Because both teams are bankrolled by Manny Pangilinan, sports fans assumed that it would not be an issue for the Talk N Text Tropang Texters to lend its players to the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team, which is scheduled to represent the country in the 2011 Fiba-Asia Championship. Talk N Text team captain Jimmy Alapag and power forward Kelly Williams had been eyed by Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman to reinforce the national squad, along with Meralco’s Asi Taulava and Air 21’s Dondon Hontiveros.

The idea was that lending the players to Smart Gilas would allow the professionals to become familiar with their teammates and with Toroman’s system. But it would also mean that these players would not play for their club teams for the PBA’s season-ending Governor’s Cup.

Continue reading "Smart Gilas, Talk N Text, and Alaska ‘98"

Manny Pangilinan and his Talk N Text Tropang Texters really would have wanted to close out its best-of-seven PBA Commissioner’out last Friday. The problem with winning last night was that Manny Pacquiao was fighting earlier in the day, which meant that news of Talk N Text’s second straight title would be buried under the headlines of the pound-for-pound king’s victory.

Continue reading "Talk N Text survives Ginebra in game 6 epic to win 2011 PBA Commissioner’s Cup"

I am proud to welcome the From the Stands podcast, which beginning today will be appearing regularly of Fire Quinito. I’ve been a fan of the podcast by Chuck Araneta, Polo Bustamante, and Carlo Pamintuan for a while now, and I believe this blog’s readers would enjoy listening to it as well.

I joined the trio alongside Niko and Mikkel Bolante of Patay Ang Butiki for its debut podcast on Fire Quinito, an episode which was recorded shortly after our drinking session with Coach Chot Reyes. It was basically us getting drunk and talking into an iPad, and with six of us, it was a bit of a clusterfuck. A clusterfuck of a podcast – a clusterpod!

Oh, but you really ought to listen to it if you’re a PBA fan. We recapped the Philippine Cup finals, discussed Jason Castro, Ryan Reyes, Kelly Williams, my favorite Jay Washington, the structural problems of San Miguel, and Ato Agustin’s coaching. I should apologize in advance though for hogging the mic (hey, I’d been drinking) and for having an irritating nasal voice.



Click on the player to listen, or download the file, or subscribe to it on iTunes or on RSS. And leave a comment, the From the Stands boys just might discuss them in the next episode, or even invite you to come along.

For the second straight year, I had the privilege of speaking with the coach of the Philippine Cup champions shortly after winning the title. Over dinner and beer last Tuesday night, Coach Chot Reyes joined me and bloggers from Patay Ang Butiki and From the Stands to shoot the breeze and talk hoops. Because we were all basketball nerds, we ended up talking about everything from the series against San Miguel to his MBA stint to what happened between him and Jun Limpot.

But most of our conversation focused on Talk N Text, Smart Gilas, and the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Here’s the stuff (I think) I can publish:

Continue reading "A dinner with Talk N Text coach Chot Reyes"

If you’ve been reading this blog, then tonight’s result shouldn’t have come as any surprise to you: As expected, Talk N Text finished off the San Miguel Beermen in 6 games to win its second PBA Philippine Cup title in three years. Point guards Jimmy Alapag and Jason Castro shared Finals Most Valuable Player honors, while Ryan Reyes provided the team an emotional lift with an amazing performance that came on the heels of the tragic death of his younger brother.

Continue reading "The Talk N Text Tropang Texters are the 2011 PBA Philippine Cup champions"

Spent last night in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat. We were actually able to catch the Alaska-San Miguel game over dinner, and to my surprise, the veteran cameraman we were traveling with used to shoot and direct PBA games. We basically watched the game from his technical perspective, which was awesome. He said that covering the PBA live was the hardest gig for any cameraman because of the pace of the action; if you could do camera work for the PBA, you can do it anywhere else.

Btw, how about that game? Pretty awesome, wasn't it? And it was exciting even if the referees actually called fouls.

On to part 2 of my first impressions. If you missed it, check out part 1.

Continue reading "2010 PBA Philippine Cup first impressions, part 2"

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 mentioned earlier that I had been planning to write about the Smart Gilas victory in the recently-concluded pocket tournament over Jordan. However, like everything else, including her brother’s inauguration, it had to take a backseat to an issue concerning Kris Aquino. I apologize for that.

Anyway, here are the things we learned from the invitational, apart from the fact that Mac Cardona punches like a chick:

Continue reading "Putting the Smart Gilas victory over Jordan in context"

Finally, some non-Japeth Aguilar PBA news: Sta. Lucia made trades over the last couple of days to dump salary, shipping off point guard Denok Miranda to San Miguel yesterday, before sending their team captain Dennis Espino to the Coca-Cola Tigers. The Realtors received draft picks from both transactions, with back-up big man Jason Misolas also coming on-board from the Tigers. I’ve also heard rumors that Bitoy Omolon will be traded next.

It’s no secret that the corporation behind the team has been affected by the economic downturn. The real estate sector, in particular, has been hard-hit by the financial crisis especially because of the credit crunch. Last year, the corporation underwent corporate restructuring and reported a loss of P74.6-million from January to September, mostly due to operational costs and taxes.

Continue reading "Sta. Lucia sells off various (basketball) properties"