Greeting everyone! Welcome to the latest edition of The Victory Formation.
The past weekend was a great sporting spectacle. I wrote about it here. It's heartwarming and enlightening on how they somehow pulled it off, but they did, and the result is amazing. Once I am done with the pictures from the press conference I attended, I will shed some more tales.
It is already Friday, June 22 as I am writing this. Today is the beginning of the weekend, the huge weekend for all sporting fanatics in the Philippines. Whether it will be basketball or football or whatever, it's going to be a great great day to be either a couch potato or an avid venue-hopper.
Here goes nothing...
Friday, June 22: (all times denoted in local time)
NCAA Season 87: (10am-6ish pm, televised portion begins at 2pm) The Arena in San Juan
(Jrs and Srs) Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers vs Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals. Talk about the most disappointing performance so far in the early season, and you would instantly look at the winless Cardinals. Many tipped them as the team to fight for scraps for the two remaining Final Four berths (provided someone stops San Beda). Chito Victolero is in the hottest seat as of the moment not named Dindo Pumaren.On the other hand, the Heavy Bombers just got their first win against the EAC Generals. Considering that the Lyceum Pirates already already made a huge headway with a 4-2 record, both teams cannot afford to be far behind, especially since the Letran Knights are at 3-1.
(Jrs and Srs) San Beda College Red Lions vs College of Saint Benilde Blazers. Who can stop San Beda right now? They're on a major roll, blowing teams out of the water by an average of 25 points. Looks like the Blazers are the next prey for the Red Lions. Safe to say, we'll see another slaughtering in our midst.
Update: Boy was I wrong on this one, the defending champs barely escaped with a solitary point being the difference.
PBA Semi-finals: (530pm - 10ish pm) The SMART-Araneta Coliseum
Alaska Aces vs Talk N' Text Tropang Texters - The Tropang Texters finished with the best record amongst the semifinalists with a 6-2 record, thanks to the likes of a local juggernaut, from the three-headed backcourt combo of Jimmy Alapag, Jason Castro and Ryan Reyes, to its frontcourt of Ranidel de Ocampo, Harvey Carey and Ali Peek. In their quest for the Grand Slam, they made an interesting decision to replace Maurice Baker with Scottie Reynolds. Yes, the Scottie Reynolds from Villanova:
As for the Aces, they still have Joseph Forte to take care of manning the boards and doing the dirty work with Sonny Thoss while LA Tenorio and Cyrus Baguio does the scoring. In their previous meeting, they got blown out of the water 101-75, something Coach Tim Cone would like to change this time around.
Rain or Shine Elastopainters vs. B-Meg Llamados - Arizona Reid has been a beast of a reinforcement for the Elastopainters, rocking his Brian Grant / Etan Thomas-style hair down low. 6 guys average between eight and eleven points so far, including George Mason alum Gabe Norwood and dead-eye shooter Jeff Chan. On the other hand, B-Meg is pretty much similar to Miami with James Yap, Peter June Simon and Joe Devance (53 ppg 18 rpg 5apg combined) reprising the Miami troika. The difference is that Marc Pingris (10 ppg 11 rpg) is an evolutionary Pinoy version of Udonis Haslem and Roger Yap (6 ppg 4 rpg 4 apg 1 spg) doing his Mario Chalmers impression. Just like the Heat, they managed to sign a free agent for the playoff run (a la Mike Bibby), in Josh Urbitztondo who could light it up like this anytime:
UAAP Season 74: (1pm to 5ish pm) The SMART-Araneta Coliseum
De La Salle University Green Archers vs University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons - The pitchforks are out for Dindo Pumaren and his coaching staff as the fabled Archers lost to their archrivals. The way they have lost on both games have been a cause of major concern, although in their defense, they got dealt with facing teams that were in the UAAP Finals last year (FEU and Ateneo). They ought to be beating UP, a team with a new coach and a new pressing and uptempo system being installed that would be in the favor of La Salle's preferred tempo. However, the Maroons have the combination of Mike & Mike (Gamboa and Silungan) and the M&Ms (Jett Manuel and Jelo Montecastro) to keep pace and Alinko Mbah to basically swat anything that comes close to the paint. If the Archers lose this one, what is currently sizzling might just get toasty. Besides, it is kind of embarrasing when someone manages to put up a top ten like this out of just one half of action.
