After my trip to Thailand last week, I went straight to Boracay to catch up with my buddies for a quick vacation. Obligatory player sighting story: I saw Renren Ritualo a couple of times around the island, the second time, he was with his wife walking at D’Mall just past the booth where they have the basketball shooting machine. The guys at the booth were calling out to him to try out the shooting game, but he ignored them. I kinda wish he took them up on it; I would have loved to see Renren laying waste to the D’Mall basketball shooting game record.

While on my trip, I was only able to take in very little basketball, watching game 5 of the Derby Ace-Rain or Shine game (while jumping to the La Salle-UE game at the other channel). I was absolutely on edge the whole time during the game, and I felt like Sol Mercado bailed the Llamados out when he took a thirty-footer at the end of regulation instead of going hard to the basket. I caught the start of the Ginebra-Alaska game, but I had to leave – a buffet dinner and more heavy drinking beckoned – which was a shame, because people said the main game was even more epic than the opener.

By the way, Ryan Gregorio bringing in Tony Washam? Looks like a genius move so far.

Oh, and how about 20,000 fans turning out for a PBA quarterfinals doubleheader? Not bad for a dying league, eh?

Lotsa news from the past week or so, in bullets:

• The latest PCIJ report on presidential campaign donors brings up some very interesting information. Can you guess which candidate got donations from both Ricky Razon and Manny Pangilinan, who contribute a sizeable chunk of cash to the De La Salle and Ateneo programs, respectively? Will post the answer in the last bullet.


• Even though he’s on the other side of the world, Pacific Rims author Rafe Bartholomew still spends his New York City mornings watching PBA games on live streaming. Last week, he wrote about Talk N Text, the new villains of the PBA, and he received a detailed rebuttal in the comments section from Texters coach Chot Reyes.


• Chot Reyes also revealed on Twitter that he was reading Rafe’s book, which concludes with a best-of-seven series between Alaska and Talk N Text. Curiously, Coach Chot and the Texters will be facing Alaska in a best-of-seven series starting today.


• Nice GMANews.TV report on Cyrus Baguio’s throat-slashing gesture towards Ginebra (which he plays off as a joke). Earlier, I mistakenly attributed the story to Rey Joble.


• Check out Jonas Terrado's excellent sports blog, a must-read especially during the UAAP season. It seems like we've all been reading him forever (actually, since his UBelt.com days).


• From Joble last week: Pitting the NCAA coaches against UAAP mentors in a basketball game. I love how Ateneo coach Norman Black, who’s the epitome of class on the sidelines, gets all competitive and starts trash-talking when asked about his hardcourt prospects: “Don’t make me laugh. I’m an import. No way the NCAA team can beat us.” I agree that the UAAP guys would probably win, but I think the NCAA has a puncher’s chance, if Vergel Meneses and Ato Agustin decide to make a game of it.


• Big NBA week for Asian-Americans: Portland names Rich Cho as its new general manager, while former Harvard standout Jeremy Lin is about to sign a deal with the Golden State Warriors. Also, former 7-UP import Dell Demps is in the running for GM jobs in Phoenix and New Orleans. UPDATE: It looks like Demps is headed to NOLA.


• Cocktales reports that four senior executives of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, including Talk N Text governor and SBP Vice Chairman Ricky Vargas, was given a compensation package last year of P297 million. “Assuming that the generous package is divided equally,” the report says the executives “will still end up taking home an envy-raising P59.4 million each.”


• The presidential candidate that got millions in cash from Ricky Razon and Manny Pangilinan? None other than former President Joseph Estrada.

Okay, programming advisory: the blog will be light on updates over the next couple of weeks because of the day job. Anyway, here’s some stuff I wanted to pass along:

• Big Smart Gilas news: it looks like Kelly Williams will end up joining the team after all. Both the Philippine Star and the Manila Bulletin reported that Talk N Text, which like Gilas is owned by Manny Pangilinan, is in talks to acquire Williams and Sta. Lucia’s other star, Ryan Reyes. It’d be interesting to see who’ll be involved if and when the trade pushes through.


• Still on Smart Gilas, team captain Chris Tiu reported over Twitter that Chris Lutz, a Marshall University sharpshooter, will be joining the team soon. Another Fil-Am prospect, Chris Banchero, is auditioning for the team in Las Vegas right now, and he looks like a gamer.
  
  Curiously, Marcio Lassiter, a Fil-Am prospect from Cal State Fullerton, had been playing excellent basketball for the team before he came down with an injury, even eating up Tiu’s minutes. Center Greg Slaughter, who also happens to be Fil-Am, is said to be coming along nicely.
  
  Funny, if Williams’ transfer pushes through, and if Gilas ends up finally signing an import for naturalization, then half of the lineup will end up being either Fil-Am or foreign-born.


• Remember my big yarn about the family that owns Unilab and Del Monte potentially buying Purefoods? It turns out that Unilab has an animal feeds business too.


