HONG KONG – One banner season deserves another.
The considerable gains attained by the Philippine
Basketball Association (PBA) last year has made new chairman Mamerto
Mondragon of Rain or Shine optimistic about the new playing calendar
of the league set to kick off on Oct. 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Part of that optimism is matching, or even surpassing
the P90 million gross receipt posted by the league under Mondragon’s
predecessor, Rene Pardo of B-Meg.
“It’s attainable,” said Mondragon, who has been
associated with the Rain or Shine franchise for a long time now.
The soft-spoken league official said the backing of
the rest of the Board and commissioner Chito Salud makes the objective
realistic enough.
“I’m still feeling my way around,”Mondragon said.
“Medyo nangangapa pa. Anyway, andiyan pa rin yung mga Governors, so
they are there to assist me”
Pardo assured his successor of the Board’s all-out
support to the chairmanship of Mondragon, the way he was backed during
this term.
“I’m sure Atty. Mondragon is very able. And he will have the 100
percent support of everybody,” said the former PBA chairman.
The entry of a new coveror in TV5, the retention of the three
conference format, and the significant increase in attendance are some
of the factors Mondragon cited that could help the league sustain the
success achieved last year.
The entry of rookie players, especially those coming
from the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas team, is expected to give a breath of
fresh air to the league, according to the chairman, whose team
acquired streak-shooting guard Paul Lee of University of the East with
the no. 2 overall pick in the recent Rookie Draft.
The unlimited height ceiling for imports in the second
conference as approved by the Board during its annual planning session
here, could also add new spice to the season, Mondragon added.
“With some improvements, we strongly believe we have
another winner this coming season,” said the chairman.
And then there’s TV5, which sealed a deal to be the
official coveror of the PBA for the next five years.
“We (TV5) trust them, and nangako naman sila that they
will definitely try to make a difference,” the chairman pointed
out.(pr)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Guards hot commodity in PBA Annual Draft
JV Casio and Paul Lee.
With basically a guard loaded PBA Rookie Draft, the names of both
Casio and Lee have emerged as the consensus top two picks in the
annual proceedings set on Sunday at the Robinsons Place Manila.
Casio specifically, has been on the radar of several teams owing
solely to his brilliant backcourt manning of Smart Gilas-Pilipinas.
Even Ato Agustin, coach of newly crowned Governors Cup champion
Petron, covets the services of the 5-foot-10 Casio or the 6-foot Lee.
“Ako JV (Casio) or (Paul) Lee. Yun, e kung aabot sa amin,” he said,
resigned to the fact that with the Boosters picking at no. 8, there is
no way will he ever get to tab either one of the two heady and hot
shooting point guards.
Junel Baculi, the comebacking mentor of Bakaro Bull (formerly Air21)
also has Casio and Lee high on his list, but would rather keep to his
chest whom the Energy Boosters will be selecting with the no. 3 pick
“With no dominant big man available, you can see who are the possible
top five picks,” said the coach with the booming voice, mentioning
aside from the two, Smart Gilas stalwarts Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz
and Mac Baracael, but not necessarily in that order.
Bo Perasol, whose Powerade Tigers owned the top overall pick,
acknowledges Casio as a top bet for the slot. Like Baculi however,
he’d rather keep the suspense as well on Draft day.
“Well, there’s no question na malaki ang kakulangan namin sa guard
spot,” said Perasol. “So Casio is definitely a strong contender. He is
one of the best talents out there.”
Outside of the names rattled off by the three coaches, there may
proved to be aspirants who may end up to be this year’s Draft
`sleeper’ the way a Larry Fonacier did in 2005 or Rob Labagala or John
Wilson just a year ago.
Julius Pascualado, a native of Cebu but grew up in the U.S., already
got the attention of some coaches following his impressive showing in
the three-day Rookie Camp.
And then there’s the tried and tested amateurs in the likes of
national players Mark Barroca, Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros,
shooting guard Eric Salamat of three-time UAAP men’s basketball
champion Ateneo, James Martinez, a University of the East teammate of
Lee, FEU’s Reil Cervantes, and Santo Tomas’ Allein Maliksi, the first
ever MVP of the PBA D-League.
