Cone lesson motivates Chiefs to win no-bearing match By Mei-Lin Lozada

Source: http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/news/cone-lesson-helps-chiefs-find-motivation-for-pirates-match

Arellano's John Pinto plays tough defense on Lyceum's Shane Ko.

Coach Koy Banal learned from mentor Tim Cone that a win is a win, be it in a tuneup match or a championship game.
The Arellano Chiefs played a no-bearing game against fellow also-ran Lyceum as if it was a playoff match, pulling of a 58-49 victory on Thursday in the 88th NCAA men’s basketball at the Arena in San Juan.
The Chiefs dictated the tempo throughout, and extended a nine-point halftime lead, 30-21, to as many as 13 points, 54-41, at the 4:14 mark of the fourth after a Rocky Acidre basket from beyond the three-point arc.
“I’ve learned from coach Tim (Cone) that we should play the same way. Whether we’re up by twenty or down by 20, may it be a chance to be in the Finals or an exhibition game,” said Arellano coach Koy Banal, also Cone’s deputy at San Mig Coffee in the PBA.
Fil-Canadian James Forrester came up with 24 points, on top of five triples, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block for Arellano, who improved their win-loss record to 6-10. Forrester also led the Chiefs with a career-high 28 markers, including seven treys, in their 75-82 loss to defending champion San Beda last September 21.
Shane Ko finished with 22 points, while Dexter Zamora chipped in 11 points for Lyceum, which absorbed its 14th loss in 17 outings.
The Scores:
Arellano (58): Forrester 24, Acidre 9, Pinto 6, Hernandez 5, Cadavis 4, Caperal 4, Salcedo 4, Bangga 2, Lunas 0, Palma 0
Lyceum (49):  Ko 22, Zamora 11, Azores 8, Mallari 6, Garcia 2, Ambohot 0, Martinez 0, Pascual 0, Edding 0
Quarterscores: 13-10, 30-21, 48-37, 58-49

Reyes to send out invitations in bid to have Yap and Co. rejoin Gilas pool By the staff

James Yap, Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot, and Arwind Santos are part of the original pool which was given the green light by the PBA board to suit up for Smart Gilas in a verbal agreement with Chot Reyes. Jerome Ascano

Smart Gilas Pilipinas 2.0 is set to extend letters of invitation to the mother teams of the players in the 20-man national pool as head coach Chot Reyes begins the process of forming his squad for the Fiba Asia for Men in Beirut next year.
Reyes told Spin.ph on Thursday that the letters will be addressed both to the players and their mother teams, the first step in what he hopes would lead to the participation of players from San Miguel Corp-owned teams in the Gilas program.
“We’re in the process of drafting the invitation letters right now, and we want to send them out as soon as possible para maumpisahan na,” Reyes said, a day before his departure for the United States where he will attend  seminars and scout for Fil-American prospects.
Six players from San Miguel-owned teams – James Yap and Marc Pingris of San Mig Coffee, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot of Petron, and Enrico Villanueva of Barangay Ginebra – were part of the original pool which was given the green light by the PBA board to participate in the Gilas program in a verbal agreement with Reyes.
However, only Villanueva ended up joining the team in the last Jones Cup tournament in Taipei and the Fiba Asia Cup in Tokyo, with Yap, Pingris, Santos, Lassiter, and Cabagnot declining the invitations citing either injuries or other reasons.
SMC sports director Noli Eala has said that the Ramon Ang-led conglomerate is open to loaning its players to the Gilas program, so long as letters of invitation are sent and the requests go through the proper channels.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to have these players play for Gilas,” said Reyes. “We have no ego when it comes to making the requests. We’ll do whatever they want.”
In the wake of Gilas’ fourth-place finish in the last Fiba Asia Cup, Reyes had expressed his hope to have Pingris, Santos, Talk ‘N Text’s Kelly Williams, Ateneo’s Greg Slaughter, and Petron rookie June Mar Fajardo in the team for next year’s Fiba Asia for Men, which serves as the regional qualifier for the 2014 world championships.
An invitation is now necessary to retain LA Tenorio’s services in the team since the Jones Cup hero has been traded by Alaska to Ginebra in the course of his stint with Gilas in the offseason.

source: http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/news/reyes-to-send-out-invitations-in-bid-to-have-yap-and-co.-rejoin-gilas-pool

POLL | Which team has the strongest lineup heading into the new PBA season?

