My Sports: A Short Break

I'm taking a short break from posting here at Bilog Ang Bola. Would have to prepare my students for our first competition this school year, the 2010 District III Secondary Schools Press Conference on Wednesday at Carlos P. Garcia High School.

So please bear with me and please pray for my students. We are aiming for a top three slot in this year's tilt.

When I go back online on Thursday, I would shower you with posts. :)

I'm working on the following stories:
* Our varsity team's dismal stint at the QCAA
* My NBA August experience
* A Draft Report Card for each PBA Team
* My UAAP Final Four placing predictions
* A story on two UAAP courtside reporters

Please keep visiting! Thanks!

NBA: Ano raw? #4

Ano raw?

(Over) heard by Josiah Israel Albelda

28 August 2010

The Triggerman put on a shooting clinic last night, connecting on 14 of his 26 triples en route to 54 points and his Red team's 177 - 167 victory over White. The entire Araneta Coliseum crowd was on its feet every time Allan Caidic launched his trifecta attempts. And NBA legends Glen Rice and Gary Payton were major major fans themselves.


#3 "Parang may sakit yung mascot ng KFC. Dapat lutuin na yan." - a fan behind me chuckled when a lethargic Chuckie was drubbed by Burnie, the Miami Heat mascot, in their dance showdown.


#2 "Di na makayuko e. Haha. Ayan parang hihimatayin na." - another fan after Atoy Co missed his fifth consecutive shot. He finished with 10 points on five-of-21 shooting. At 59, the Fortune Cookie was able to run up and down for 13 minutes.


#1 "Trigger! I'm all about Trigger right now!" - Glen Rice proclaimed after seeing Caidic show the devastating form that made him the greatest shooter in Philippine basketball history.


#0.5 "But there's only one thing I could say now: Trigger! Trigger! Trigger!" - Rice, obviously enamoured, told reporters.


#0.25 "He's the truth." - Gary Payton said on Caidic's reputation of being a deadly long-range bomber.


#0 "Ayun maghahagis ng sapatos! Takbo! Takbo!" - a fan screamed when former PBA import and retiring D-Leaguer Richie Frahm threw his shoes to the stands.

Video #3: John Wall got served

Served

By Josiah Israel Albelda

Video from Balls is Life

Top high school prospect Austin Rivers blew by NBA #1 Draft Pick John Wall for an easy layup then stole off him in the next play - a preview of what could be one of the fiercest backcourt battles in the near future.

Find more videos like this on BALL IS LIFE

NBA: Trigger, trigger, trigger

Triggerman Explosion

By Josiah Israel Albelda

27 August 2010

Legendary PBA marksman Allan Caidic left the visiting NBA stars in awe after draining 14 three-point shots to power the Red Team to a 177 - 167 trimming of the White Team in the 2010 NBA Asia Challenge tonight at the Araneta Coliseum.

The 47-year-old "Triggerman" led all scorers with 54 points in only 24 minutes as he and former NBA All-Stars Glen Rice and Gary Payton broke away early in the final quarter to post the victory over the quintet of Chris Webber and Mitch Richmond.

Ex-Crispa Redmanizer Atoy Co also stole the show with his on-court antics. He finished with 10 points on five-of-21 shooting.

(Full game story tomorrow)

The scores:

Red (177) - Caidic 54, Lazare 22, Rice 19, Santos 16, Meneses 16, Maierhofer 15, McCray 11, Co 10, Tenorio 7, Payton 7

White (167) - Frahm 24, Webber 24, Tyndale 22, Hontiveros 20, Paras 18, Magsanoc 16, Patrimonio 16, Richmond 16, Tubid 13

Quarterscores: 38 - 44; 92 - 94; 124 - 124; 177 - 167

NBA: Sinong papalag?

Sinong Papalag?

Key match-ups in the 2010 NBA Asia Challenge

By Josiah Israel Albelda

Photos from Google Images

24 August 2010

Point Guard Advantage: Red 

Gary Payton vs. Ronnie Magsanoc

Shooting Guard Advantage: White

Allan Caidic vs. Mitch Richmond

Small Forward Advantage: Red

Arwind Santos vs. Alvin Patrimonio

Power Forward Advantage: White

Glen Rice vs. Rico Maierhofer

Center Advantage: White

Chris Webber vs. Mitch Richmond

NBA: Asia Challenge rosters

Red Team

Gary Payton (G 6'4" 180 lbs.)

Glen Rice (F 6'7" 215 lbs.)

Darnell Lazare (F 6'8" 240 lbs.)

Chris McCray (G 6'5" 192 lbs.)

Atoy Co (G/F 6'2" 180 lbs.)

Vergel Meneses (F 6'3" 190 lbs.)

Allan Caidic (F 6'2" 185 lbs.)

Asi Taulava (C 6'9" 250 lbs.)

LA Tenorio (G 5'8" 165 lbs.)

Arwind Santos (F 6'4" 175 lbs.)

Bilog's First Five: PG Payton, SG Caidic, SF Santos, PF Rice, C Taulava

White Team

Chris Webber (F 6'10" 245 lbs.)

Mitch Richmond (G 6''5" 215 lbs.)

Mark Tyndale (G/F 6'5" 210 lbs.)

Richie Frahm (G 6'5" 205 lbs.)

Alvin Patrimonio (F 6'3" 215 lbs.)

Benjie Paras (F/C 6'5" 215 lbs.)

