Air21, San Mig Coffee part ways

One will go up, one stays down.

That is the theme of the match-up between Air21 and San Mig Coffee as they aim to leave the cellar of the PLDT-MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup.

Air21, which has dropped its first three matches against Barako Bull, GlobalPort, and Meralco by an average of 20 points, looks to notch its first win with the help of Joseph Yeo, Asi Taulava, KG Canaleta, rookie Eric Camson and Vic Manuel. Mac Cardona will continue to miss the action due to a MCL sprain he suffered during practice at the off-season.

San Mig Coffee, on the other hand, will get additional firepower from returning-from-injury players Peter June Simon and Joe Devance,They will join Marc Pingris, Ian Sangalang, and Mark Barroca. James Yap, according to the official Facebook page of the Mixers, aggravated a right forearm injury from Ginebra in the third frame of the Petron-San Mig Coffee match, and is unable to play.

With both teams itching for a win, and the losing side most likely in danger of elimination, expect that both squads will go all out on this match. (GS)

Caguioa powers Ginebra over rookie-laden GlobalPort

With the emergence of freshman star Terrence Romeo, people were rambling about a "passing of the torch" from Mark Caguioa.

Caguioa, though, was not willing to give it up easily.

On that fateful night, Caguioa proved all doubters wrong as he led Barangay Ginebra to a 109-104 victory over the GlobalPort Batang Pier. "The Spark" himself exploded for 29 points, with 14 coming from the last three minutes of the game.

Ginebra looked poised to notch its third win easily, when all of a sudden Romeo and Jay Washington sparked a 19-10 run in the third frame. Luckily, Ginebra snapped back to reality, and Emman Monfort and college teammate Greg Slaughter poured 13 points on a 17-9 swing to douse cold water on the Batang Pier run.

However, GlobalPort was quickly reignited in the final canto, partly due to the complacent defense of Ginebra. The team formerly known as the "Powerade Tigers"  bombarded the latter team with triples, while Romeo and FEU backcourt partner RR Garcia drove ferociously to the basket. A 25-8 run capped by a fast break layup by Sol Mercado tied the game at 91 apiece.

A daring drive by Romeo put the Batang Pier at the driver seat, 93-91, but Caguioa answered back with a three. The eventual absence of the UAAP MVP led to the collapse of GlobalPort's offense. Caguioa then scored 13 more points to finally dispatch the Batang Pier squad.

 The fieldgoal shooting story was not much of a difference (48.1 for Ginebra against 44 for GlobalPort). What made the difference was the free-throw shooting, with Ginebra going 24-of-36 against 15-of-24 for GlobalPort. GlobalPort led in turnover points 23-11. (GS)

Talk n' Text outlasts Alaska in overtime duel

Talk n' Text chalked up another line on the win column, but Alaska did give Talk n' Text a run for its money.

A neck-and-neck game from the get-go, the Tropang Texters ultimately prevailed in the grudge match of last season's semifinal showdown, 114-111, to notch its second win in the PLDT-MyDSL-Phillipine Cup.

Jayson Castro, the best point guard in Asia, once again delivered well with 33 points, but this time, he had help. Jimmy Alapag came through with 20 markers, Larry Fonacier had 18, and Harvey Carey chipped in 15 markers.

Jayvee Casio, who actually forged the extra five-minute period with a triple that equalized the game at 103-all, had 13 points, but failed to complete a drive in overtime to tie the game once again. Dondon Hontiveros had 15 markers but also failed to sink in two free-throws. Cyrus Baguio, who struggled with 10 points, had a chance to send the game to another extension with a three, but failed to drain the rainbow shot.

Second-year forward Aldrech Ramos top-scored for the Aces with 20 points on perfect 3-of-3 three-point shooting. Sonny Thoss had 16 points across his name along with 12 boards.


Carey himself carried the burden for the Texters during the final canto, being at the right place at the right time, getting offensive rebounds and other things that do not show at the stat sheet.
 
All in all, the game recorded 12 deadlocks and 19 lead changes. Also, neither Talk n' Text nor Alaska led by more than seven points in the game. (GS)

Aces, Tropang Texters gun for win no. 2

Alaska and Talk n' Text will try to bounce back from a disappointing loss in the rare Thursday double-header of the 2013-2014 Philippine Cup.

Alaska is sitting on a 1-2 slate with Meralco, while Talk n' Text presents a 1-1 record along with GlobalPort. Also, both teams have come from disappointing losses, although not by the same nature.

Alaska squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Ronjay Buenafe-led Barako Bull turned the tables on them, 97-93. Red-hot shooting for the Energy Colas and possible complacency for the Aces cost them their second loss in three games.

On the other hand, Petron manhandled the Tropang Texters, 77-63, to clinch their second win in their two games. Jayson Castro led Talk n' Text with 15 markers, however he lacked support as the only other player in double-figures was Nonoy Baclao with 10.