Jaemark Tordecilla · Wednesday, September 26, 2012 · 10:19 pm

as of Sept 28, 2012 9:00 am

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/poll-which-team-has-the-strongest-lineup-heading-into-the-new-pba-season

AKTV/Paolo Papa

The PBA has released the official lineups for the teams several days before opening day, giving fans a chance to inspect the respective rosters. The action won’t begin until Sunday, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun and discuss which team is strongest on paper.

Thank you for voting!

Air 21 Express 0.52%  

 

Alaska Aces 6.81%  

 

Barako Bull Energy 0.51%  

 

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 30.53%  

 

GlobalPort Batang Pier 1.51%  

 

Meralco Bolts 0.59%  

 

Petron Blaze Boosters 27.59%  

 

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 2.29%  

 

San Mig Coffee Mixers 23.6%  

 

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 6.05%  

 

Return To Poll 

PBA: San Mig Coffee Mixers Philippine Cup preview

SOURCE: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/275848/sports/basketball/pba-san-mig-coffee-mixers-philippine-cup-preview

CARLO PAMINTUAN, GMA NEWS 

"Big Game" James (right) returns to lead the San Mig Coffee Mixers. KC Cruz

Last Philippine Cup: The first season of the Tim Cone experience was pretty eventful for the team formerly known as the B-MEG Llamados, but the 2011 Philippine Cup was a conference they’d rather forget. After finishing first in the eliminations with a 10-4 record, the Llamados crashed and burned in the quarterfinals, despite having a twice-to-beat advantage, at the flaming hands of Gary David and his Powerade Tigers.


Key Additions: The Mixers were active in the 2012 PBA Draft, wheeling and dealing their way to nabbing defense-oriented big man Aldrech Ramos, who was originally selected by Barako Bull. They also got NU alum and  power forward Jewel Ponferrada to shore up their aging frontcourt. The mixers also signed veteran point guard Chris Pacana, which made no sense at the time because they already had three floor generals on their roster, until they decided to trade away one of their starters.

Key Subtractions: Last season's starter Josh Urbiztondo was traded to the Barako Bull Energy Cola for their 2013 first round draft pick and Wesley Gonzales.


Three keys to being successful in the Philippine Cup

1. Point guard rotation - The departure of Urbiztondo may help the Mixers in the future with that precious 2013 first round draft pick inside their back pockets, but it will definitely hurt them in the Philippine Cup. Urbiztondo is a steady point guard who can catch fire at any point of the game. Without Urbiztondo, the point guard duties will (presumably) be handed to sophomore Mark Barroca, with Jonas Villanueva as the back-up. PJ Simon may also end up starting some, if not most of the games, alongside James Yap

2. Finding the balance between the Triangle and their isolation plays - Last year, the Llamados often found it hard to stick to Cone’s Triangle System. At the most crucial moments in the game, they often went back to their old ways, playing one-on-one offense. The key this year is to find a balance. All the players need to buy whatever Cone is selling and play within his system. However, Cone also needs to let his players take over in some cases. A rigid Alaska type offense will not work for San Mig Coffee because James Yap and PJ Simon need their touches on offense.

3.  Offense from the centers - Yancy de Ocampo experienced a rejuvenation last season. While with Ginebra, it looked like his career was on its last legs, but after he was traded, de Ocampo played statement game after statement game. If San Mig is to be successful in the Philippine Cup, de Ocampo needs to assert himself even more on offense. Rafi Reavis also needs to contribute on offense especially on put-backs instead of taking mid-range jumpers. It’s also interesting to see if Ramos will be given time at the center position because that guy has a reliable shot from outside.

Marc Pingris (center) is the defensive anchor of San Mig Coffee. KC Cruz

What’s the one thing that could scare B-Meg fans?

I can give you a cop out answer and say it’s the health issue, especially for recently injured players such as Joe Devance and JC Intal, but that’s too easy. I can also say it’s the aging frontcourt of de Ocampo and Reavis but that too is a cop-out answer. But what San Mig Coffee fans need to be worried about is this team’s ability to defend.

Marc Pingris is still one of the best defensive players in the league but he can’t defend against everyone.  The frontcourt defense could hold, especially with Pingris and Ramos there, but the Mixers will have a hard time defending guard-heavy teams like Ginebra and even GlobalPort. Ramos is especially important here because he has proven to be a good help defender in the collegiate ranks, but how that will translate to the PBA is another question. While Simon has transformed himself into a good stopper, San Mig fans should be worried about guards scoring at will against their Mixers, when the Super Sidekick is not on the floor.