• Did anyone else enjoy Marlou Aquino’s turn-back-time performance last week? I certainly did. By the way, did you know he’s running a series of basketball camps for kids this summer? I love Marlou, but my first reaction was that he’d be teaching kids how to loaf up and down the court and ask for bigger won-game bonuses.
  
  Well, here’s a line from his official Multiply account: “Everyone, I am personally inviting you to join SUMMER SLAM 2010: The Marlou Aquino Summer Basketball Clinics! The clinic will include seven sessions of scientific basketball training with professional basketball coaches. Of course, I will also be there to check on your progress once in a while.”
  
  Once in a while! He’ll be there in his basketball camp once in a while! Even in his own basketball camp, the big fella’s mailing it in.


• My post about the ABA being a shitty league gained a devoted follower: one guy keeps writing comments using different names, defending the ABA as a great thing. He’s used the following names just to post: Pat Locsin, yolanda trey, jun b, Bobby, simon kletowski, gary, umbro, indigoblue, dragnet, and chris13.
  
  He keeps using the same computer though, and he always leaves a comment from the same location, using a Cox Communications connection from Irvine, California. Should I start getting creeped out?


• Still on the ABA, the league’s “global vice president” Paul Monozca was in the news recently, boasting about plans to build an underwater hotel somewhere in Palawan. Then Inquirer columnist Mon Tulfo, bless his soul, calls bullshit on Steve Tajanlangit, Monozca’s partner in the project: “The guy who owns the site talks big and accomplishes nothing. He once owned a huge inter-island cruise ship that would have served local and foreign tourists on a Caribbean-type tour of the Philippines. But the ship was confiscated by the Bureau of Customs even before it could undertake its maiden voyage last year. The guy owed millions of pesos in taxes and duties for bringing the ship in. He couldn’t pay the taxes and duties for the cruise ship, and that’s why the government confiscated it.”
  
  I sincerely hope Smart Gilas is not getting swindled in this whole ABA stint.


• Reuel Vidal of the Manila Standard Today gives a shout-out to Fire Quinito in his column today while talking about Alaska’s wacky move to acquire Cyrus Baguio for Wille Miller. He even gets on board with my Willie Thriller nickname campaign. Very cool. Someday, maybe he’ll even spell my name correctly. Hahaha.

Patricia Hizon broke news of the blockbuster trade on Twitter this morning: Alaska sent two-time PBA Most Valuable Player Willie Miller to Ginebra in exchange for the electric Cyrus Baguio.

Alaska coach Tim Cone told the Manila Bulletin that Miller had wanted out of the team for the last two years, but the Aces didn’t bite until this offer came along.

My first thought after hearing the news was that it felt like another Wacky Trade for Alaska. Credentials-wise, Ginebra seems to have made out like bandits in the trade. Miller is the best player on Alaska, and was the main man of a team that made two straight Philippine Cup finals appearances. Baguio, meanwhile, had been relegated to a backup job in Ginebra’s crowded backcourt, playing behind Mark Caguioa, Ronald Tubid, and JC Intal.

But a closer look at the basketball merits of the trade reveals that it isn’t quite as simple. Miller, who played heavy minutes (more than 35 per game in the Fiesta Conference) as Alaska’s top gun, will be joining a Ginebra line-up that, with reigning MVP Jayjay Helterbrand, has enough guards to open a security agency. It remains to be seen how Miller will adjust to a smaller role; even when he played with loaded teams with Red Bull and Talk N Text, he always was a main focus of the offense, something that doesn’t look likely with Ginebra. He will also be forced to play more minutes at the point guard spot, which he can do, but it’s not his ideal position. Miller is also older than Baguio, and his transfer adds years to a nearly geriatric Ginebra squad.

(By the way, I don’t think Ginebra is done trading.)

At first glance, Cyrus Baguio seems like an odd fit for Alaska, which features a plodding offensive attack anchored on floor spacing, outside shooting, and pounding the ball down low. Alaska’s vaunted triangle is predicated on getting the best possible shot in the halfcourt, while lulling their opponents to sleep with crisp passes that swing the ball from the strong side to the weak side.

But Alaska didn’t always play this way. In fact, Tim Cone’s earliest PBA teams were run-and-gun machines. They played such an exciting style that the television panel unofficially dubbed them the Alaska Air Force, which is a much cooler nickname than their current one, by the way. Their best player happened to be Paul Alvarez who, like Baguio, was blessed with a lightning-quick first step, mad hops, and a ridiculous ability to make twisting layups in the air. In one Ginebra broadcast last conference, Quinito Henson said that Baguio is the new Samboy Lim, which is wrong in so many ways, not least of which is the fact that Skyrus’ game is heir not to the Skywalker, but to Mr. Excitement. Let’s just hope Baguio doesn’t end up getting shot outside a seedy sauna with Allen Sasan.

I’m frankly excited about Cyrus Baguio raising hell on the break all game once again, and here’s hoping Cone loosens the reins. They have a recipe to do it too, with big guys in Sonny Thoss and Samigue Eman to control the boards and a dynamic point guard in LA Tenorio who could push the ball like the wind.