THE Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles vs University of the East Red Warriors - The three-time defending champions are just rolling along just fine with a 3-0 record. They just finished off dismantling the National University Bulldogs of former Georgia Tech recruit Bobby Ray Parks, jr.. We might just see a blowout far worse as a Red Warrior team that is pretty much relying on guile and will given the huge dropoff in skill compared to previous years, then add to that a new coach that was an assistant to a team that went winless the previous year. Besides, this only serves as an appetize to what is about to transpire at this venue a couple of hours later.
SMART Ultimate All-Star Weekend: (7pm to 930ish pm) The SMART-Araneta Coliseum
All-Stars vs PBA selection - It has been ages since a legitimate selection of NBA players came to Manila to play ball. The lockout has been a godsend apparently, as people have been searching far and wide for tickets for this event, which is sold at these prices:
Since this is a hot ticket, obviously, resellers are having a field day. Saw a Upper B ticket being sold for thrice the amount. Saw an General Admission ticket being sold at EIGHT times the cost. A bidding war for a Lower Box ticket was already at P21,000 (almost $500) last time I checked. Another one bid almost $1000 each for a pair of Lower Box seats.
The PBA selection are as follows:
James Yap and Marc Pingris of B-MEG Mark Caguioa and JC Intal of Ginebra Arwin Santos and Rabeh Al-Hussaini of Petron Blaze Ryan Reyes, Jason Castro and Larry Fonacier of Talk N’ Text Sonny Thoss and LA Tenorio of Alaska Sol Mercado of Meralco Gary David of Powerade Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine Danny Seigle of Air21
Talk and Text Head Coach and concurrent head of the MVP Sports Foundation Chot Reyes is the bench tactician for local ballers.
2014 World Cup - Asian Qualifiers: (1130pm Pregame, 1230am kickoff)
Philippines vs Kuwait - The Azkals vs Al-Azraq. Latest reports have noted that FIFA have denied the request of the Philippine Football Federation to allow skipper Aly Borromeo and Stephan Schrock to play in the first leg due to their accumulation of yellow cards. Kuwait has been a competitive team amongst the Gulf States. In fact, they did manage to barge into the World Cup, albeit it was in 1982. On the other hand, the Philippines is reaping the benefits and positivity from their efforts over the past few months.
The game will be broadcast on local television (ABS-CBN), but this is best watched with friends and having a good time. So the place to be would be the different sports bars and pubs all across the metro.
Sunday, July 25
UAAP Season 74: (1pm to 5ish pm) Philsports Arena
National University Bulldogs vs Far Eastern University Tamaraws - Smarting from the blowout handed to them by Ateneo, the Bulldogs get the losing finalists from last year. The Tamaraws are fresh from dispatching the Red Warriors of UE, so they are definitely in the groove after the loss against Adamson. Reigning MVP RR Garcia is still a scoring spitfire while Aldrech Ramos and Emmanuel Mbe can go toe-to-toe against each other. Terence Romeo can light it up off the bench, too. As for Coach Eric Altamirano, he'll have to find a way to diversify the offense. He was effectively muzzled on offense until it was too late.
University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers vs Adamson University Soaring Falcons - UST is celebrating their quadricentennial right now with a bang with two straight wins, while Coach Leo Austria's crew is feeling good even with the opening loss against Ateneo with the bounce back smashing of FEU. Jeric Fortuna was named the Player of the Week for Week 1, and freshman Kevin Ferrer has been as good as advertised. Looks as though Karim Abdul and Austin Manyara would cancel each other out, so can the gangly Tigers keep up the winning form with their SSOL prowess?
