After a crazy quarterfinal round, the stage is set for the PBA Philippine Cup final four. The cast features 3 teams that belong to the San Miguel Corporation, which again reinforces perceptions by the league’s critics that the PBA is an SMC league. Some even say that the PBA is set up so that SMC teams would always end up on the winning end of most tournaments.

The grand conspiracy argument doesn’t hold much water. If it were true, there’s no way Sta. Lucia would have won the 2008 Philippine Cup over Purefoods in a close seven-game series wherein James Yap was suspended for one game for the same flagrant 2 penalty called on Ranidel de Ocampo last Friday. Imagine David Stern suspending Kobe Bryant on an iffy call in an NBA finals series against a team like the Milwaukee Bucks.

That doesn’t mean to say that SMC teams do not have an advantage. The PBA landscape today gives the rich teams a leg up when it comes to acquiring talent, and each of the SMC teams have taken advantage to build up its arsenal.

By my count, Ginebra, Purefoods, and San Miguel have acquired a total of 19 players through lopsided trades over the past 5 PBA seasons. The trend started prior to the 2006-07 season, when Ginebra and San Miguel ransacked the roster of erstwhile sister team Coca-Cola just before the corporation let go of the franchise. Over the next several years, each SMC team found more willing partners in Red Bull and Air 21 who would let go of their star players for a song.

	Acquired by	From	Season	Notes
Marc Pingris	Purefoods	Air 21	2005-06	Traded to San Miguel for Enrico Villanueva in 2008, acquired back by Purefoods in 2009
Rudy Hatfield	Ginebra	Coke	2006-07	Went off the deep end after leading Ginebra to a Philippine Cup championship
Billy Mamaril	Ginebra	Coke	2006-07
Rafi Reavis	Ginebra	Coke	2006-07	Traded to Purefoods in 2009
Ronald Tubid	Ginebra	Air 21	2006-07
Lordy Tugade	San Miguel	Red Bull	2006-07
Enrico Villanueva	San Miguel	Red Bull	2007-08	Traded to Purefoods in 2008, traded to Ginebra in 2009
Larry Fonacier	San Miguel	Red Bull	2007-08	Traded to Alaska in 2008
Junthy Valenzuela	Ginebra	Red Bull	2007-08
Mick Pennisi	San Miguel	Red Bull	2008-09
Rich Alvarez	Purefoods	Red Bull	2008-09	Traded to Ginebra in 2009
Cyrus Baguio	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
JC Intal	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Doug Kramer	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Homer Se	Ginebra	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Don Allado	Purefoods	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Celino Cruz	Purefoods	Air 21/BK	2008-09	Traded to Ginebra in 2009
KG Canaleta	Purefoods	Air 21/BK	2008-09
Arwind Santos	San Miguel	Air 21/BK	2009-10

The data does not reflect the indirect benefits of one SMC team acquiring new star players to its sister teams. For example, San Miguel benefitted when Ginebra acquired Hatfield, Mamaril, and Reavis from Coke, because it opened the door for the Beermen to trade for Ginebra’s Rommel Adducul, who had become expendable. When San Miguel acquired Villanueva, Adducul was shipped to Purefoods. Pingris found his way back to Purefoods from San Miguel this season after the arrival of Santos to the Beermen’s camp.

I also did not include in the table the first round draft picks acquired by the Beermen from Coke during the ransacking. San Miguel used the second overall pick in 2007 to draft Samigue Eman, and the third pick in the 2008 draft to trade for Jay Washington. These were non-trivial assets.

Of course, it’s not just the SMC teams doing this. Talk N Text has been just as brazen about stockpiling talent over the past several years. Another rich franchise, Coca-Cola, seems to be going in that direction.

Meanwhile, the Photokina (Red Bull/Barako Bull) and Lina (Air 21/Burger King) franchises have had no scruples about letting their players go to the highest bidders. Sta. Lucia, a franchise beset by financial difficulty, might be going down the same path. In the PBA board, only Alaska and Rain or Shine might be inclined to pursue changes to the system, and even then they are vastly outnumbered.

There hasn’t been nearly enough outrage from the fans. I tried to incite outrage when Burger King sold off Santos to San Miguel, but it was met by general apathy. The Filipino basketball fan’s mindset is rarely about playing fair, and mostly about getting an advantage at any cost. It runs true from college basketball – seriously, check out the message board discussions on high school prospects by fans of elite schools – up to the pros. Hell, think about how Smart Gilas fans wanted Japeth Aguilar on the team, at any cost, relationships be damned.

