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!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
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 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.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
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.
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.
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