SMART Ultimate All-Star Weekend: (1pm to 330ish pm, to be shown at 530pm) The SMART-Araneta Coliseum
All-Stars vs SMART Gilas - SMART Gilas was created specifically for one mission; to get the Philippines to make it to the London 2012 Games. This is part of their preparations for the FIBA-Asia Championships, which will be in China later this year. Handled by Rajko Toroman, these guys are primed and ready to go.
- Ababou, Dylan Simon - Aguilar, Japeth Paul - Ballesteros, Jason - Baracael, Marnel (Mac) - Barroca, Andy Mark - Casio, Joseph Evans (JV) - Douthit, Marcus Eugene - Lassiter, Marcio Tsongo - Lutz, Christopher Ryan - Ramos, Aldrech - Slaughter, Gregory - Tiu, Christopher John
PBA players Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, Ranidel de Ocampo of Talk N' Text, Asi Taulava of Meralco and Dondon Hontiveros of Air 21 will join them, as they will also be a part of the team that will be playing in China for the FIBA-Asia tournament.
PBA Semi-finals: (530pm - 10ish pm) The SMART-Araneta Coliseum
Alaska Aces vs Petron Blaze Boosters - Alaska was just fresh from being manhandled by Talk N' Text and they will go against a team that is just playing their first game in the semifinals. Anthony Grundy filled in well in his debut replacing Jeremy Wise, and Arwind Santos is leading the race for Best Player of the Conference Race.
B-Meg Llamados vs Barangay Ginebra Kings - Sure, B-Meg barely escaped with the win against Rain or Shine, but the last team to debut in the semifinals also has momentum from a great performance by Donald Sloan, the former Texas A&M Aggie in their last game. The crowd favorites also added size by acquiring KG Canaleta from winless Air21 in exchange for former MVP Willie Miller. They have not had much depth in the bigs with Rudy Hatfield unavailable and Enrico Villanueva injured.
Another year has passed and the collegiate scene beckons again. And again I am late in posting the UAAP preview for the upcoming season. The first playdate has been completed and the four remaining teams will get got theirs in last Thursday.
Here lies my brief thoughts on the upcoming ongoing UAAP Season.
Adamson: The Falcons can be likened to a mid-major team in the US NCAA, stocked with quality juniors and seniors who played heavy minutes throughout, with a heady and smart veteran tactician. As such with the US NCAA. they are always strong on backcourt play, and they have arguably the best point guard tandem in Lester Alvarez and Jerick Canada. Jan Colina is one the most underrated bigs in the UAAP, even though Greg Slaughter took him to school last Sunday. Austin Manyara and Eric Camson constitute the big men rotation. It's up to the shooters of the Soaring Falcons if they can finally get over the hump.
Ateneo de Manila: The defending champs may have lost its Stag essence (Eric Salamat via graduation, Ryan Buenafe sitting out the season), but Ateneo in this new iteration never rebuilds. It merely reloads. Kiefer Ravena may have had a whimper of a start, but no one questions the potential. Greg Slaughter on the other hand, 23 points for his debut wearing the blue and white. Served notice to everyone. Still, the key cogs are all back, from Justin Chua to Nico Salva to Kirk Long and Eman Monfort. Best of all, you always bet on (Norman) Black. The school along Katipunan is unfazed, and so does its Sixth Man.
De La Salle University: Quality depth all throughout the roster, with lots and lots of role players and glue guys, from the comebacking LA Revilla the Zobel alums Luigi Dela Paz and Joshua Webb, to the gaggle of bigs from Jovet Mendoza to Papot Paredes and Yutien Andrada. Relative youth still a major concern, so it's up to the veterans like Simon Atkins and Maui Villanueva to fill the leadership void.