Ronnie Magsanoc (G 5'9" 180 lbs.)

Ronald Tubid (G 6'1" 180 lbs.)

Rico Maierhofer (F 6'6" 175 lbs.)

Dondon Hontiveros (G 6'2" 180 lbs.)

Bilog's First Five: PG Magsanoc, SG Richmond, SF Patrimonio, PF Maierhofer, C Webber

NBA: Legends out to strutt stuff before Pinoys

NBA Asia Challenge

NBA Legends out to strut stuff before Pinoys

By Josiah Israel Albelda

24 August 2010

One by one, Mitch Richmond, Glen Rice, Chris Webber and Gary Payton stepped into the Fiesta San Miguel mezzanine at the Dusit Thani, smiling and waving to the applause of the starstruck (some will probably say they weren't) Philippine media.

Perhaps unmindful of the carnage that gripped the country last night, these four NBA legends are surely having a heck of a time here.

And they are to give us more.

The Fab Four, who boast of three championship rings, 23 All-Star appearances and 19 All-NBA team selections among them, will strut their stuff Friday in the 2010 NBA Asia Challenge at the Araneta Coliseum.

The quartet will be playing with six PBA legends, six current PBA stars and four NBA D-Leaguers, including former Talk N' Text import Richie Frahm.

Joining the cagers in this trip presented by KFC and Petron Turbo Diesel are six Miami Heat Dancers and Burnie, the team's mascot.

All four are excited about showing their skills in front of thousands of fans in this basketball-crazy nation and have assured that they will give their best to entertain Filipinos on August 27.

"Maybe I am expected to dunk," Webber said. "We'll see if I can do that."

Meralco assistant coach and legendary point guard Ronnie Magsanoc himself cannot hide his anticipation, repeatedly saying that he once dreamed of playing with these stars and it is now a reality.

As a matter of fact, he will welcome whatever Payton does to him - even if it will cost his limbs.

"Whatever Gary Payton does to me, I will welcome," Magsanoc told reporters, who broke into laughter."

(More on the NBA Asia Challenge in the next few days.)

Note: Frahm, who has since suited up for five NBA teams, said he is back for unfinished business. He, together with American coach Bill Bayno and Asi Taulava, was booted out in the first round of the 2002 PBA wars after topping the eliminations.

Erik Spoelstra: Homecoming

A scorching homecoming

Text and Photos by Josiah Israel Albelda

13 August 2010

SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna - As the bus slowly crawled through the cramped entrance of San Pablo Colleges, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's eyes widened, visibly in awe of what was happening right before him.

A marching band played with electricity. Crowds - on the oven-hot grounds and all the school balconies - roared and cheered wildly. And the school and city officials beamed with smiles extending far beyond their ears.

This is San Pablo City, the home of the Celino family. The home of Erik Celino Spoelstra.

"Welcome home!" screamed a streamer held by an SPC grade schooler.

For the first time in almost 40 years, Spoelstra is home - and he surely relished the moment.

The 39-year-old mentor of superstars Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh swept by this sleepy Southern Tagalog city Thursday for a four-hour blitz, conducting a mini-training camp for kids and dropping by the SPC Medical Center before heading for his mother's ancestral home.

"I'm very proud of my heritage," he said. "My mother taught me Filipino values, hospitality and the importance of family."

Spoelstra received a dose of hospitality he can only imagine in his wildest dreams as San Pabloñans, led by SPC official and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) head Noli Eala, treated him like a long lost son.

The NBA's second-youngest coach got a number of plaques from the city government and the PSC while NBA Asia Business Development Director Ed Winkle received a citation from the San Pablo City council in behalf of the league.

Spoelstra discussed with the local media the importance of staying healthy and fit as part of his tour of duty in the country for NBA Fit. He stressed the significance of eating the right food, having regular exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for Filipinos.

While putting emphasis on why he was really here, he also gave hope that a first Filipino player in the NBA could be in his way a few years from now.

"Around 15 to 20 years ago, nobody would have thought that a Filipino-American like me could coach in the NBA," Spoelstra, the first with Asian lineage to take a head coaching job in North American professional sports. "I hope what happned to me have opened doors, especially for Filipinos, in the NBA."

He pointed out that the league is getting more global, thus, the idea of a Filipino cager plying his trade in the "Big League" is not that farfetched anymore.

After that, Spoelstra, together with amiable Heat assistant coach David Fizdale, conducted drills and hoops activities for around 50 kids from San Pablo.

The scorching heat at the cemented court of the SPC did not deter the duo from giving their all, with Spoelstra making instant connection with the hundreds of students, who repeatedly chanted "Go Heat! Go Heat!" in the bleachers.

As a matter of fact, the youthful mentor was so engrossed with the crowd that he even rolled on the floor laughing after seeing a pair of children clad in Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic gear. The boisterous audience played along as they heavily booed the two.

"Oh my god!" he shouted in jest even as members of the NBA staff dressed the two in "NBA Cares" shirts.

Spoelstra and team then proceeded to a hospital to meet and greet the city's medical professionals before checking out his Cocount Rehabilitation Project in his mother's home barangay, around 15 minutes from the city proper.

It was, indeed, a very special trip for Spoelstra, who promised his co-San Pabloñans that it will not be the first and the last time they would touch base with each other.

With the way he was greeted by his hometown supporters, Coach Spo may be very well traversing the three-hour ride from Manila in the very near future yet again. ###