The Blue Eagle-Tams Match up

Yesterday, July 10, 2010, UAAP opened with big wins from the Green archers (USLS) and the Growling Tigers (UST) against UP and UE respectively.

Today's game has been an exciting one for matching up 2 of the best teams in UAAP there is. And I'm talking about the FEU Tamaraws and the AdMU Blue Eagles.

It has been said that the Tams are still intact even with just Barocca's loss. Big men and even the guards and the ex-rookies are getting better. Coach Glenn Capacio's only problem now is the re-gelling of the team with the absences of Cawaling and Ramos during the pre-season which could be a great factor in the team's chemistry (having known that both were still under the contract with Smart Gilas Philippine Team during that time). But the boys assured coach that they can have it done in no time.

And going to the other side of the court, Coach Norman Black is still confident even with the losses of his veterans Baclao and Rabeh and his gunslinger Jai Reyes. Eric Salamat then became the navigator of the team. Long and Buenafe are expected to step up a level higher to win big in this season.

The first half of the game showed signs of awkwardness on the court as both teams tried to shake of jitters and rusts off their muscles. But both were just too nervous making up horrible field goals, petty passes and turnovers. That's when both coaches decided to put on the court the bench guys to heat up the game. And familiar faces were then seen, making the game worth watching.

"Patch the boards and produce the system" were 2 of the things Coach Black reminded his boys when the Tams stretched a 5-point lead over halftime.

The last 2 quarters then became the highlights of the game when both teams kept on battling for the lead, taking advantage of each shot they can constitute. Deadlocks were all over the score-board and i felt like watching the finals. Ha! Ha! And up to the very last 2 minutes, it was still very hard to tell who could win the game, when Sanga throws a 3, Salva gets the bang and the bucket, completing a 3-point play.

But the game has to end and it did when the Blue eagles lost their swagger giving up useless fouls. And for the Tams, a tap on the back from coach Glenn was waiting for them for winning the first game against last seasons's champs, finishing a 72-69 game.

Big names battling for a big W!

It was round 2 for the Baranggay Ginebra Kings against the Purefoods TJ Giants. Both of which are struggling badly for consistency in this series. The Kings without Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and even Celino Cruz while the Giants without team captain Kerby Raymundo. But the show has to go on and so will the game.
Coach Ryan Gregorio of the Giants steadily reminded his boys to keep on putting their defense and what's even better for them is that they brought offense to the center stage that made them strong during the 1st quarter. They also took advantage of the Kings' poor offense who has never made any connection with the basket. Coach Jong Uichico meanwhile sued for a lot of time talking to his boys in the huddle. He wanted to make his team stop the non-stop shooters of the Giants. But as the game went on, the Kings still looked like they were trailing halfway down the court, bleeding for offense.
Halftime break is one of the favorites of the coaches where they could talk things over and get mad inside the dug-out (I'm not sure with the latter though haha). And that opportunity made the Kings climb for a comeback just as the Giants try protecting the lead. They are getting free throw line opportunities but just couldn't knock them down.
Ronald Tubid and Cyrus Baguio are some of the players the Gin Kings are relying on to alongside Johnny Abarrientos who still plays for them. On the other hand, James Yap is one hell of a Giant who can take shots even with contenders all over him.
And since we're talking about names, there came Kevin White, the rookie of the Kings who has been their hero for a split second. Having 3s and 2s all over the court, making things happen for the Kings, savoring a short time lead during the 4th quarter (This young athlete is also the nephew of Jimmy Alapag of the Tropang Texters). However offense the Kings make, the Giants are fearlessly responding. And talking about that, Roger Yap is one fearless Giant who showed credibility as he recognizes the opponent's defense.
It was one tight game but in the end, only 1 team has to emerge for the win. And it was The Purefoods TJ Giants who ended strong in the ball game finishing an 89-81 game, with Roger Yap as the best player with 21 conference high points.
"Pinag-aralan namin ang defense" Yap said when asked how they got the win. "Actually, apektado talaga kami sa crowd at sa fans nila (BGK), pero kelangan na naming manalo. Sana tuloy-tuoloy na to", he added.

SMB's lucky 9 against the SLR

Will the Sta. Lucia Realtors have their revenge from the first-round beating? Or will the San Miguel Beermen continue to gun for another win?

And the game tonight answered those questions.

It was the Retribution vs. the Mastery. The holy war of the saints! The San Miguel and the Sta. Lucia. The #1 fast break team vs. the #1 defensive team.

Game after game, both teams are probably considering mistakes as a challenge in order to get back on track. And that was what the Beermen practically had for dinner just before the game.

