Category: PBA

Shaq said it best: I’m tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.

Always the funny man, the 7-foot-1 member of the NBA’s 75 greatest players list is correct. 

Sport is entertainment and entertainment means dollars.

The Philippine Basketball Association right now is in a quandary. Founded in 1975, the PBA is Asia’s oldest pro basketball league and ranks as the world’s second oldest (next to the NBA, born in 1946).

The PBA has a money problem. Sure, the league has 12 ballclubs owned by the nation’s largest conglomerates. But, no thanks to the PBA’s salary cap, some are not being paid enough which leads to the exodus.

Kiefer Ravena. His younger brother Thirdy. There’s Kobe Paras. How about Ray Parks, Jr.? Then the Gomez de Liano brothers Javi and Juan. There’s Kemark Carino and the 6-foot-4 Fil-Am who was supposedly one of the hottest prospects for the PBA, Dwight Ramos.

These eight athletes are no ordinary names. Many of them are UAAP heartthrobs with a torrent of social media followers. Kobe Paras, the son of Benjie, is a superstar-in-the-making. All eight of them are not playing in Manila but in Japan.

It’s called the B.League and, while founded recently in 2016, it has aggressively recruited big names from the international market.

Simply put, the Japanese pro league is offering our stars (in particular, the rookies) double or triple the money they’d earn if they were to suit up as an NLEX or Barangay Ginebra point guard.

Take Thirdy Ravena and Ray Parks Jr. They are two-time UAAP MVPs whom we’d love to see playing in Araneta Coliseum or the MOA. Instead, the Iloilo-born Ravena is not playing for the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters but for Japan B League’s San-en NeoPhoenix. 

Bobby Ray Parks played with Blackwater Elite and TNT in Manila before heading north to suit up for the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins.

Long-term, this exodus of top caliber talent will continue to be a PBA problem. The world has turned borderless. This pandemic has changed our outlook — even how we can quickly buy a product from China via Lazada or Shopee and have it delivered in our doorstep on 12 days.

Same with our players. While before they were stuck in the Philippine archipelago, who would stop the pro leagues from South Korea or China from offering P1 million per month when SMB can only give P450,000?

The other day, I heard NBA Commissioner Adam Silver say that 25% of the NBA players are not native Americans. One out of every four in the NBA today is a foreigner. Globalization has created a borderless planet. There is no preventing our talents from leaving and going to our Asian neighbors or Europe or America. 

Money, money, money. The PBA ballclubs have to offer more. The problem is, I’m unsure about the 46-year-old league. And if the PBA’s reputation and following diminishes, so will the incentive of companies to spend more.

It’s all about content. Is the PBA able to continue offering entertainment that excites and energizes?

Two years ago during the 35th SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards, I had the privilege of sitting beside Fred Uytengsu, Jr. (the Sportsman of the Year awardee) and, to my right, the country’s most famous athlete not named Manny Pacquiao.

Standing 6-foot-11, is there a larger-than-life figure than June Mar Fajardo? That afternoon in SM City Cebu, the Pinamungajan-raised sports giant was quiet and almost shy, despite all eyes and cameras transfixed to his 250-lb. large frame.

Alongside Gabriel Elorde and Mon Fernandez, June Mar ranks among the greatest of Cebuano athletes. And with his PBA records that include being a five-time MVP, talks are circulating that he can be the all-time greatest Pinoy cager.

Last Wednesday, June Mar did it again. I watched most of Game 7 of the Philippine Cup between Magnolia and San Miguel and the colossal figure was unstoppable. He scored 17 points (only) but pulled down 31 rebounds, beating the previous record of 29 rebounds set by Marcelo Simbulan in 1975. Thirty one rebounds!

The game was a thriller. Down by as much as 17 points, the Beermen looked tentative and uptight — made worse when they scored a miserly five points in the 2nd quarter.

But SMB rebounded back — thanks to the rebounds of June Mar, erasing the lead and winning when the buzzer sounded, 72-71, for a fifth straight All-Filipino crown for Ramon Ang’s team.

“All the championships are hard,” said June Mar, “but this series ranks among the hardest.”

The game was not without controversy. There appeared to be several non-calls (fouls) that went against Magnolia. I thought that June Mar’s bump against Marc Barroca was an offensive foul — which could have reversed the outcome in favor of Magnolia. Even in the last play of Jio Jalalon, it looked like he was fouled and, with a couple of free throws, would have cost SMB the win.

“(The game) went down the wire, it was anybody’s ball game,” said Rafi Reavis of Magnolia. “But we all know who got the short end of the stick.”

