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.

Continue reading "Grab a copy of Baller now!"

A popular chorus among lazy sportswriters is that the PBA is a dying league, a gem that has lost its luster. They rattle off the reasons: the PBA’s gate attendance is on the downturn,¹ the TV ratings are down,² and fan interest is dwindling.³

Continue reading "Is the UAAP a dying league?"

I’ve steadily developed a dislike for San Miguel over the past couple of years. Despite the snarky tone of this blog, this is a rare case for PBA teams; even though I’ve been rooting for the Purefoods franchise since I was a child, I consider myself a fan of the PBA. I usually watch games intently when I’m home and they’re on, whoever might be playing. I like good Pinoy basketball, and the PBA is where you’d find the best Pinoy basketball anywhere.

Continue reading "Love, hate, and the San Miguel Beermen"

And the Purefoods Derby Petron Tender Llamado Juicy Giant Blazers rollercoaster takes another twist, as it was reported late last night that the team was junking its plans to assign the franchise to Petron, and instead continue playing under the San Miguel Pure Foods banner. My idol Patricia Hizon wrote about it in a blind item on her blog, while GMANews.TV’s Rey Joble had the full details and confirmation shortly before midnight.

Continue reading "SMC retains Derby Ace name, appoints Jorge Gallent coach"

It should perhaps come as no surprise to anyone who’s ever watched Pinoy television that on the day James Yap received his second PBA Most Valuable Player award – an honor that effectively cemented his legacy as one of the best Filipino players of all time – he still had to share the spotlight with his estranged wife, Kris Aquino.

Continue reading "James Yap, the 2010 PBA Most Valuable Player, had a crazy day"

Over the last few days, GMANews.TV posted a couple of installments of my best-of-7 email exchange with Pacific Rims author and Internet heartthrob Rafe Bartholomew. In part 2, I argue – convincingly, in my opinion – that the reason the Philippines is such a basketball-crazy country is because of cute colegialas who watch the game. We also get into a discussion about whether PBA players such as James Yap and Dondon Hontiveros can make it to the NBA.

Continue reading "GMANews.TV back and forth with Rafe Bartholomew continues"

The Philippine Basketball Association will be handing out its awards for the season tonight, and James Yap would probably walk away with the season’s Most Valuable Player trophy. Few rational PBA fans would argue with the choice, considering Yap pretty much put his stamp on this season, leading Purefoods to the Philippine Cup championship and carrying his team to a decent showing in the Fiesta Conference despite missing Kerby Raymundo most of the tournament. With this season, Yap also cemented his stature as perhaps the PBA’s last crossover superstar, and while his marriage to Kris Aquino definitely made him a household name, his game all year has lived up to every expectation.

Continue reading "Quick thoughts on the PBA annual awards"

I’d just barely landed in Manila when Rey Joble called me up last night to tell me the big news: San Miguel Corporation had sold its Purefoods business to a venture composed of Del Monte and Century, but the PBA franchise was not part of the deal. The sale has been expected for months, but the fact that the team was not part of a sale came as a bit of a surprise.

Continue reading "Purefoods bids the PBA goodbye, Ryan Gregorio transfers to Meralco"

Quick programming note: I’ll be flying out early tomorrow morning for the day job, on a short video project somewhere in Mindanao. I won’t be back until Monday, which means that I’ll be missing the first two games of the finals. My boss, unfortunately, isn’t a big PBA fan.

Fortunately, there’ll be lots of Fire Quinito content that will be coming your way over the course of the next few days for my latest project at GMANews.TV.

Continue reading "Fire Quinito and Manila Vanilla face off at GMANews.TV"

Coach Ryan Gregorio sent his thoughts on the past Purefoods/Derby Ace season a few minutes ago. This was the same message he sent to his family, and he wanted to share it with fans of the team:

Continue reading "Purefoods / Derby Ace season postmortem by Coach Ryan Gregorio"