Although it is too early to say, this game might just affect their place finishing. As this season's eliminations last 14 games, the first two or three games would most likely no effect on your finishing, ties for the second place or worse, eighth place, might be decided by quotients. If so, those one or two games dropped could remove your eligibility for a twice-to-beat advantage or even a playoff appearance.

Terrence Romeo leads GlobalPort to first win in Philippine Cup

Terrence Bill Romeo showed the PBA last Saturday why he deserves to be the 5th overall pick.

In their showdown against Air21 Express, GlobalPort relied on the "hot hands" of Romeo, the 2013 UAAP MVP, who scored 34 points on 10-of-17 field goal shooting, and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, to win, 114-100. In doing so, Romeo scored the most points made by a rookie in his debut season in seven years, with Kelly Williams scoring 35 on a 2006 Philippine Cup wildcard phase. Also, his 47-point total in his first two games is the highest of any rookie since Asi Taulava, who totalled 55 with Mobiline.

However, Air21 gave GlobalPort a run for its money, keeping the game close until the 2 minute and 45 second mark, when Romeo nalied his second triple to catalyze a 20-5 run by the Batang Pier. Jaypee Belencion was also instrumental on that run, hitting two three-pointers to finish with seven markers. Jay Washington contributed 19 points, 12 boards, and 4 assists, while Sol Mercado got 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 dimes.

Joseph Yeo was the highest scorer for the Express, pouring 24 points to go with 6 assists, while Asi Taulava gave 21 points and 15 rebounds. Chito Jaime, coming off the bench, also had 13 points across his name.

The scores:

Globalport 114 – Romeo 34, Washington 19, Mercado 14, Ponferrada 8, Menk 7, Salvador 7, Garcia 7, Belencion 6, Najorda 6, Salva 4, Hayes 2.

Air21 100 – Yeo 24, Taulava 21, Jaime 13, Canaleta 11, Custodio 8, Manuel 8, Camson 6, Espiritu 3, Sharma 3, Ritualo 3, Menor 0, Arboleda 0.

Quarterscores: 20-18, 47-46, 83-74, 114-100

	GlobalPort			Air21
Points	114			100
Rebounds (Off.)	53 (19)			47 (12)
Assists	27			14
	Md.	Att.	%	Md.	Att.	%
2-pt Field-Goal shooting	27	61	44.3%	33	64	51.6%
3-pt Field-Goal shooting	10	27	37%	4	14	28.6%
Free-throw shooting	30	38	78.9%	22	37	59.5%
Total Field-Goal shooting	37	88	42%	37	78	47.4%
Turnovers	12			15
Steals	4			5
Blocks	1			2

 

PBA Philippine Cup Preview: Barako Bull Energy Cola

Head Coach: Bong Ramos

Mock Depth Chart

	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
C	Mick Pennisi	Dorian Peña
PF	Willy Wilson	Keith Jensen	Dave Marcelo
SF	JC Intal	Mark Isip	Mark Macapagal
SG	Willie Miller	Ronjay Buenafe
PG	Jonas Villanueva	Denok Miranda	Rob Labagala/Jeric Fortuna

2012-2013 Season Results

Conference	Result				Playoffs
	Finish	Win	Loss	Pct.	Stage	Results
Philippine Cup	9th/10	4	10	.286	Did not qualify
Commissioner’s Cup	9th/10	5	9	.357	Did not qualify
Governor’s Cup	6th/10	4	5	.444	QFs	Meralco** 86, Barako Bull 68

**Twice-to-beat advantage

Analysis:

With all the rumors going around that the Energy Cola is the “farm team” of the SMC teams, I’d have to go with Barako. After all, it might be because they just want to go back to their “Manong Brigade”. However, not resigning Danny Seigle could well be just the killer blow to their campaign. Seigle was the banner player of Barako. Without him, the Energy Cola lost one weapon.

However, they got another gun in the form of Willie Miller. Miller, a 2-time MVP, could be the leader figure for Barako Bull. If luck goes their way, Miller might just find his “Thriller” form once again and lead the Energy Cola to the playoffs.

Strengths:

Veteran Smarts

One advantage of not joining the “Youth Movement” is experience. You got 7 players winning a ring for themselves in the PBA. They could guide the few young guns of Barako Bull.

Weaknesses

Stamina

The disadvantage of not having enough rookies and too much veterans is stamina. Other teams could just run-and-gun against the Energy Cola to deplete their stamina heavily. Also, not having fresh legs could disrupt the flow of your offense

Retirement Issues

How many players in Barako Bull are well over their 30’s? Well, who knows? Barako will need to invest for the future to remove their mark as a “farm team”.

Best Case Scenario: Twice-to-win disadvantage

Worst Case Scenario: Completely missing the playoffs