I sympathize with Magnolia but also understand the referees; in those last few moments of a Game 7, the natural tendency is not to blow the whistle and decide the outcome by intervening.

Controversy or not, what’s unquestionable is the supremacy of June Mar, who picked up his third Finals MVP award. What’s also indisputable is how kind and humble June Mar has remained.

Recalling a chat that I had with Atty. Gus Go many years ago, the owner of the University of Cebu had this to say about his prized student:

“Before the PBA Rookie Draft, when he was selected by Petron as the top pick, he came to my office in UC. He was so thankful. But I told him, ‘No, it is I who should say thank you for all that you have brought to our school.’”

Only 29 years old, June Mar will continue to dominate. He might pull down 40 rebounds and score 40. No human being who can stop him except…

Spider-Man. Ha? Confused? Google that crazy May 10 incident that almost injured The Kraken.

The smallest stood the tallest. Lewis Alfred “LA” Tenorio scored 26 points en route to pocketing the Finals MVP trophy as he led the Ginebra Gin Kings to their 10th overall title last Friday. I watched the YouTube highlights and, like in any winner-take-all and with 54,086 watching inside the Philippine Arena, that Game 7 was electrifying.

Greg Slaughter, our fellow Cebuano, was, literally and figuratively, a tall factor for Ginebra. I chanced upon meeting Greg at the Mactan airport last August when his team played the Alaska Aces at the Hoops Dome. Despite his superstar status, Greg has remained very friendly and polite. We chatted about his PBA stint and recovery from injury.

In the 7-game Finals, Greg averaged 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. And after leading UV and Ateneo to collegiate titles, it was his first PBA championship.

CONTROVERSY. Today at the Robinsons Place Manila, it’s the PBA Draft. It’s that once-a-year gathering when the 12 teams choose new players. The main squabble involves Christian Standhardinger. He’s 28 and was born in Munich to a German father and Filipina mother, Elizabeth Hermoso. Out of the 44 players who have offered their services to join Asia’s first pro basketball league, some popular cagers include Jeron Teng, Kiefer Ravena and Raymar Jose. But the undisputed No. 1 pick, given his height and international exposure, is the Fil-German. Standhardinger, who stands 6-foot-7, is expected to follow in the giant footsteps of Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo.

The PBA has 12 teams and, in the spirit of fair play and “giving chance to others,” the weakest team gets to pick first in the Draft. This is common sense. This team is Kia Picanto and they’re expected to choosae Standhardinger, right? Wrong. In a baffling move, they’ve exchanged places with San Miguel Beermen (the second-to-the-last to pick) so that SMB will pick the Fil-German in exchange for a slew of non-superstar players. This prompted Fred Uytengsu of Alaska to complain, “It clearly doesn’t make basketball sense for the weaker teams, unless there is another consideration.”

In simplest terms, why would a team that has the chance to employ the best give up that opportunity? Can someone please enlighten me?

Bobby Motus, my fellow sportswriter from The Freeman, in his usual funny but on-target manner, said it best in his column the other day: “We are all aware of that abnormal trade proposal dropped at the PBA office where KIA will give up their first pick to San Miguel for three practice players. Hoooowaw! Upon getting the one-sided proposal, the PBA league commissioner should have immediately thrown that into the shredding machine and then to the incinerator instead of letting it sit and say that many factors are being considered before deciding on it. And did he say something like everything is all for the good of the PBA? Yeah right.”

But life, as we know, is never fair. And the PBA is following the path of the NBA. Imagine Standhardinger joining Fajardo? Like the Warriors, OKC, and the Cavs, SMB is becoming the super “super team” of the PBA. Too unfair? 

 

Atty. Baldemero “Merong” Estenzo, the Dean of the University of Cebu (UC) College of Law, sent this text message yesterday to the PBA’s best player: “Congratulations, June Mar, on your BPC award. Ayaw ka contento ana (don’t be contented), keep improving. Practice spin move when denied sa low post. Also, your hook shots and three point shots. On defense, ayaw palayo sa imong tawo ug ipataas daan ang imong kamot opposite sa shooting hand sa imong tawo (don’t stay far and raise your hands). Again, congratulations.”

Ever since Atty. Estenzo spotted the San Miguel Beermen giant who was born in Compostela and who studied at the Pinamungajan Central School over a decade ago, the two have developed a father-and-son, counsellor-and-protege relationship.

“He is an exceptional person. His sense of loyalty is extraordinary,” said Atty. Estenzo, who recalled that Fajardo was offered to transfer to Manila several times while he was in UC (including an offer from Manny Pangilinan, in a letter handcarried by Pato Gregorio, to play for Gilas) but “June Mar turned down the offer knowing that he was still raw as a player then.”