How this will likely play out: There will be games where the Mixers will just win games solely on their offensive arsenal, but there will also be games when they won’t be able to stop high-scoring guards to save their lives. If everyone’s healthy, this team could match-up well with anyone, even the powerhouse Petron team. A podium finish is a definite possibility for the Mixers but a Philippine Cup championship seems like one or two rotation players away. Don’t be surprised if they pull off a trade or two to further bolster their chances of winning the coveted Philippine Cup championship.

- AMD, GMA News

GANGNAM FEVER VIDEO | Alaska newcomers do the Gangnam Style as part of their initiation

AKTV/Bannie O. Bravante

Alaska forward Paolo Bugia earlier posted this video of Aces newcomers Calvin Abueva, RJ Jazul, Raphy Reyes, Dondon Hontiveros, and Benedict Fernandez going through an initiation.

We suppose this is like the thing at the office Christmas Party when all the new employees have to do a dance number. The coolest thing about this video? None of the players seem all that embarrassed to do the Gangnam Style.

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/video-alaska-newcomers-do-the-gangnam-style-as-part-of-their-initiation

Chot Reyes eyeing US NCAA star for SMART-Gilas?

AKTV/Joser Dumbrique

With the PBA season set to start on Sunday, SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national coach Chot Reyes is turning his eye into assembling the program’s cadet pool, which would be composed of players who are not yet in the PBA.
And Reyes may be eyeing a reported Filipino-American prospect playing for the St. Mary’s Gaels, Stephen Holt, who averaged 10.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season on his way to a spot in the West Coast Conference honorable mention team.
On Twitter, the former Talk ‘N Text coach inquired about Holt from ex-import Omar Samhan, a former star player for the Gaels.
“Do you know if Stephen Holt has Filipino blood? If so, how can I contact him?” Reyes asked Samhan, who answered in the affirmative. The coach then asked if they could get together when Reyes flies to the United States next week.
Reyes has a strong track record for discovering top Fil-Am prospects such as Kelly Williams and Gabe Norwood, who were both top overall picks in the PBA.
The cadet team is expected to be composed of junior players who will make a long-term commitment to the national program. The idea for the team is to have a pool of much younger players training with elite professionals and gaining valuable experience from international stints at a young age, to prepare them for when their generation takes over the senior team.

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/chot-reyes-eyeing-us-ncaa-star-stephen-holt-for-smart-gilas

Racela brothers make history By Fidel Mangonon III September 26, 2012, 09:48 pm

TWENTY rookies, 20 transferees and four returnees.

Those numbers marked the opening-day rosters for the 2012-13 PBA Philippine Cup which begins Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Top pick overall June Mar Fajardo of Petron Blaze leads this year’s freshman class, 18 of which are on active rosters and two on the reserve list.

The list of rookies doesn’t include second overall pick Calvin Abueva, who is still finishing his college-basketball duties for the San Sebastian Stags before joining Alaska in the coming all-Filipino tourney.

Air21’s Simon Atkins is the only rookie to grab a roster spot this season despite not chosen in the first or second round of the draft.

Also among the rookies is Global Port’s Angelus Raymundo, who was not selected in the 2008 draft but has finally fulfilled his dream of making it to the pros. At 30 years, four months and a week old by Sunday, the former San Beda-Alabang standout will be the most senior among this year’s rookies, and the oldest in the league since Lou Gatumbato, then 31, saw action also for Air21 two seasons ago.

Heading the 20 players which will be wearing new uniforms in the coming Philippine Cup are two-time MVP Willie Miller of Global Port, 2012 Jones Cup MVP LA Tenorio of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick JVee Casio of Alaska and five-time slam dunk champion KG Canaleta of Air21.

The four balik-PBA players, three of them coming off stints in the Asian Basketball League, are Roger Yap of Barako Bull, Chris Pacana of San Mig Coffee, Marvin Cruz of Global Port, and Eddie Laure of Alaska.

Also noticeable on the opening-day rosters are new Petron Blaze head coach Olsen Racela and Talk ‘N Text counterpart Nash Racela, who will be the first brothers in PBA history to assume head-coaching duties at the same time.

Olsen takes over from Ato Agustin while Nash is temporarily assuming the head-coaching post until incoming head mentor Norman Black wraps up his duties with the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP Final Four.

Curiously, the Racela brothers headed the coaching staff of the Energen Philippine 18-and-under national team which finished sixth in the Fiba Asia 18-under wars  last August.

source: http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/by-the-numbers/racela-brothers-make-history