From the Stands is back, with Chuck Araneta, Polo Bustamante, and Carlo Pamintuan discussing the Meralco-Rain or Shine matchup and the prospects of Smart Gilas minus naturalized center Marcus Douthit. In this week's old school vs. new school, they compare two of the most gifted, dynamic forwards Philippine basketball has ever seen: Nelson Asaytono and Kerby Raymundo.



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Listed below are ten statements about the PBA Commissioner's Cup, which kicks off tonight with the Ginebra-Meralco game in Laoag City. In the comments, leave a post on whether you think each statement is true or false, and a short explanation why this is so.

Continue reading "True or False: 2011 PBA Commissioner’s Cup"

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"

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio probably believes in it enough to mention that his team was playing on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the year, and 33 was coincidentally the number of Eugene Tejada, the former Purefoods forward who was paralyzed in a freak accident during a game four years ago. The players had dedicated the rest of the conference to their fallen comrade, and they won the Philippine Cup championship that year too.

Continue reading "Purefoods sweeps Alaska to win the 2010 Philippine Cup"

To the naked eye, the last two games of the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup finals series between Purefoods and Alaska have been pretty much alike. They have been low-scoring games, with Purefoods pulling out the win at the last possessions.

Continue reading "Purefoods finds ways to win, takes 3-0 lead over Alaska"

I spent the past couple of days back at my family’s ancestral home in Middle of Nowhere, Iloilo to attend to some family matters, so I missed the second game of the Philippine Cup finals between Purefoods and Alaska. Quite serendipitously, I ran into Patricia Bermudez-Hizon and Vince ‘The Prince’ Hizon in the airport just before my flight back to Manila, and they filled me on what happened in game 2.

Back at home a couple of hours later, I watched video of referee Maui Maurillo calling a bailout foul on Alaska’s Joe Devance while defending Kerby Raymundo’s desperation jumper with 1.7 seconds left.

Continue reading "Bullshit call by referee Maui Maurillo mars game 2 of Purefoods vs. Alaska"

Here’s the thing: before I was a fan of anything else, I was a fan of Purefoods as a kid, and I still am, despite the ridiculous (and frankly, kinda gay) nicknames like Tender Juicy Hotdogs, Corned Beef Cowboys, Carne Norte Beefies, Chunkee Giants, and Tender Juicy Giants. I’ve remained a loyal fan through the years, Ryan “The Genius” Gregorio notwithstanding.

It should come as no surprise then that I’m absolutely, ridiculously stoked about Purefoods’ upcoming semifinals series versus San Miguel. Not only is the team making its first semifinals appearance in two years (a drought courtesy of Ryan’s genius), but it’s going up against an old school traditional rival. Sure, battling Sta. Lucia and Red Bull was fun, but playing San Miguel evokes pleasant childhood memories of Alvin Patrimonio camping out on the low block and making Yves Dignadice his bitch.

Continue reading "The James Yap fanboy video tribute"

Last Sunday, with little fanfare about the night’s event, 13,000 fans trooped to the Araneta Coliseum to watch an early season game between Ginebra and Purefoods (and perhaps, the matchup between the returning Mark Caguioa and James Yap). They didn’t seem to mind the dark cloud looming over the league with the Wynne Arboleda incident, or the mushrooming negative sentiment all over the Internet against the league after Powerade Team Pilipinas’ debacle in the Fiba-Asia Championship.

Continue reading "Rumors of the PBA’s death are greatly exaggerated: Week 1 thoughts"

Alaska Aces

Looking back: Alaska started the 2008-2009 PBA season well, as the team came a Willie Thriller layup short of winning the Philippine Cup. The loss, however, seemed to weigh heavily on coach Tim Cone’s wards, and an unhappy Aces team finished second to the last during the Fiesta Conference. Things got even worse in the offseason when star guard Miller asked to be traded, a request Alaska denied.

Continue reading "Fire Quinito 2009-2010 PBA preview, part 1"

When it rains, it pours. After its perimeter scoring went dry as the Ilocos sand dunes against South Korea, the Team Pilipinas corps of snipers made it rain this afternoon, hitting 15 three-pointers against Chinese Taipei en route to a 77-70 victory. James Yap and Willie Miller led the way with 6 and 5 three-point baskets, respectively. Yap keyed a 3rd quarter run that allowed Team Pilipinas to take the lead after trailing for most of the game, while Miller’s last three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the game pushed the lead to 5 and sealed the deal for the Nationals.

Continue reading "Fiba-Asia Championships: Willie Thriller and Big Game James lift Team Pilipinas over Chinese Taipei"