Fidel Mangonon III broke news on Twitter that PBA commissioner Chito Salud has approved the motion of San Miguel to change the team’s name to Petron Blaze. The move comes after the reported proposal by another petroleum company, Phoenix, to join the PBA.

Petron’s entry doesn’t mean that the Phoenix bid to join the PBA is dead; any transaction for a franchise sale would require two-thirds approval of the league’s board of governors (7 out of 10). Currently, San Miguel Corporation owns three seats in the board.

Continue reading "San Miguel to change its name to Petron"

In a way, the Philippine Cup finals showdown between San Miguel and Talk N Text is a hater’s nightmare; for fans like me who relish watching highly-touted teams fall flat on their faces, a series featuring the league’s most loaded teams isn’t exactly the first choice. These two teams have been the most brazen in poaching top stars from less heralded teams. Consider that just in the past three seasons, these teams have made transactions to acquire Ranidel de Ocampo, Arwind Santos, Denok Miranda, Joseph Yeo, Alex Cabagnot, Kelly Williams, and Ryan Reyes in what were obviously lopsided deals with the Air 21 and Sta. Lucia franchises.

In this series, there’s no underdog that a casual PBA fan who’s not among the San Miguel or Talk N Text faithful could get behind.

That said, it’s hard to imagine the level of play being less than excellent in the series, considering the talent levels of both squads. A hardcore basketball fan could then take solace in the fact that at least the games are going to be good.

Continue reading "San Miguel versus Talk N Text: A PBA Philippine Cup finals fearless forecast"

Over the existence of this blog, I’ve had the opportunity to have candid conversations with a lot of people who are insiders when it comes to PBA basketball. In these conversations, one thing about coaching keeps cropping up: the X’s and O’s matter a lot less than fans would want to believe.

Of course, there have been coaches whose attention to game planning and preparation have given their team solid edges, such as Ron Jacobs and Tim Cone. Still, at the end of the day, the biggest impact that a PBA coach has on his team is measured by how willing his players are to bust their asses for him.

Continue reading "San Miguel beats Ginebra in 6, sets up Philippine Cup showdown vs Talk N Text"

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"

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"

AFTER ITS semifinals series against Derby Ace, I thought San Miguel would have a very hard time in the finals going up against either Alaska or Talk N Text, who at the time were still to figure in a deciding seventh game in their own semifinals matchup. It had a lot to do with how San Miguel, the much fresher and deeper team, had so much trouble putting away a tired and overmatched Llamados squad whose import, Tony Washam, couldn’t even get a shot off Arwind Santos. That it took a superhuman effort for Gabe Freeman – who dominated Derby Ace’s injured big guys Rafi Reavis and Marc Pingris – for San Miguel to finally advance didn’t really inspire much confidence in me as a basketball observer.

Continue reading "Bel13ve! Alaska, the thinking fan’s team, wins championship #13 with heart"

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"

Cebu has been known traditionally as a hotbed of hoops, and with good reason. Legends such as Mon Fernandez, Dondon Ampalayo, and Jojo Lastimosa first made their marks in Cebuano collegiate leagues, as did more recent stars such as Dondon Hontiveros and Roger Yap.

The University of the Visayas has dominated Cebu’s top collegiate league, the Cesafi, for the last decade, thanks to a program led by a couple of legendary Cebuano hotshots, head coach Boy Cabahug and assistant Al Solis. A few years ago, the Green Lancers scored a coup after signing up 6-11 Fil-Am project Greg Slaughter, and the team is finally reaping the benefits as the behemoth starts to tap his potential. Slaughter, a mainstay of the Smart Gilas Developmental squad coached by Rajko Toroman, is surrounded by the usual bevy of Cebuano shooters who have carried the UV program to eight straight Cesafi titles.

Continue reading "Slaughter’s UV Green Lancers, Fajardo’s UC Webmasters duke it out in Cesafi finals"

So the San Miguel Beermen are the champions of the 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference, hammering Ginebra, 90-79. The Beermen led from start to finish, frustrating every comeback mounted by the Gin Kings.

I know I picked Ginebra to win, but I also offered a caveat that San Miguel would win if Marc Pingris went berserk (in a good way). And go berserk he did, punishing Ginebra’s small forwards on the block and off the offensive boards, so much so that Ginebra coach Jong Uichico was forced to counter with a big lineup. It worked in game 5, when David Noel had a good shooting game, but in game 6 and game 7, it paralyzed the Gin Kings offense. Ginebra’s halfcourt sets were uglier than Dorian Pena and Mick Pennisi.

Continue reading "SMB wins! SMB wins! SMB wins!"

Some random thoughts about game 5, where Ginebra beat San Miguel, 106-98, to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-7 series:

Continue reading "Quick thoughts on game 5 of the PBA Fiesta Cup finals"