We want our teams to cut every corner to get the best players. Should it come as any surprise when they do exactly that?

Apart from troubled pasts, infamous stints in the Philippines, and local columnists drawing knives after they left, there’s one more thing that Lee Benson and CJ Giles had in common: they signed more lucrative deals immediately after leaving the Philippines.

Right after his tumultuous stint with Sta. Lucia, Benson burned the hoops in China and Puerto Rico, without much incident. Meanwhile, Giles flew off to Lebanon to sign with club team Al-Riyadi, the richest team in the Lebanese league, to replace NBA veteran Mamadou N’Diaye.

The thing is, because the reports by Quinito Henson and Rick Olivares only reported one side of the story, we never know how true these reports were. Could it be possible then that these imports acted up because they were trying to get out of their contracts in the Philippines for better deals abroad? Could the bitter articles that followed be just mechanisms for our local clubs to save face?

I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, we’ll never know these things because of the way Philippine sports are covered.

For example, very little useful reporting has been done about how the current import search for a great replacement for Giles has been hard, because now the pool is limited to players who couldn’t get a deal in China, where players are paid up to $40,000 a month, or even more.

Instead, we get fluff pieces about the credentials of prospect Jamal Sampson, who’s in town trying to sign a deal with Gilas. No one reports, however, that Sampson was a cautionary tale for players leaving college to turn professional early – he left the University of California after his freshman year – and how that lack of seasoning has had disastrous effects on Sampson’s development; he’s already 26, and as Sham Sports noted: “Sampson is still a pretty awful offensive player, who spent last year in China, where he averaged 10.7 points and 10.7 rebounds for Liaoning. And if he can't score there, he won't score anywhere.”

But for whatever reason, no one is asking why Gilas has not brought (or cannot bring) in anyone else other than Sampson. Considering how critical an import is to the success of the team, you’d think they would tread more carefully, perhaps bring in more than, you know, one guy.

And now, apparently, Gilas is having trouble closing a deal with Sampson. There’s a curious trend that no one’s talking about, with Gilas having problems getting or holding on to players. Consider:

• Japeth Aguilar originally chose to join the PBA draft over signing up with Gilas. Of course, he reversed course, and we all spent months getting worked up over that stupid discussion.


• Top college prospects Rico Maierhofer and Ogie Menor also chose to go pro. It’s crazy, when you think about it: Maierhofer is now being “developed” by Ryan “The Genius” Gregorio instead of Rajko Toroman, while Menor is doing his Tubid 2.0 with Barako freaking Bull, which is just a step up from a Liga Pilipinas team. Both of them could have helped Gilas tremendously.


• 6-11 center Greg Slaughter trained with Gilas in the offseason, but refused to rejoin the team after leading the University of the Visayas to a Cesafi championship, saying he wanted to focus on his studies. Of course, focusing on his studies did not preclude him from playing for UV in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League.


• Rabeh Al-Husseini did not join Gilas in the team’s offseason training abroad, also saying that he wanted to focus on his studies. Of course, this did not preclude him from joining Ateneo’s offseason training in Las Vegas. After leading the Blue Eagles to a championship, Al-Husseini finally joined Smart Gilas.


• Despite love letters from Noli Eala, sensational University of the East guard Paul Lee and promising University of Cebu June Mar Fajardo have refused to join the team.


• When Gilas ran a recruitment camp in Las Vegas last summer, top Fil-Am prospects such as Stanley Pringle did not show up. Which might have been for the best, actually. Pringle is now playing for the Passe-Partout Leuven Bears in Belgium.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what Gilas is doing to recruit players; team captain Chris Tiu detailed, in his usual articulate manner, the merits of the program and why it was the right decision for him.

But I’m curious to know is why all these other players refused. At the very least, there are interesting stories here beyond the usual lackey pieces. Or are we not supposed to talk about anything that’s not part of, as Imelda Marcos would put it, the true, the good, and the beautiful?

(Even more on the topic tomorrow.)

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.

Looking forward: The Alaska management spent the offseason mending fences and it seemed to have worked, as the team has been playing well in the offseason. They return with an intact lineup, with the only key addition being first round surprise Michael Burtscher, whom Cone compared favorably to Rudy Hatfield. No word yet though if Burtscher is as good as the H-Bomb on the microphone.