It was almost impossible to stop the Beermen from shooting baskets during the first quarter of the game. Perimeter shots and jumpers from Dondon Hontiveros started the SMB-confidence that electrified the other Beermen who continued the shots. But coach Boyet Fernandez and the Realtors are definitely not giving up this fight, not another defeat against the Beermen, as we all remember how they got beaten during their on-the-road game at Victorias City. And with that motivation, coach Boyet’s boys tried to break the momentum cutting the lead down to 1 during halftime. A point coach Siot had to talk over in the dug-out.

“Let’s try to be a better team. We have to execute proper defense to limit turn overs and turn over points” coach reminded his boys.

And the 2nd half made the Beermen execute what coach told them to. They never took the Realtors lightly making them bleed for so many baskets, making their shooting skills sour on the court. They showed the battle and the rhythm, the momentum and the skills. It was so hard to stop SMB especially when the guys are shooting non stop. They spotted the gaps and played like veterans putting the ball in the paint. Assists and steals filled the SMB court making it easy for them to take in the money for the ball. It was like picking and rolling and finishing with not just 2 but 3-pointers. And looks like the Beermen found all the answers, pushing it down to the core.

Stellar frontline performance, bench-scoring was excellent plus the exceptional coaching staff coming into pace were the perfect match for the lucky 9th win of the San Miguel Beermen.

It was shining time for Dondon Hontiveros who had 21 points and 7 rebounds. Mike Cortez, Lordy Tugade, Danny Siegle and of course Arwind Santos were also some of the Beermen who contributed big time finishing a 110-94 game against the Sta. Lucia Realtors.

my meet and greet experience with SMB

It was almost impossible for me to watch the game last Saturday. But hey, I couldn’t miss that for the world! Me? Missing the SMB game? Live? Hell no! So I kind of muscled up some time and doubled my efforts just to get my butt on the game.

3 days left and I still haven’t got my ticket. No tickets available in Ayala and for sure none from SM.
Losing hope, 2 words to describe the feeling I had at that time. 2 days, still none. And at the very last day, I really thought, I had to do something about it or else its goodbye SMB live game and hello CS9 on tv, and that’s pretty lousy! Urgh! So there and then, I heaved myself to something, or anything, that could give me the tickets that I have been wanting. I had to! And so right there and then, I had the tickets. (long story how I got it).

And the awaited day came. Saturday. The day of the ball game. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. Me and my friend Adz, got our butts inside Cebu Coliseum just in time for the pre-game shooting. Also just enough time to take pictures. Haha!

Where our seats were located was just perfect to take shots from our idols. So while they were shooting around baskets, I was also shooting for pictures. Haha. I even called along some players so we can smile with them at the camera and luckily they were friendly enough to say yes. Arwind Santos, Denoch Miranda, Lordy Tugade and of course, (why would I waste the opportunity) Dondon Hontiveros my idol, took their time off the court to say hi on ringside. Not only the Beermen were too friendly but as well as the Tigers. So I took the chance to talk and take pictures with them. Yea, they were really friendly. Marvin Cruz, Franciz Allera and Alex Cabagnot were some of the friendly Tigers. Even the injured Asi Taulava smiled with me at the camera. Same is true with Danny Siegle and coach Pido Jarencio. Lucky day.

It wasn’t my first time to watch them play live but I felt like it was. I mean every time they come over for a game, the more I get excited. The adrenaline was really rushing. And the game was almost unbelievable. The San Miguel Beermen, which happens to be the team that I’m cheering for stretched out the lead that it was very impossible for the Coca Cola Tigers to run. And until the end of the game, the Beermen never gave the Tigers a single taste of happiness on the court.

What a day that was. Something to be tatooed on my memory. And even if the Beermen didn’t win, I will still be an SMB fan. Basketball surely is the home of the heroes!

SMB's big win against Purefoods

It has been an exciting game between 2 of the hottest teams in the league-the San Miguel Beermen and the Purefoods TJ Giants-where the Beermen led the game from start to finish.

SMB is a powerful team fighting for their 5th winning streak in this conference. They started the game just as strong as they ended it. First three 2-pointers from Dondon Hontiveros initiated the ball game making the other Beermen more confident in taking the shots, no hesitations as they knock down baskets. Three and two-point shots came everywhere from Arwind Santos, Mike Cortez, Jonas Villanueva, Mick Penisi and Lordy Tugade.

Though the Giants started with a big line up, the Beermen are still racing for a lead, being able to use their speed against the bigger men of the opponent. Shooting 3 pointers all over the Beermen court made coach Ryan Gregorio sue for a time.

“Madaming pwersa ang San Miguel so try to match up with them at wag hayaang mka score”, coach Ryan reminded his boys.