Ballesteros, at 6-foot-6, is just one of the few legitimate center
available in the Draft.
“He can be a good prospect,” said Bong Ramos, an assistant of Baculi
with Barako Bull, of the former San Sebastian stalwart. “He may not
score that much points, but the guy can rebound, block shots, and
intimidate inside.”
Meanwhile, John Marc Agustin scored 22 points as Alaska-Yellow
defeated Powerade- Blue, 87-70, at the close of the three-day rookie
camp at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The scores:
Alaska-Yellow – Agustin 22, Acibar 12, Lee 10, Ababon 7, Cervantes 7,
Magbanua 5, Sorongon 4, Martinez 4, Cagoco 4, Resopa 4, Graebel 3,
Montaniel 3, Chamberlain.
Powerade 70 – Maliksi 13, Mepana 11, Bulawan 11, Concepcion 6, Pestano
5, Lapus 5, Sison 5, Medenilla 4, Pascualado 4, Ilad 3, Raymundo 2,
Salamat 1, Fernandez 0, Nabong 0, Cabonce 0.
Quarters: 25-20; 51-38; 67-54; 87-70.(pr)
With basically a guard loaded PBA Rookie Draft, the names of both
Casio and Lee have emerged as the consensus top two picks in the
annual proceedings set on Sunday at the Robinsons Place Manila.
Casio specifically, has been on the radar of several teams owing
solely to his brilliant backcourt manning of Smart Gilas-Pilipinas.
Even Ato Agustin, coach of newly crowned Governors Cup champion
Petron, covets the services of the 5-foot-10 Casio or the 6-foot Lee.
“Ako JV (Casio) or (Paul) Lee. Yun, e kung aabot sa amin,” he said,
resigned to the fact that with the Boosters picking at no. 8, there is
no way will he ever get to tab either one of the two heady and hot
shooting point guards.
Junel Baculi, the comebacking mentor of Bakaro Bull (formerly Air21)
also has Casio and Lee high on his list, but would rather keep to his
chest whom the Energy Boosters will be selecting with the no. 3 pick
“With no dominant big man available, you can see who are the possible
top five picks,” said the coach with the booming voice, mentioning
aside from the two, Smart Gilas stalwarts Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz
and Mac Baracael, but not necessarily in that order.
Bo Perasol, whose Powerade Tigers owned the top overall pick,
acknowledges Casio as a top bet for the slot. Like Baculi however,
he’d rather keep the suspense as well on Draft day.
“Well, there’s no question na malaki ang kakulangan namin sa guard
spot,” said Perasol. “So Casio is definitely a strong contender. He is
one of the best talents out there.”
Outside of the names rattled off by the three coaches, there may
proved to be aspirants who may end up to be this year’s Draft
`sleeper’ the way a Larry Fonacier did in 2005 or Rob Labagala or John
Wilson just a year ago.
Julius Pascualado, a native of Cebu but grew up in the U.S., already
got the attention of some coaches following his impressive showing in
the three-day Rookie Camp.
And then there’s the tried and tested amateurs in the likes of
national players Mark Barroca, Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros,
shooting guard Eric Salamat of three-time UAAP men’s basketball
champion Ateneo, James Martinez, a University of the East teammate of
Lee, FEU’s Reil Cervantes, and Santo Tomas’ Allein Maliksi, the first
ever MVP of the PBA D-League.
Ballesteros, at 6-foot-6, is just one of the few legitimate center
available in the Draft.
“He can be a good prospect,” said Bong Ramos, an assistant of Baculi
with Barako Bull, of the former San Sebastian stalwart. “He may not
score that much points, but the guy can rebound, block shots, and
intimidate inside.”
Meanwhile, John Marc Agustin scored 22 points as Alaska-Yellow
defeated Powerade- Blue, 87-70, at the close of the three-day rookie
camp at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The scores:
Alaska-Yellow – Agustin 22, Acibar 12, Lee 10, Ababon 7, Cervantes 7,
Magbanua 5, Sorongon 4, Martinez 4, Cagoco 4, Resopa 4, Graebel 3,
Montaniel 3, Chamberlain.