Analysis: I’m frankly more excited about Tim Cone’s Twitter account, wherein he provides all kinds of awesome stuff, like the answer to the question: “Who’d you pick to take the last shot in the game, Willie or Jolas?” Every PBA coach should have a Twitter account. Yeng Guiao’s would contain Kapampangan profanity while Ryan Gregorio’s would just be a feed full of clichés. Chot Reyes’ Twitter feed would be about fashion and style.

Barako Bull Energy Boosters

Looking back: Shit hit the fan for the cash-strapped franchise in 2008-2009, as years of selling their top players finally caught up to them and coach Yeng Guiao bailed on the team. Leo Isaac took over but did no better, as the Boosters finished last in both tournaments last season.

Looking forward: Barako Bull has a very, very strong lineup… for a Liga Pilipinas team. They’ll probably wipe the floor with the Trace Laguna Stallions and the MisOr Meteors, but they’d have a lot of trouble against the Cebu Ninos. The roster is a motley crew of untested young guns and mediocre journeymen, including cult favorites such as Donbel Belano and Alex Crisano, who’s the best player in the PBA with a sex video. Or at least that we know about.

Analysis: Who’s ready for heavy helpings of Yousif Aljamal? Well, I know someone who is, but I can’t write it here. I’ll be sued for libel and cleaned out for everything I own. Even cellphone load.

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings

Looking back: Mark “The Spark” Caguioa was out all year while he was nursing his sore pussy rehabbing his knee, but his backcourt partner Jayjay Helterbrand carried the undermanned team all season, capped by a runner-up finish in the Fiesta Conference. Helterbrand was named the season’s MVP for his troubles.

Looking forward: Caguioa is back, and he brought backup. The Gin Kings acquired former Ateneo stars Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, and Paolo Bugia, who were reunited with fellow Eagles JC Intal and Doug Kramer. Ginebra should have just gone ahead and called itself GSM Blue.

Analysis: Do you think the other Ateneo guys make fun of JC Intal after Carla Abellana broke up with him to concentrate on her showbiz career? Do they talk about it behind his back? I bet they do. And I bet it was awkward when Carla showed up as the muse of Rain or Shine at the PBA opening yesterday.

Burger King Whoppers

Looking back: There was a lot of excitement in the Burger King camp last season after it was announced that Harbour Center/Oracle Titans owner (and Melanie Marquez schoolmate) Mikee Romero was taking over the franchise, and Romero quickly scored a coup by signing coach Yeng Guiao. Then it turned out that Romero did not have enough money to buy BK, so control of the team went back to the Lina group. Team manager and incoming PBA chairman Lito Alvarez promptly sold off the team’s assets, including star forward Arwind Santos, leading to a profanity-laced tirade against him and owner Bert Lina on this blog. I bet that was the post that won me the Philippine Blog Award.

Looking forward: The Burger King offseason was consumed by the Japeth Aguilar saga. The former Western Kentucky stalwart decided to join the team two days before the opening of the season, but talk is already rampant that he’ll be sold off too after a few games. The only key addition apart from Aguilar was hotshot guard Ronjay Buenafe, and the team looks long on big bodies and short on talent.

Analysis: Burger King unveiled a craptastic weave play on offense during last night’s blowout loss to Purefoods. Instead of guards running the weave, they have their big guys doing it. It didn’t work. Not even once. My theory is that Yeng Guiao has decided to focus all his efforts on next year’s elections, and Joel ‘El Aparador’ Dualan is secretly coaching the team. How else would you explain the presence of Beau Belga and JR Quinahan together in the starting lineup?

Coca-Cola Tigers

Looking back: Coca-Cola has been a team in turmoil for several seasons now, and last year the management finally made a move by firing Binky Favis, installing Kenneth Duremdes as coach, and later signing former Air 21 coach Bo Perasol to be part of Duremdes’ brain trust. It led to an awesome moment in a couple of games last year when Duremdes contracted conjunctivitis, so he just sat behind the bench in sunglasses while Perasol coached the team.

Looking forward: The Tigers went on a major revamp in the offseason, acquiring PBL MVP Chris Ross and Sta. Lucia all-star Dennis Espino, among other players. Team officials say that they want to run more this year, thought how they’ll do that with dinosaurs like Espino and Asi Taulava in the front court remains to be seen.