Even without Danny I, Danny S and Jay Wash for SMB, coach Siot tried to shuffle his line up to keep his big men fresh on the court. And the beermen couldn’t get any better on the first half. Choosing the right team mate to pass on to, great time and great vision and the ability to shoot 3 points taking it to the middle, taking it to the rim, stretching to a 22-point lead during the 3rd quarter while the Giants couldn’t get any rhythm. No shooting from James Yap and Kerby Raymundo on the court. Their miscommunications led them to struggle so much.

But the intensity of the game came in during the late 3rd quarter until the 4th where the Giants cut short the lead into 8, proving that they definitely don‘t wanna go down without a tough fight against the Beermen. And SMB coach Siot wasn’t very happy with that.

“Technically, you only have 24 seconds to execute your offense on the court so try to muscle up some more points inside the paint to extend the lead”, coach Siot said during the time out, making the Beermen work more harder.

And with that motivation, they continued to hurt the Giants, making them bleed for more baskets, finishing a 92-76 SMB and PF game.

SMB's battle against Sta. Lucia

“SMB is one scary team on paper and even scarier when you get to play with them”, said PBA commentator Magoo Marjon.

It was a holy war in the south as PBA took the game on the road with the San Miguel Beermen against the Sta. Lucia Realtors at Victorias City Sports and Amusement Center (just a 3-hour-drive from my hometown).

Chemistry was once an issue for the Beermen but with their last performance against the Painters, they finally found their rhythm and figured out the characters and roles of each and everyone of them, making their team as dangerous as they could possibly be. There were, however, some rough spots for them especially as they did not start the conference well, but just as the series goes, they are becoming more consistent. Etching and gelling together as a team, Coach Siot Tangquincen couldn’t be more happier.

Just like any other teams, the San Miguel Beermen are as hungry for the win as they could ever be. And now they took the chance to cook some delicious win-the-basket meals against the Sta. Lucia Realtors, which they did. SMB started strong in the ball game and ended even stronger keeping the Realtors from striking distance both defensively and offensively. With Dondon Hontiveros who drove first kill with his second three in this season; Bonbon Custodio whose steals and shots were way beyond explanation; Lordy Tugade who came in surprisingly amazing off the bench; Jonas Villanueva who threw 3points out of nowhere; Ra-Ra Racella who was their stabilizing form through his hustle; and Arwind Santos with an exclamation point, punctuated with some slamdunks in the face of the Realtors.

The Beermen outscored Sta. Lucia during halftime, pushing them too much behind the court. It was almost close to a 30-point lead but Coach Siot is not yet done coaching here. He steadily reminded the boys to execute full court pressure. And the Beermen, just as coach wanted, did enough to hang on and dominated the game, not allowing any offense from the Realtors, making it even harder for them to keep up with the Beermen.

Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez was definitely not satisfied with what his boys were showing and tried suing them to put on their offense, as Kelly Williams had back-to-back slamma-jamma actions pairing Gabby Espinas’ late bloom play, having huge number of points in the last 2 quarters.

But at the end of the game, it was still the Beermen who took the big win. With an 88 to 69 game, the Realtors still find themselves stuck on traffic down below the PBA standings.

SMB-a little struggle against ROS

CS9 made a very dramatic question prior to the game between the San Miguel Beermen and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters - “will the drought for the painters continue or will the beermen come anew?”

And San Miguel answered the issue. The run-and-gun action continued after back-to-back wins from SMB (which they also had against the Talk n Text Tropang Texters). But hey, it was no easy play for the Beermen against the Painters. They did struggle a bit.

There were no solid commotions from San Miguel in the first 3 quarters, yet wished to play like Pacquiao and Cotto-jabbing against each other-but unfortunately, they were not hitting any basket. They were, unluckily, unable to connect to the game, they had no honest defense on the court and that they had to bleed for every basket. The rotation is messed up and they were piling up mistakes in their zone defense. Coach had to keep on reminding the boys in the dug-out “to go in the post for mismatches and match them on the board”.

That was what they practically did during the last quarter of their 7-deadlock game with the Elasto Painters. They stayed in defense and energy and turned multiple misses into an unbelievable comeback. Three-point shots came everywhere off the bench - from Cortez to Tugade and even from Miranda- that probably boosted a lot of confidence from each and every Beermen, a realization that made them take advantage of their fast breaks, not just sitting around on half court offense. And the hustle of the SMB huddle went crazy as they were jumping up and down, savoring the big lead and feeling an inch close to winning the game.

And with just a minute away, everything just went down very well on the side the of the Beermen and finished a 93-77 game against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.