The PBA Bubble: What to Expect

We're a couple of days away from the start of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup and, for a population so starved for quality basketball, the excitement is palpable. 

Here are three things we can look forward to in the Clark PBA Bubble:

1) High-scoring Games That Mask Rusty Basketball - This will be the first time any of our PBA players will be in any sort of high-level basketball competition in the last 7 months. While I have no doubt that they have not forgotten how to score, defensive schemes and rotation take repetition and familiarity to be effective. 

I think we can expect teams to rack up the scores (and the turnovers) as they find their bearings.

2) Guards Will Be The Stars - The absence of JuneMar Fajardo affects this league so much that teams with exceptional guards suddenly become favorites. While Alex Cabagnot is still a good guard, San Miguel's fate rests on how Chris Ross and Terence Romeo can stave off the likes of Jayson Castro, Paul Lee, Stanley Pringle, Scottie Thompson, Jio Jalalon, Baser Amer, Kiefer Ravena, and CJ Perez.

3) Other PBA Big Men Get Rare Time To Shine - Again, the absence of JuneMar Fajardo means it's open season on the title "Best PBA Big Man". If the likes of Japeth Aguilar, Christian Standhardinger, JP Erram, Ian Sanggalang, and Raymond Almazan want to, at the very least, challenge Fajardo's status as best big man in the PBA, this bubble is the time to prove it.

WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT:

PBA basketball. Maybe the long layoff will be what we need to reignite our love affair with the PBA. Definitely tuning in on Sunday for the first games and I hope you join me.

The Castro Replacements

One of the more distressing pieces of news to hit Philippine basketball lately is the decision by legendary point guard Jayson Castro to skip this years FIBA World Cup in China.

Castro has been instrumental to the rise of Gilas in international basketball and has twice been hailed as the best point guard in Asia.

Now, this question begs to be asked: who should be included in the Gilas pool as possible replacements for Castro?

Here are five options:

Mark Barroca. Barroca has proven himself as probably the best two-way point guard we have, not just in the All-Filipino Cup but even during his most recent Gilas stint. While his outside shooting is still not as good as you would expect from an elite guard, it's good enough for him to be dangerous. His defense though, puts him in an entirely different category, with only his Purefoods backup, Jio Jalalon, and Ginebra spitfire, Scottie Thompson, coming close.

The Calvin Abueva Suspension: Justified Or Not?

Ninety thousand pesos in total lost to fines. Suspended indefinitely from playing in the PBA. A reputation in tatters. Who knew that all these things would happen to Calvin Abueva in a span of one week?

Let's rewind back a little.

It's was obvious from the third minute, when a total of three players and the Phoenix head coach were all sent to the dugout, that it was going to be a contentious ballgame.

Calvin Abueva was at the heart of that scuffle too, when he pushed one of the Semerad twins away from Rob Dozier, triggering a near free-for-all that escalated when Phoenix head coach Louis Alas pushed David Semerad on the chest and Semerad flopped like crazy to draw a disqualifying foul on the coach.

Of Game Sevens and Conference Finalists

The NBA should immortalize this day, as a pair of Game 7s showed exactly why this game is so magnificent. On one end, the Portland Trailblazers upened the second-seeded Denver Nuggets 100-96 to earn the right to face the Golden State Warriors.

On the other end, the Toronto Raptors proved they finally have championship mettle, as Kawhi Leonard hit the NBA's first ever Game 7 buzzer beater to propel his team past the Philadelphia 76ers, 92-90.

Here are three thoughts as we enter the Conference Finals:

KAWHI IS A BONAFIDE SUPERSTAR. He certainly made me eat major crow, after I basically pronounced that he wasn't that big an upgrade over DeMar Derozan. But he has certainly upped his game and had me mesmerized almost the entire Game 7. The man is relentless and may be, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis, among the most complete players we have in the league so far. That being said, Milwaukee still has Giannis Antetokoounmpo (and Khriss Middleton, Eric Bledoe, Brook Lopez etc...) so I do still favor the Bucks. But it's going to be a dogfight (and maybe even another series that goes to a Game 7) and I give them a 49.99% chance of winning it.

The NBA 2019 Playoff: Of Parity and Evolution

So, as we enter the third week of the playoffs, we're starting to realize just how much parity there is among the top 8 teams in the league.

Here are three thoughts:

PARITY IS KEY - The 1-seeds in both conferences "only" have a 2-1 lead over the 4th seeds. Both 3-seeds have 2-1 leads over the second seed. While most have the Warriors winning the championship this year, what we should realize is that the road has become harder than ever...with at least 3 teams (Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia) having realistic chances of defeating the Warriors.

Eastern Conference Playoffs: One Week In

As expected, the Beasts of the East have prevailed over their less illustrious brethren and are now ready to move onto the next round. Here are the things that surprised and didn't surprise us.

SURPRISING:
FIRST GAME UPSETS. No one really saw the Magic winning over the Raptors or the Nets winning over the Sixers in the first game. But it was really more the case of the higher seeds acclimatizing to the playoff atmosphere while the lower seeds went for the haymakers from the get-go. Of course, soon the NBA universe righted itself and the Raptors and Sixers won the next four games.

THE BOSTON SWEEP. The only matchup that truly seemed compettitive was also one that went via sweep. Boston leveraged on their playoff experience to bully their way into the next round, pounding the relatively less inexperienced Pacers into submission.