You know how Purefoods fans like me keep harping that the team’s coach, Ryan “The Genius” Gregorio, can’t coach? Well, here’s all the proof you need. Asked how the team pulled through in the do-or-die game in the best-of-five quarterfinals series against Rain or Shine, he responded with his usual cliché: “I just told my players to throw away the statistics and the results of the last two games and simply bring to tonight’s table a big heart. That’s what they did.”

Purefoods star James Yap, however, had a different take on things. The hotshot guard had a difficult time in games 3 and 4, but broke out of his slump to score 28 points in the deciding game. According to him, it was because of a technical adjustment he had to suggest to his coach: “Sinabi ko kay coach na bigyan ako ng bola sa loob ng three points para dalawa, tatlong dribble lang nasa basket na ko. Dati kasi malayo ang tanggap ko ng bola kaya nakaka-collapse agad sa akin ang depensa.”

It worked too, because Yap did his best Vergel Meneses impersonation last night, slicing through the lane repeatedly for twisting layups and finding cutting teammates when he was mobbed. It’s a good thing he spoke up, because all his coach ever seems to talk about is heart. At this point, I really don’t want to hear anything about heart, unless we’re talking about Heart Evangelista.



Does any other PBA team win games in spite of its coach?

Two more days till the weekend! Game 6 tonight! I can't stop using exclamation points! Some interesting links to get you through hump day:

• You've got to read this really cool article on 7-time best import awardee Bobby Parks's son, who is eligible to play for the national team in the future. There's speculation that he might end up in Virginia or Memphis, which would be really great. Memphis has been a powerhouse in the NCAA the last few years, and would hopefully remain so even after John Calipari left, while Virginia plays in the rough-and-tumble ACC.


• Lots of Yeng Guiao news the past few days. He's apparently asked Ginebra coach Jong Uichico to be part of the Powerade Team Pilipinas staff for the upcoming Jones Cup, which is awesome news. Not only was Uichico part of the coaching staff of the last PBA national team to compete in the Fiba-Asia championships, he also coached the national team in the 2002 Asian Games that was a Korean buzzer-beating three-pointer away from winning the silver. As I said before, Uichico is almost criminally underrated as a coach; I'd put him right up there with Guiao among the best coaches in the PBA.


• The PBA looking at expanding to 12 teams? Yes, yes, a million times yes!!! But I'd much rather they force Barako Bull and Burger King to sell their franchises first.


• There are rumblings that Talk N Text is also very interested in Japeth Aguilar, whom Burger King is interested in taking with their first overall pick. If TNT really wanted Japeth, there's no doubt that Bert "Pokpok" Lina and Lito "Fuckface" Alvarez would sell him to the Tropang Texters. Also in the story, Guiao hinting that he'll be leaving the Whoppers next year to concentrate on the 2010 elections. I wouldn't be surprised though if he returned after the elections, but not to Burger King.


• And just as an insurance, Guiao has tapped Wynne Arboleda to join the team, at least while Ryan Reyes and Jayjay Helterbrand are still nursing their injuries. I know fans everywhere will howl in protest over the choice, especially with Jimmy Alapag available, but Arboleda really fits in well with how Guiao envisions his backcourt: a rugged, ballhawking bunch who can manufacture points off turnovers. The only other starting point guard in the league who fits the profile would have been Roger Yap, but he doesn't shoot nearly well enough from the outside.


• I just noticed that the first meeting between Letran and San Beda is scheduled next Friday, and they're slated to play in the first game. The main event for that afternoon? Perpetual versus Benilde. What an unbelievably sucky scheduling job by host San Beda.


• I really enjoyed last Monday's i-Witness documentary on the little league baseball team from Smokey Mountain. I wish there were more footage of the boys in competition, but that's just me nitpicking. It even got dusty at my house near the end, when their team manager was relating the team's experience competing in the national tournament against private schools. Check out a segment right here.

On the heels of his documentary about Dionisia Pacquiao, Jay Taruc is back tonight with a feature on the Sagip Baseball Team, a baseball team composed of kids from the slums who compete against teams from private schools in local tournaments:

Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants are at the forefront of the league's marketing efforts to reach out to ethnic communities in their area and tonight, the team held its first-ever Filipino Heritage Night, with Manny Pacquiao as guest of honor. It was about damn time someone paid some attention, because Filipinos make up the second largest Asian group in the city.

The move was quite a bonanza for the Giants, who are reporting that the event drew 10,000 new fans drawn to the event with a bonus bobblehead doll of the pound-for-pound king. CNBC's Darren Rovell reports on how the Giants marketing team came to the idea:

Last year, the Giants sold about 4,600 tickets to Filipino night and realized they were on to something. When the Giants presented Pacquiao with a jersey last year, they received calls from Filipino fans asking how the two were connected. The Giants knew they had to utilize Pacquiao. So with a fight scheduled against Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2 (HBO Pay Per View), the Giants created this night.