The trait that impresses Estenzo the most is Fajardo’s humility. “He is very close to his parents and brother. He is religious,” Estenzo said. “He does not complain about how tiresome his training might be. He is usually the first to arrive and the last to leave during practice.”

June Mar with Joy Tabal (SunStar photo)

Estenzo watches all of the games of “The Kraken” on TV and, when he’s in Manila, is gifted a ticket and gets to sit beside Fajardo’s girlfriend. They often talk or send messages. Estenzo adds: “One time, he was not able to control himself and wanted to retaliate after a player elbowed him whenever he cuts for the basket. I called and told him not to do it again as it will mean fines and penalties and might result in his suspension. Also, I told him, they will always do it to him knowing that he gets distracted by such foul tactics. I told him to just take it as part of the game. He promised not to do it again and he has lived up to that promise up to this time. I am so proud that success has not gone to his head. He is still the same June Mar that I have known before.”

UC owner Atty. Augusto Go, in a past interview, echoed those words when he recalled a visit from Fajardo before his PBA stint: “When he was selected by Petron as the top pick, he visited me in UC. Buotan kaayo. You cannot find a more humble person. June Mar was so grateful and thankful but I told him, ‘No, it is I who should say thank you for all that you have brought to our school.’”

(From interaksyon.com)

The Philippine Basketball Association is Asia’s oldest pro basketball league. It started 40 years ago this week — to be exact, the first PBA game was played at the Araneta Coliseum on April 9, 1975. Worldwide, the PBA is reportedly “the second oldest continuously existing basketball league,” next to the 69-year-old NBA. (Our family is proud to call one of our own as a PBA alumni: my uncle Rey Pages donned the green Crispa Redmanizers jersey in the ‘70s.)

To commemorate the PBA’s entering its fifth decade, it announced a set of awards: “The 40 Greatest PBA Players of All Time.”

In a glitzy affair last Wednesday — at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre in Resorts World Manila where, two years ago, we watched the musical, “The King and I” — the Top 40 were introduced to the public.

But first, a rewind: Back in 2000 during the Silver Anniversary of the league, the “25 Best Ever PBA Players” list was introduced. Who were the names included then? Led by Cebu’s pride Ramon Fernandez, the list included Robert Jaworski, Alvin Patrimonio, Bogs Adornado, Abet Guidaben, Benjie Paras, Atoy Co, Freddie Hubalde, Philip Cezar, Ricky Brown, Johnny Abarrientos, Ato Agustin, Francis Arnaiz, Hector Calma, Jerry Codiñera, Kenneth Duremdes, Bernie Fabiosa, Danny Florencio, Jojo Lastimosa, Lim Eng Beng, Samboy Lim, Ronnie Magsanoc, Vergel Meneses and Manny Paner. My favorite shooter Allan Caidic made the cut.

Fast forward this week, the PBA Board, in their “Ruby Anniversary,” called the party, “Fab@40.” Who additional 15 honorees were included? Jimmy Alapag leads the list. He’s joined by James Yap, Danny Ildefonso, Willie Miller, Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, Kelly Williams, Jayjay Helterbrand, Jimmy Alapag, Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos, Jayson Castro, Marc Pingris, Kerby Raymundo, Chito Loyzaga and Marlou Aquino.

Our friend Pato Gregorio, who used to head the Waterfront Lahug hotel and who’s now the PBA board chairman, led the deliberations, saying:“Forty will never be enough. We’ve had so many great PBA players since 1975. But to celebrate our 40th season, we had to do the difficult task of naming the 40 greatest PBA players – the pillars of the league. Mga idolo ng bawat Pilipino.”

The party last Wednesday was special not only because it brought the awardees together in formal wear — everyone wore suits except the Barong Tagalog-wearing Codiñera — but also because it was a show: ballplayers walked the ramp wearing various summer and informal wear and the league launched new products including the PBA credit card, the Life magazine and a video game.

As celebrated as the 40th Anniversary was, there was a problem: People are complaining. My colleague Rommel Manlosa, in his piece, “El Presidente’s No-Show,” talked about Mon Fernandez skipping the Awards Night as a sign of protest. Mon said, “I will not say who are not deserving, but I’d rather question why Abe King, Nelson Asaytono, Olsen Racela, Danny Seigle, Bong Hawkins, among others were not included.”

Valid point. This, of course, is the danger with presenting any “Best Ever” awards. With hundreds of players to choose from, there will always be some deserving names who’ll be left out.