So right now, I think this trade will end up favoring Alaska. Then again, while Alaska team manager Joaqui Trillo has made a lot of good trades for his team, his record hasn’t been perfect. In 2000, Alaska traded former MVP Johnny Abarrientos to Pop Cola (later Coca-Cola), figuring that the star point guard’s career was on the way down, but it wasn’t, as Abarrientos ended up leading the Tigers to a couple of championships.

So how will the trade shake out? We’ll get our first look this coming Friday, as Alaska faces Ginebra in the main game of the PBA.

After a crazy quarterfinal round, the stage is set for the PBA Philippine Cup final four. The cast features 3 teams that belong to the San Miguel Corporation, which again reinforces perceptions by the league’s critics that the PBA is an SMC league. Some even say that the PBA is set up so that SMC teams would always end up on the winning end of most tournaments.

The grand conspiracy argument doesn’t hold much water. If it were true, there’s no way Sta. Lucia would have won the 2008 Philippine Cup over Purefoods in a close seven-game series wherein James Yap was suspended for one game for the same flagrant 2 penalty called on Ranidel de Ocampo last Friday. Imagine David Stern suspending Kobe Bryant on an iffy call in an NBA finals series against a team like the Milwaukee Bucks.

That doesn’t mean to say that SMC teams do not have an advantage. The PBA landscape today gives the rich teams a leg up when it comes to acquiring talent, and each of the SMC teams have taken advantage to build up its arsenal.

By my count, Ginebra, Purefoods, and San Miguel have acquired a total of 19 players through lopsided trades over the past 5 PBA seasons. The trend started prior to the 2006-07 season, when Ginebra and San Miguel ransacked the roster of erstwhile sister team Coca-Cola just before the corporation let go of the franchise. Over the next several years, each SMC team found more willing partners in Red Bull and Air 21 who would let go of their star players for a song.

	Acquired by	From	Season	Notes
Marc Pingris	Purefoods	Air 21	2005-06	Traded to San Miguel for Enrico Villanueva in 2008, acquired back by Purefoods in 2009
Rudy Hatfield	Ginebra	Coke	2006-07	Went off the deep end after leading Ginebra to a Philippine Cup championship
Billy Mamaril	Ginebra	Coke	2006-07
Rafi Reavis	Ginebra	Coke	2006-07	Traded to Purefoods in 2009
Ronald Tubid	Ginebra	Air 21	2006-07
Lordy Tugade	San Miguel	Red Bull	2006-07
Enrico Villanueva	San Miguel	Red Bull	2007-08	Traded to Purefoods in 2008, traded to Ginebra in 2009
Larry Fonacier	San Miguel	Red Bull	2007-08	Traded to Alaska in 2008
Junthy Valenzuela	Ginebra	Red Bull	2007-08
Mick Pennisi	San Miguel	Red Bull	2008-09
Rich Alvarez	Purefoods	Red Bull	2008-09	Traded to Ginebra in 2009
Cyrus Baguio	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
JC Intal	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Doug Kramer	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Homer Se	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Don Allado	Purefoods	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Celino Cruz	Purefoods	Air 21/BK	2008-09	Traded to Ginebra in 2009
KG Canaleta	Purefoods	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Arwind Santos	San Miguel	Air 21/BK	2009-10

The data does not reflect the indirect benefits of one SMC team acquiring new star players to its sister teams. For example, San Miguel benefitted when Ginebra acquired Hatfield, Mamaril, and Reavis from Coke, because it opened the door for the Beermen to trade for Ginebra’s Rommel Adducul, who had become expendable. When San Miguel acquired Villanueva, Adducul was shipped to Purefoods. Pingris found his way back to Purefoods from San Miguel this season after the arrival of Santos to the Beermen’s camp.

I also did not include in the table the first round draft picks acquired by the Beermen from Coke during the ransacking. San Miguel used the second overall pick in 2007 to draft Samigue Eman, and the third pick in the 2008 draft to trade for Jay Washington. These were non-trivial assets.

Of course, it’s not just the SMC teams doing this. Talk N Text has been just as brazen about stockpiling talent over the past several years. Another rich franchise, Coca-Cola, seems to be going in that direction.

Meanwhile, the Photokina (Red Bull/Barako Bull) and Lina (Air 21/Burger King) franchises have had no scruples about letting their players go to the highest bidders. Sta. Lucia, a franchise beset by financial difficulty, might be going down the same path. In the PBA board, only Alaska and Rain or Shine might be inclined to pursue changes to the system, and even then they are vastly outnumbered.

There hasn’t been nearly enough outrage from the fans. I tried to incite outrage when Burger King sold off Santos to San Miguel, but it was met by general apathy. The Filipino basketball fan’s mindset is rarely about playing fair, and mostly about getting an advantage at any cost. It runs true from college basketball – seriously, check out the message board discussions on high school prospects by fans of elite schools – up to the pros. Hell, think about how Smart Gilas fans wanted Japeth Aguilar on the team, at any cost, relationships be damned.

We want our teams to cut every corner to get the best players. Should it come as any surprise when they do exactly that?