Powerade 70 – Maliksi 13, Mepana 11, Bulawan 11, Concepcion 6, Pestano
5, Lapus 5, Sison 5, Medenilla 4, Pascualado 4, Ilad 3, Raymundo 2,
Salamat 1, Fernandez 0, Nabong 0, Cabonce 0.
Quarters: 25-20; 51-38; 67-54; 87-70.(pr)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
“Hoops and Hopes”: A preview of 2011 PBA draft picks on AKTV on IBC
AKTV on IBC, now the new home of the PBA for the upcoming 37th season, will get basketball fans excited for the upcoming 2011 PBA Draft with two 1-hour specials called “Hoops and Hopes” airing on August 26 and 27 at 9pm.
Hoops and Hopes will give an in-depth preview and interviews with some of the future PBA stars hoping to make it big in the first professional basketball league in Asia.
Leading the list of hopefuls in the draft are players from the SMART-Gilas Men’s Basketball national team, including Mac Baracael, Mark Barroca, Marcio Lassiter, Dylan Ababou and JV Casio. Amateur standouts like James Martinez, Eric Salamat and Paul Lee are also hoping to make the cut.
A total of 36 aspirants are hoping to be selected by the 10 PBA teams and be included in the next basketball season’s roster of players.
The 2011 PBA draft will take place this Sunday, August 28, at Robinson’s Place Manila and will air on AKTV on IBC channel 13 starting at 7pm.(pr)
Monday, August 8, 2011
Collegiate, commercial tourneys on Aug.22-28
The 26th Kadayawan Sports Festival will feature an inter-collegiate and commercial basketball tournaments on August 22 to 28 at the Davao City Recreation Center (formerly known as Almendras gym).
Mark your calendars and witness exciting basketball games.
Player of the Week: Arwind Santos
FINISHING the threshing-out process in the PBA Governors Cup stronger than he started was Petron Blaze’s Arwind Santos, making him the unanimous choice as the Accel-PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week for the period Aug. 1 to 7.
The 6-foot-4 Santos shone the brightest among the locals in the week that was, enabling the Boosters to notch back-to-back wins that helped propel them to the finals of the season-ending conference and perhaps redemption against Philippine Cup tormentor Talk N Text.
“Mahihirapan kaming marating ang kinalalagyan namin ngayon kung hindi sa napakalaking tulong ni Arwind,” said Petron coach Ato Agustin of the former shooting forward transplanted to the power forward slot due to key absences in the team.
“Masaya talaga ako para sa kanya dahil deserving talaga siya for the citation,” added Agustin.
Santos sure did deliver just when his team needed it most.
In victories over B-MEG and Talk N Text, the Angeles City native posted averages of 20.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocked shots, an assist and a steal.
Those numbers were even more impressive than when he normed 14.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and a steal in a similar two-game winning stretch that made him co-recipient, along with Tropang Texter guard Jayson Castro, of the honor on June 13-19.
All in all, Santos has been averaging 16.7 points, 14.5 rebounds, 11.1 assists, as many steals and 1.7 blocked shots going to the best-of-seven championship series.
He leads the import-spiced tournament in swatted shots, is tops among locals in rebounding and double-doubles (10) and fourth among locals in points production, making him one of the top prospects for the Best Player of the Conference award.
Santos just wants to focus on helping his team win the title over the same Talk N Text crew that beat them in six games during the Philippine Cup crown chase.
It should take a lot of doing since the Boosters are without the injured Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Jay Washington, Lordy Tugade and Joseph Yeo.
But Santos remains unfazed. “Mas gusto naming makabawi,” he said. “Sa ngayon iyon lang talaga ang focus namin.”(pr)
Monday, August 1, 2011
Player of the Week: Ronjay Buenafe
RONJAY Buenafe keeps validating his coach’s trust in him.
