basketball. We really do not know how they will react.” This is where Villanueva’s presence in the coaching staff will be of great help.

However, the new road that last year’s Finals MVP has taken is not going to be a walk in the park.

“Of course, I’m still adjusting. It’s very different sa coaching (compared to playing). As a player kasi, you just think about your opponent. Pero in coaching, there are a lot of things going on. You’re supposed to know all positions, you’re supposed to know the tendencies of your opponents, everything. (But) having been a player and then a coach right away is an advantage, because you already know the system and you can empathize with the players,” Villanueva commented.

With only a few days to go before their first game and his debut as an assistant coach, Villanueva is excited and upbeat about his new role in the team and expressed optimism about the Green Archers and its chances for this season.

“Malaki ang chance natin. Kasi, we still have Rico, JV, Walsham and (the) other sophomores and juniors will step up. (This year’s team is) quicker (and) more athletic than last year,” he concluded.