Analysis: Coke team manager JB Baylon has been spending money like a congressman at an upscale girly bar this past few months; apart from their pricy offseason buildup, the Coca-Cola Company also bankrolled the Powerade Team Pilipinas campaign and yesterday’s opening ceremonies. By the way, Baylon is a pretty good writer. I read his columns in Malaya (they’re usually about politics) from time to time.

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants

Looking back: The 2008-2009 PBA season was thoroughly disappointing for Purefoods fans, with the team failing to make it out of the wildcard stages of the Philippine Cup and losing in the quarters of the Fiesta Conference. Supporters called for the head of coach Ryan Gregorio in various online message boards. At one point, there were about as many threads in Pinoy Exchange calling for the ouster of Gregorio as threads about Hayden Kho.

Looking forward: Gregorio did a Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and clung to his post despite all the calls to resign, although he did suck up to Purefoods fans by trading back for fan favorites Marc Pingris and Paul Artadi. Fans would be elated if it weren’t for the fact that it was Gregorio who traded them away in the first place. The Giants also acquired athletic big guys Rafi Reavis and Rico Maierhofer, and the team, with stars James Yap and Kerby Raymundo, looks quite imposing on paper.

Analysis: I was talking to a basketball insider who is in the know a few days ago about strong teams in the PBA, and he thought that Purefoods had a good team. I told him that I didn’t really trust Ryan Gregorio. He hemmed and hawed before answering, “Well, it’s a given thing that Ryan is not a good coach.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

(Tomorrow: Part 2)

I go away for a while, and all hell breaks loose? Apparently, while I was gone, Japeth Aguilar expressed his intention to not sign with Burger King, the team that made him the top overall pick in the 2009 PBA draft, in favor of signing with the Smart Gilas Developmental Team that would compete in the 2011 Fiba-Asia championship. Curiously, Aguilar had every opportunity to sign with Smart Gilas prior to joining the draft, but instead chose to enter to the PBA anyway. In a statement, Aguilar attributed his change of heart to a desire to continue representing the country.

It’s bullshit. A little digging would allow us to connect the dots, and give us a clearer picture of what’s happening.

Dot #1: Ronnie Nathanielsz

I always found it funny that Aguilar’s father, former PBA benchwarmer Peter, entrusted the care of his son’s career to Sri Lankan sleazeball Ronnie Nathanielsz, who now acts as the young man’s agent.

Most older Filipinos remember Nathanielsz, an alien who was granted Filipino citizenship through a presidential decree by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, as Ninoy Aquino’s antagonist in a famous television appearance in a government-controlled network. Raul Pangalanan wrote of the appearance:

I still recall the panel of inquisitors trying to corner Ninoy, and distinctly remember the smirking face of Ronnie Nathanielsz (now a sports commentator) each time Ninoy would answer (and also recall the Molave residents throwing their chinelas at the TV each time the inquisitors would ask a question). Ninoy’s interview took place inside his prison building, but he answered with such vigor and aplomb that someone said, “Sa lagay na ’yan, siya ’yung nakakulong!”

But Nathanielsz reinvented himself as a sports personality, eternally playing sycophant to various influential figures. A few years ago, he became controversial after he aligned himself with boxing promoter Murad Muhammad, who was embroiled in a dispute with Manny Pacquiao. The boxing champ’s camp came out with a statement denouncing Nathanielsz’s articles, which contained quotes that the Sri Lankan made up:

In his article, Nathanielsz quoted Team Pacquiao member Roberto "Boying" Nazario as saying: [When informed about a green card for Pacquiao and US citizenship reportedly promised by Finkel, Boying Nazario asked Pacquiao, "you want to turn your back on the Philippines?" which was the same question posed by Muhammad who said 80 million Filipinos have supported Pacquiao all the way and now he is thinking of being an American.]

The San Francisco-based Nazario, son of Pacquiao's business manager Rodolfo, stated that he has not talked to Nathanielsz, when Pacquiao tried to reach him by phone for comment.

In the same article, Nathanielsz reportedly was able to talk to Pacquiao's wife Jinkee, who begged to give comments about Pacquiao's decision to switch management teams, when he took in Shelly Finkel and lawyers Nicholas Khan and Keith Davidson (and not Kenneth, as reported by Nathanielsz) Wednesday.

"I never talked to him," said Jinkee.

Nathanielsz always has an agenda, and given his track record, it would not be a stretch to imagine he’s behind the whole thing. In various statements, Nathanielsz has stated that they had not yet talked to the SBP, the country’s basketball federation that runs the Smart Gilas program. “In deference to Smart Gilas, we have not spoken to them. We wanted to speak to the PBA and Mr. Alvarez first,” Nathanielsz told Patricia Bermudez-Hizon.

