The premier issue of Baller, the new magazine of the PBA is out now, and unlike most other “official” PBA stuff, this actually doesn’t suck. It helps that the project was developed and conceived with little interference from the league, and the people at the helm are experienced publishing industry veterans who knew how to put out a magazine. In fact, the man running it is Eric Ramos, the award-winning writer and former editor-in-chief of FHM Philippines, Pump, and Maxim Philippines.



Perhaps proof that the people behind the magazine are independent is that, well, they hired me. I contributed three pieces for the issue, although I didn’t really know what to expect until I got my hands on a copy today. I haven’t read the whole thing yet, and you know I’m biased because I’m part of the project, but my first impression is that the magazine looks AMAZING. The artwork and the layout is top-notch – again, the people behind the magazine clearly knew what they were doing – although like many other fans, I would have preferred more high-resolution action shots. Maybe next issue?

The cover story on James Yap was written by my idol Patricia Hizon, and it’s a pretty basketball-centric piece, which is nice. That is, if you can ignore the fashion spread featuring James in full metrosexual mode. But I guess those photos are there to bring in the ladies.



Meanwhile, I wrote a long story on the soap opera that was San Miguel Beer’s coaching situation, which I had touched on before on this blog. Along with the article are a couple of sidebars, one each for Ato Agustin and Siot Tanquingcen, looking back at their playing careers.



I also wrote a piece about Meralco’s entry into the PBA. Unlike most other stories on the subject, I tried to dig into the reasons why a power utility would want to join a league which has been the domain of consumer-oriented companies.



Finally, I have another interview with Pacific Rims author Rafe Bartholomew. Worth checking out especially if, for some reason, you feel you haven’t read enough exchanges between me and Tiyo Paeng.



And that’s just my crap. There are also features on Jeffrey Cariaso, Sonny Barrios, the Jimmy Alapag-LJ Moreno nuptials, Gabe Norwood and Sol Mercado’s home life, and much more. You can get copies at most bookstores (I got one from National Bookstore) and at PBA games. PhP99 lang!