Far Eastern University: The losing finalists are aching to come back into the chase, with a returning MVP in tow. Bert Flores returns from his consultant duties after Glenn Capacio was let go. JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos are still there, but the key cogs remain it's small ball power of RR Garcia, Terence Romeo and Jens Knuttel providing change of pace. Not having Pipo Noundoo
National University: The Bulldogs hitched themselves onto one man to carry them back into the Final Four conversation. Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. He sputtered in his first collegiate game, but they were one miss away from winning against the Tigers last Thursday. Emmanuel Mbe also returns, but can Eric's recruits from the RP Youth program he devised lead to better things?
University of the East: The Red Warriors were gutted in the offseason losing key cogs, including Paul Lee, Ken Acibar, James Martinez. They also lost their coach, Lawrence Chongson, who is pretty much preoccupied with PEx as of now. New taskmaster Jerry Codinera asked for commitment, effort and hustle from his crack squad being led by Paul Zamar, JR Sumido and Roi Sumang, but it can only get you far...
University of the Philippines: A new regime begets a new era for UP, as it has been 25 years since the special Spirit of '86 squad. Ricky Dandan is banking on the Mike and Mike to greater heights. They already did by ending the 18-game losing streak last Sunday. Alinko Mbah provides the necessary size and anchor down low for the Diliman-squad.
University of Santo Tomas: Pido Jarencio put some pressure on himself with the Final Four or bust mantra, but it sure helped that they won their first game. They still are a relatively small unit, but Karim Abdul is there to provide size, even if he looked relatively raw. Kevin Ferrer proved to be the goods against NU, and Jeric Fortuna went out with guns blazing after halftime.
Personal Preseason Awards:
UAAP PreSeason 1st Team: RR Garcia, Rayray Parks, Mike Silungan, Nico Salva, Greg Slaughter. UAAP PreSeason 2nd Team: Kiefer Ravena, Joshua Webb, JR Cawaling, Jan Colina, Aldrech Ramos
Defensive Player of the Year: Greg Slaughter - because he's going to rack up double-doubles and blocks. Most Improved Player: Jeric Fortuna - freed from the PG-by-committee shackles by the academic ineligibility of Clark Bautista, this is the cue for him to rise up and take over. Freshman of the Year: Kiefer Ravena - Is there anyone else? Newcomer of the Year: Rayray Parks - Unlike Greg, the pressure is with him more MVP: RR Garcia - He's going to rack up statistical points like crazy.
PreSeason Final Four: Ateneo, FEU, Adamson, NU (over La Salle and UST)
Here is the 1st round schedule for your perusal and reference.
Welcome to today's edition of The Victory Formation.
Earlier this week, there was a retirement that was announced. It was that of Yao Ming , the Chinese center who played his entire NBA career with the Houston Rockets. Injuries plagued the former number one overall draft pick in 2002 all throughout his tenure, especially on his foot. He's just 30 years old, with a multitude of possible greatness ahead of him, but like Bill Walton, his feet denied him of it.
The frustrating thing about this is, that the Houston Rockets themselves cannot make a statement on this. The decision of Yao to retire had to be coursed through the NBA's offices in New York. Yup, this is a direct result of the NBA lockout. You see, the teams cannot say anything regarding players. In fact, these teams cannot even retweet or mention the players when they do use the social media. The NBA probably would not even give the Rockets a one-off for this, which is a damn shame. But then again, these are some bitter times, and as long as the lockout is on, this is the norm.
However, if you have NBA TV, you must be enjoying the trips down memory lane with all the stuff they're putting up.
On other Motherland news, Hey, it's collegiate basketball time again here at home. My alma mater is gearing up for its title defense, and boy, I am so giddy about it. In addition, some guy also complained about this particular billboard that is located near a main thoroughfare, and managed to successfully take it down.
Here is a much closer look.
Here forth are the links after the jump.
Because it was after all, one year ago...