Dot #2: Ricky Vargas

Oddly enough, Nathanielsz is known to be close to Talk N Text PBA governor Ricky Vargas, who also happens to be the vice-chairman of the SBP. Last year, Nathanielsz wrote a series of stories pushing for the PBA to choose ABS-CBN as its broadcast partner -- rumors abound that he was angling for a job if the giant network took over the coverage of the league -- and repeatedly quoted Vargas saying that the choice of ABS-CBN was a no-brainer. Of course, much to Nathanielsz’ chagrin, the PBA chose Solar Sports, which provided a more attractive package for the league.

Earlier this year, there were rumors of Smart Gilas possibly acquiring the Barako Bull franchise that had been struggling financially. Nathanielsz cast Vargas as the hero, even reporting that Barako Bull owner George Chua welcomed the proposal. A few days later, Nathanielsz had to backtrack as Barako Bull’s team manager Tony Chua took issue with what he had written.

To be fair, Burger King’s team manager Lito Alvarez himself said that he believes that the SBP has had no involvement in the matter, blaming the whole mess squarely on Nathanielsz.

Dot #3: Rick Olivares

Business Mirror columnist Rick Olivares broke the news of Aguilar’s refusal to sign with Burger King late Wednesday evening, shortly after Aguilar and Nathanielsz’ meeting with Alvarez. Reading between the lines of Olivares’ scoop, it becomes apparent that he learned of the event from a source apart from those who were in the meeting, noting the careful words he used in relating what happened. Furthermore, Olivares reported that Aguilar would be playing for Smart Gilas, rather than just making it his intention to do so – something that Aguilar and Nathanielsz would later deny.

I’ve mentioned Olivares a couple of times in this space. Back in May, I linked to his series of reports on the Smart Gilas campaign in the Fiba-Asia Champions Cup. Later, I took him to task for his fluff piece on Smart Gilas import CJ Giles, which left out details on the controversial college career of the former Kansas Jayhawk. Olivares is known to be close to the SBP leadership.

The initial post by Olivares on Aguilar came with this note: “Japeth has not committed to any team. There are other issues here. And no, Gilas did not meddle here.”

However, a GMA News report probably written by Rey Joble – he files reports for the site even though he is, ironically, a colleague of Nathanielsz at Manila Standard Today – said that “Aguilar was also offered a three-year deal worth P8.76 million to play for the Rajko Toroman-coached team.”

Dot #4: Noli Eala

This whole issue would be laid to rest if the SBP just decided to issue a statement on the matter. After all, the PBA is one of the biggest stakeholders in the SBP, and if they just went ahead and said that Japeth should honor his PBA commitment – Alvarez had mentioned that they would lend Aguilar to the Smart Gilas team anyway – the issue would be moot.

But SBP, and in particular its executive director Noli Eala, had been deathly silent on the matter. Eala is a shameless grandstander of the highest order, and it is very odd that he hasn’t taken this opportunity to splash himself all over the headlines.

(By the way, would anyone be surprised if it turned out that Eala wrote a love letter to Japeth a few days before the PBA draft? “I LOVE YOU FOREVER, I LOVE YOU FOR ALWAYS. AS LONG AS I’M LIVING MY TWEETIE YOU’LL BE!”)

Suppose that before the end of the elimination round of the ongoing UAAP tournament, Rabeh Al-Husseini suddenly decides that he was quitting the Ateneo team to join Smart Gilas instead. After all, he would rather have the opportunity to represent his country rather than just a mere school, plus he hadn’t been improving as much as he should be considering that he’s playing inferior competition in the UAAP. How do you think Eala and the SBP would react?

Al-Husseini would be back in Katipunan faster than you could say “MVP.” Why should it then be different for Aguilar and Burger King?

As expected, Burger King made Japeth Aguilar the first overall pick in the 2009 PBA Draft. While the top picks went as planned, there were a handful of surprises, with a huge WTF moment with Alaska’s pick of Michael Burtscher. I’m guessing Rafe Bartholomew will now light himself on fire. Dude, how’s that tan coming along? My suggestion for your new Pinoy name: Rafael Baldemor. Parang bold star, diba?

