Three Wins and a Loss

The Jones Cup record of this version of Gilas now stands at 3-1. After a tough opening day loss to Canada, the Gilas boys have notched wins over Chinese-Taipei’s A-Team and B-Team as well as Japan’s Under-24 Team.

None of their victories came easy, which have led to a lot of negative reactions online. So now we ask the question, should we be worried?

My answer is no, primarily because of these three things:

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

The likes of Kiefer Ravena and Jio Jalalon would never make it to court, we had the likes of Jason Castro and Terence Romeo on the team. Neither would Christian Standhardinger, the revelation of the tournament, had Blatche, Fajardo, or Aguilar been on the team.

Giving these players a chance to play significant minutes allows us to build a strong reserves system, which hopefully minimizes the drop off in skill, talent, and chemistry when our current Gilas stars are unavailable to play.

It also allows us to create some kind of continuity between Gilas teams. Remember when Alapag was the senior guy and Castro the understudy? That worked out pretty well. And then there was Castro as the maestro and Romeo as his student. Soon, Romeo will be our main guy, with Jalalon or Ravena primed to take over. This tournament will go a long way to getting them ready for that day.

My Gilas Twelve

In a couple of hours, Gilas coach Chot Reyes will unveil his final roster who will do battle for the lone sport reserved for the SEABA champion. I’m anticipating that the lineup will be fodder for every basketball conversation for the next 6 weeks.

That being said, why wait? I’m starting the debate with my picks for the Gilas Twelve.

THE SURE-BALLS

Andray Blatche. Junemar Fajardo. Jayson Castro. Terence Romeo. Calvin Abueva.

Every time Blatche is in our lineup, he automatically becomes Gilas’ best player  (even out-of-shape Blatche). There is no local player who comes close to what the Kraken can do on the court while The Beast has become the team’s heart and soul. The Blur is still the best point guard in Asia and Romeo, his heir apparent, is already making waves internationally.

Three Thoughts Midway Through The First Round

We’re halfway through the first round of the NBA Playoffs and some things aren’t exactly what we thought they would be while some were exactly what we thought they’d be.

That being said, here are three thoughts as we go into the backend of the first round:

THOUGHT #1: Can anyone beat the Cavs?

Right now, it’s looking like no one can. Lebron James and his cohorts have been able to find ways to win, even though it hasn’t been pretty. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have their moments but the Cavs are fueled by the will of King James and right now, no one can match him.

Extra thought: Kyle Korver was supposed to be the piece that would make the Cavs near invincible. So far, he’s been outplayed by the likes of Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert.

First Round Predictions

Here we go!

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston Celtics vs Chicago Bulls - Celtics win, 4-1.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers - Cavs win, 4-1.
Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks - Raptors win 4-2
Washington Wizards vs Atlanta Hawks - Hawks wins 4-2

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trailblazers - Warriors win 4-1
San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies - Spurs win 4-0
Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder - Rockets win 4-3
 LA Clippers vs Utah Jazz - Clippers win 4-2

Let the games begin!

Must-Watch Match Ups of the NBA's First Round

Of course we'd like to watch all the matchups. But that's just not possible. If you have to choose, then pick these three matchups.

TOP PICK: OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets.
Russell Westbrook versus James Harden, in the first round? The basketball gods must be crazy! This series should put a giant punctuation mark on someone's MVP candidacy...or raise even more questions. Either way, expect this series to be about firepower and not much defense. Plus, Westbrook knows he's got to get past Harden if he wants a shot at Durant.

SECOND PICK: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers
On paper, this shouldn't be an easy out for the Cavs. Paul George may not be Lebron James but he's a top 15, maybe top 10 player in the league. Kyrie Irving may be better than Jeff Teague but again, not by a lot. Kevin Love is where they have a big advantage  (over Thaddeus Young) but the youngster Myles Turner is already much better than Tristan Thompson. Cavs should win but I have a feeling they're gonna bleed in every game.

THIRD PICK: Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are who I thought the Minnesota Timberwolves were going to be, a young, frothing-at-the-mouth-pack-of-rabid-ballers who will keep on swinging until the final buzzer rang. Also...Giannis Antetokounmpo in a playoff series? I'm salivating already at the thought of him throwing down from the freethrow line at the Bradley Center.

AWARDS TIME! Putting My Credibility Where My Mouth Is

MVP: Russell Westbrook. Yes, it was the triple doubles. Yes, it was the compelling storyline all season long.  Yes, it was the rising from the ashes of the Kevin Durant departure, like a mythical phoenix. Yes, it’s also about the winning. Without 2016-2017 Westbrook, the OKC Thunder would have been, at best, a 25-win team. Instead, they’re the sixth seed in the always-tough Western conference.

Rookie of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon. It should have been Joel Embiid, had he played more. Or Brandon Ingram, had he played better. Or Ben Simmons, had he played at all. Or even Dario Saric, had the Sixers won more. Instead, it is the cool, collected and unassuming 24 year old second round draft pick Brogdon, he of the 10.3 ppg, 2.8rpg, 4.2 apg, and 1.1 spg who was the year’s best rookie.

Coach of the Year: Tough call. I’ll go with Greg Popovich. Why? Anybody notice how the Spurs remain among the top 3 teams in the NBA despite losing Tim Duncan to retirement, having end-of-their-careers Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, and David Lee as their bench and guys like Jonathan Simmons, Kyle Anderson, David Bertans, DeJounte Murray, and DeWayne Dedmon as their main pieces. Only Pop can make this possible.