No Rafa, no problem. Spain moves forward in the Davis Cup. (c/o 10sBalls)
Yup, there is a team called the Washington Kastles. (c/o The Sacramento Press)
Andre Agassi gets inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. (c/o Sportsrageous)
The final Tour de France of Alexandre Vinokourov goes crash and burn. (c/o VeloNation)
One sign that television is not good for you. (c/o The Guardian)
There is only one Ricky Hatton... (c/o East Side Boxing)
Cotto vs Margarito. This time without the loaded gloves. (c/o BoxingNews24)
The Punisher ekes out a victory. (c/o The Examiner)
Ferrari mark the 60th anniversary of their debut win the right way. (c/o Sportinglife)
Thomas Levet pulls a Kendrys Morales. (c/o Today's Golfer)
Colin Montgomerie talked smack about Rory McIlroy (c/o Irish Central). Karma must have struck (c/o The Independent).
Steve Stricker won the same tournament three straight years. Ain't that sweet (c/o Chicago Sun-Times).
Who says conference shake-ups are a football / basketball thing? (c/o Boston Herald) Of course, some are solutions-oriented... (c/o Western College Hockey)
How do you remember Armon Gilliam? (c/o Washington Post)
This game set Twitter abuzz with madness against Paul Hewitt. (c/o Huffington Post) They did salvage 5th place, though. (c/o NCAA)
Deron likes the challenge Turkey poses. (c/o ProBasketball Talk)
Kobe in China? Why not? (c/o Hoopsvibe) He'd might be more interested in Los Angeles given that his dad is coaching and all... (c/o Los Angeles Times). Oh, and he's coming to the Motherland soon. (c/o Nike Philippines)
This solution might be too good to be true for both the NBA and the Players Association. (c/o Grantland)
PacMan Jones acting like PacMan Jones. (c/o Outside the Boxscore)
Should Pat Tillman be in the Hall of Fame in Canton? Discuss below. (c/o Gang Green Nation)
Speaking of Canton, something new will be there as well. (c/o Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Christian Lopez is the guy who caught Jeter's 3,000th hit. (c/o Pocono Record)
Will Mike Trout be a good catch? (c/o Philadelphia Inquirer)
Could Bryce Harper open Nationals Park in 2012? (c/o Sports Illustrated)
Bored and nothing to do later? Go tweet the baseball All-Stars during the Home Run Derby a.k.a. US (National League) vs the World (American League). (c/o The News-Journal)
I am still jarred by the idea of a guy dying trying to catch a ball. (c/o Baseball Nation)
It happened just like that 12 years ago. (c/o New York Daily News)
Some of the people who will be facing Manchester United later this month. (c/o MLS Soccer)
Here are the highlights from the scintillating game in Stuttgart.
Welcome to the latest edition of The Victory Formation.
I want to wish every single American I know a happy Independence Day. Remember this line:
Just when you think about the Fourth of July, you think about fireworks and similar stuff like that. Then again, in Ohio, there is a new way to celebrate in the clubs. This comes too late for Plaxico Burress, as it would have better for him to have played with the Cleveland Browns or the Cincinnati Bengals instead of the Giants.
Nothing like having the Sheik of Abu Dhabi sign off on wish lists. (c/o Soccerlens)
Frank Rijkaard tasked to bring back respectability to Saudi Arabian football. (c/o The Sun)
West Ham and Tottenham want the Olympic Stadium after 2012. (c/o Sport Business)
Handball in the Women's World Cup for football. (c/o Australian Four Four Two) The Hungarian referee has since apologized for the gaffe and will most likely be exiled back. (c/o Daily Telegraph Australia)
The magic of Marta, the best female footballer in the world. (c/o Boston Globe)
The latest on what used to be dubbed as the Tour de Lance. (c/o The Register-Guard)
Michael Phelps is slowly getting into form. (c/o New York Times)
Looks like Nate Marquardt has been given the kibosh. (c/o Bloody Elbow)
Wanderlei Silva. Probably the end of his era. (c/o Digital Journal)