The biggest trade, broken by Patricia Hizon on Twitter, is Coke’s acquisition of Chris Ross along with other draft picks from Burger King, in exchange for Ronjay Buenafe and free upsize drinks at all BK outlets. GMA News added that Marvin Cruz and Larry Rodriguez will also be going to Coke as part of the deal, while giving up Nic Belasco to Talk N Text. Coke assistant Bo Perasol also hinted at another big trade. My guess? Alex Cabagnot for one of Purefoods’ big men, possibly Enrico Villanueva.

I got 16 out of 19 draftees right, including eight out of nine in the first round. But the Burtscher pick threw my board out of whack. I'm still expecting the three guys I missed, Bryan Faundo, Ian Saladaga, and Josh Urbiztondo, to crack a roster this season. I missed Benedict Fernandez, Sean Co, and Charles Waters.

Anyway, the draft results:

First round

1. Burger King (acquired from Barako Bull): Japeth Aguilar - I love the fact that BK management is even denying that they'll sell Aguilar down the line. Puh-lease. He'll be in a Talk N Text jersey at the start of the 2010 season.

The second overall pick, originally belonging to Coca-Cola, is forfeited after it was traded to the now-disbanded Shell franchise.


2. Purefoods: Rico Maierhofer - I know they're working on a trade to get help in the backcourt, but wouldn't it be funny if Ryan "The Genius" Gregorio went into the season with 15 guys at power forward? That way he'll have a built-in excuse when they inevitably fail to make it out of the wildcard again. Btw, I saw some fans in the various message boards call him Ryan "Wildcard" Gregorio. I'd get on board, but Binky Favis might sue me for royalties over the nickname.


3. Coca-Cola (acquired from Burger King): Chris Ross - Love the pick. Too bad they don't have a Kelly Williams-type athlete, because Ross might have Ryan Reyes-like impact on the team.


4. Rain or Shine: Jervy Cruz - I'm disappointed that they didn't mention that he'll be reunited with former Hapee Toothpaste teammate Gabe Norwood on RoS.


5. Alaska: Michael Burtscher - There's no truth to the rumors that they drafted Burtscher so that Sonny Thoss would have someone to go clubbing with at Embassy, or that Joaqui Trillo and Tim Cone had a couple of rounds of scotch at Trelli's before the draft, or that Burtscher reminded the Alaska coaching staff of a young, strapping Dickie Bachmann.


6. Barako Bull (acquired from Sta. Lucia): Ogie Menor - Would this Barako Bull team even win against Menor's teams at San Beda?


7. Ginebra: Chris Timberlake - Again, there's no truth to the rumor that Jong Uichico has been collecting guards because he's putting up a security agency.


8. Burger King (acquired from Talk N Text): Ronnie Matias - This was the biggest mortal lock in the draft. Matias was born to play for Yeng Guiao.


9. San Miguel: James Sena - It's good that Sena will be playing a lot over the next couple of months for JRU, because he won't be seeing much action with SMB.

Second round

10. Sta. Lucia (acquired from Coca-Cola): Mark Benitez - Boyet Fernandez was apparently smitten over Benitez in the days leading up to the draft. Benitez didn't even have to fake his records to get drafted.


11. Barako Bull: Benedict Fernandez - Why the hell would they draft another midget shooting guard who can't create his own shot? They already have Magnum Membrere, who by the way towered over Fernandez during the photo-op.


12. Barako Bull (acquired from Purefoods): Edwin Asoro - Looks like the Energy Boosters are making serious strides in their build-up to win a championship. In the PBL.


13. Coca-Cola (acquired from Burger King): Francis Allera - I'm surprised that he measured out to be about 6' 4". This is a good pick. He could be this year's Jeff Chan.


14. Rain or Shine: Marcy Arellano - This is a great pick, giving them another guard who can get to the basket apart from Sol Mercado.


15. Alaska: Sean Co - I would write a joke here, but he's probably not even gonna make the lineup, so I won't bother.


16. Sta. Lucia: Charles Waters - See, I would have gotten this pick right if any of the papers reported that he was Kelly Williams' brother-in-law.


17. Ginebra: Orlando Daroya - Now JC Intal would have someone to tell his problems about his lovelife at the end of the Ginebra bench.


18. Talk N Text: Kevin White - Well, he is Jimmy Alapag's nephew.


19. Coca-Cola (acquired from Burger King): PJ Walsham - It's just apt that he ends up with the same franchise where Manny Ramos and Mike Gavino played. The Coca-Cola Tigers: Where second-rate La Salle big men come to roost.