Buenafe proved this by coming up with a couple of
scintillating performances in the week that was, helping Rain or Shine fan its
Governors Cup quest and earning the Accel-PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week
for the period July 25 to 31.
The former second round pick has cranked up his game a notch
in the semifinal round and proved that by playing a key role in the Elasto
Painters’ back-to-back wins that fueled their drive to at least a playoff berth
for a finals slot.
“Ronjay’s game has matured. He has more confidence in his
game. He has improved his shot selection and his defense,” said Rain or Shine
coach Yeng Guiao, instrumental in acquiring the 6-foot-2 shooting guard from
Air21 before the season.
“I have no regrets taking him in a trade that was the
subject of criticism and doubts. He works hard and can only get better,” added
Guiao.
The former Emilio Aguinaldo College standout, tabbed at No.
11 by Coca-Cola in the 2007 Rookie Draft, upheld Guiao’s belief by notching a
career-best-tying 30 points (anchored on 6-for-9 three-point shooting and a
perfect 4-for-4 from inside the arc) in a 102-86 repeat win over Petron Blaze
in Digos City last Saturday.
With that output and in the absence of available data, Buenafe
is perhaps the only player to score 30 points for all three teams he has so far
played with. He set his personal scoring standard first with the Tigers in 2008-09
and again with Burger King/Air21 the following season.
Buenafe did not show any inkling of what he was set for by
putting up 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, helping the
Painters beat league-leader Talk N Text, 96-81, last Wednesday.
Those numbers helped improve Buenafe’s averages in the semis
to 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists, up from his 11.5, 2.0 and 0.25
norms in the eight-game eliminations.
Also, those victories against its more highly-touted rivals jacked
Rain or Shine’s win-loss record to 6-5 and gave it two routes to realize a first-ever
championship stint.
If they win their last two assignments the Painters could play
off for the second finals slot by virtue of the four-of-five incentive. Or they
could make it outright against early finalist Talk N Text if no other team
notches eight wins.
For sure, Buenafe and his teammates are not giving up on
that hope.(pr)
Buenafe proved this by coming up with a couple of
scintillating performances in the week that was, helping Rain or Shine fan its
Governors Cup quest and earning the Accel-PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week
for the period July 25 to 31.
The former second round pick has cranked up his game a notch
in the semifinal round and proved that by playing a key role in the Elasto
Painters’ back-to-back wins that fueled their drive to at least a playoff berth
for a finals slot.
“Ronjay’s game has matured. He has more confidence in his
game. He has improved his shot selection and his defense,” said Rain or Shine
coach Yeng Guiao, instrumental in acquiring the 6-foot-2 shooting guard from
Air21 before the season.
“I have no regrets taking him in a trade that was the
subject of criticism and doubts. He works hard and can only get better,” added
Guiao.
The former Emilio Aguinaldo College standout, tabbed at No.
11 by Coca-Cola in the 2007 Rookie Draft, upheld Guiao’s belief by notching a
career-best-tying 30 points (anchored on 6-for-9 three-point shooting and a
perfect 4-for-4 from inside the arc) in a 102-86 repeat win over Petron Blaze
in Digos City last Saturday.
With that output and in the absence of available data, Buenafe
is perhaps the only player to score 30 points for all three teams he has so far
played with. He set his personal scoring standard first with the Tigers in 2008-09
and again with Burger King/Air21 the following season.
Buenafe did not show any inkling of what he was set for by
putting up 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, helping the
Painters beat league-leader Talk N Text, 96-81, last Wednesday.
Those numbers helped improve Buenafe’s averages in the semis
to 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists, up from his 11.5, 2.0 and 0.25
norms in the eight-game eliminations.
Also, those victories against its more highly-touted rivals jacked
Rain or Shine’s win-loss record to 6-5 and gave it two routes to realize a first-ever
championship stint.
If they win their last two assignments the Painters could play
off for the second finals slot by virtue of the four-of-five incentive. Or they
could make it outright against early finalist Talk N Text if no other team
notches eight wins.
For sure, Buenafe and his teammates are not giving up on
that hope.(pr)
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