What was the criteria used to select the Top 40? The panel listed four items, summarized as follows: the player must have played at least four full seasons, must have been a major awardee (MVP or others), must have made a major impact and contribution towards basketball.

The criteria seems fair. But some are questioning the selection process. It appears that the panel (back in Dec. when the names were released) did not consult a wide range of experts and did not meet at length and on several occasions.

For now, the Top 40 list is out and nobody can reverse the names. (Jayson Castro, the youngest recipient, offered the best response: he buried eight treys and scored 27 the night after the awarding.)

My take? The PBA should have been more patient and waited for the Golden Anniversary. To this, I urge you to read “Lessons for the PBA’s 50th” by Bill Velasco.

Never mind the torrential rain and the bumper-to-bumper traffic last Saturday night heading towards the old Mactan Bridge, I traversed the main island and hopped towards Lapu-Lapu City.

The destination? Hoops Dome. The occasion? “Fuel” against “Milk” when the Petron Turbo Blaze Boosters faced the Alaska Aces.

Entering the 8,000-seater Hoops Dome right before the end of the First Quarter, the entire arena was filled. It was bumper-to-bumper seating. The fully-air-conditioned stadium was cool and warm. It wasn’t Cebu Coliseum-warm; yet, because of the jampacked setting, it wasn’t as cold as the SM Cinemas.

Alaska and Petron are two of the league’s most famous teams. The 25-year-old squad named Alaska, owned by the Uytengsus of Cebu, is the owner of 13 PBA championships—including a rare 1996 Grand Slam. Recently, the Aces were made famous by the abrupt departure of Coach Tim Cone, who’s led his men for the last 22 years (he still had years left in his contract before he moved to B-Meg Llamados). Shocking? Absolutely.

Petron? They’re the reigning champs. In the last conference, they were underdogs against Talk ‘N Text. Aiming for a Grand Slam, TNT was denied the feat by Petron and Coach Ato Agustin.

Last Saturday, what made the battle a must-watch was because this was a bearing game. Unlike previous exhibitions, when players wouldn’t jump their highest, this time, it was for real. Petron was on a three-game losing streak; Alaska lost five of their first six games. A Cebu victory was all-important.

What happened? Arwind Santos of Petron was unstoppable. The Mark Magsumbol lookalike reaffirmed his MVP status; he’s lanky, quick, confident, well-rounded. I call him Spiderman. He pivots. He blocks shots. He fires the bulls-eye on that three-pointer. He’s the best man on the parquet floor.

I liked LA Tenorio of Alaska. Diminutive at 5-foot-8 (compared to the 6’8” Jay-R Reyes), he would sprint from baseline to baseline looking like Ronnie Magsanoc. My only complaint? He’s not offensive. Not until the last few minutes did he shoot. Yes, a point guard’s first role is to pass—but when you’re a spitfire like LA, you’ve got to contribute.

By half-time, Alaska led, 44-43. Yes. I hoped they’d win. But, it wasn’t to be. The entire second half was Petron’s.

Joseph Yeo scored 27 points. Like Tenorio, he’s from La Salle. Eric Salamat, a hero of Ateneo, played for Alaska.

The problem with Alaska is this: nobody wants to shoot. When they neared 80-82 with less than two minutes to play, nobody wanted the ball. Lack of confidence—that’s it. It was unlike Petron who had too many options: Yeo, Santos, Miranda, Ildefonso, Cabagnot.

Alaska? Sonny Thoss was productive during the first half. Tall at 6-foot-7 (I thought he was Greg Slaughter, with the same looks, build, moves), he could have been their superstar. Could have been… because he faded. While he top-scored with 19, he could have exceeded 30.

Highlights? The one that excites the crowd most comes in-between plays. It’s the teasers. One is when a gift item is hurled towards the crowd via a slingshot. The spectators go on a frenzy. Another was a man who was blindfolded and given a ball to shoot. As expected, he missed and missed as Cebuanos laughed and laughed. One more was when two men played tug-of-war. Each was given a ball and, opposite each other, they’d push forward, trying to draw closer to their goal so they can shoot. It was fun.

The only “dark” episode happened with 7:46 left in the 4th quarter. That’s when, amidst the blazing lights and reverberating music, all of a sudden… there was a blackout. It lasted about five minutes. Boos filled the dome. Cellphone lights flickered. This was, of course, a live TV5 telecast game. Oh no, we gasped. “There was a trip-off because of the additional ceiling lights,” Councilor Harry Radaza later explained. Nothing to worry, the lights switched on but not before a fan shouted, “Gituyo sa Alaska kay pildi na sila!” With the game on, Petron cruised to milk Alaska, 86-80.