Are you in the game?!

The Boston Celtics is not done building a championship contender team. It recently signed free agent James Posey. Posey at 6′8 plays the small forward position. He has a streaky stroke from the outside, can penetrate and more importantly a good defensive player. Posey also brings experience in the team. The guy steps-up especially during the playoffs. The star that he is, Posey is satisfied playing as a role player in his team. He has never been the go to guy or the super star of the team although I think he has what it takes to be one.

The Celtics has really done a very good job not just in their trade deals but also in their exploitation of the free agent market. Other recruit from the free agent list are Scott Pollard and Eddie House. Both are NBA veterans and effective role players.

Definitely the Celtics are going for the killer line-up this season. For more on this story [url="http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/notes/notes082707-posey-role.html"]CLICK ME[/url]

Nostalgic.

When I saw this video, I felt good. It’s nice to remember the good old days of the PBA. To the avid fans of PBA, I bet you’ll feel the same. hehehe PBA plays are not as fantastic and exceptional like the plays in the NBA but it’s certainly entertaining to watch.

I bumped into this video which shows the top ten plays from the “original” and only DREAM TEAM. Check it out!

The 1st five of the USA Men’s team is composed of Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard. wOwOw! That’s all I can say for this 5! It is an exceptional, full blast offensive 5! You get complete offensive weapons from these players. Only Dwight Howard can’t hit the 3-ball and can’t operate from the outside but he is a monster both on the defensive and offensive ends down in the paint. The other four are complete players! With Jason Kidd as court-general, the ball rotation is assured and so are their set plays. With Lebron, Kobe, and Melo, your assured of inside and outside attack. Plus the hussle defense of James will surely come to play. 

This is a deadly first five. Any team who can’t play extra tight defense on the Americans will surely be down by bigtime early in the game. This is an explosive 1st five! They can run and gun with the wingmen or set the table with Jason Kidd at the point. The inside threat is not a question since Dwight Howard is a good post player. 

The downside however of this 1st five is on the defensive end. But I think the thinking of the coaching staff of team USA at this point or for the tournament is to outscore and dump every single opponent. That’s why he build a team that can definitely leave other teams with dust…. 

I must say, the team is very exciting to watch.The Americans have certainly learn their lesson in inter-state or country competitions.

The USA team management and coaching staff have finally announced the final line-up of the USA Men’s Senior National team. The 12 man roster is composed of:

Name	Pos.	Height	Team/Univ
Carmelo Anthony	F	6-8	Denver Nuggets
Chauncey Billups	G	6-3	Detroit Pistons
Kobe Bryant	G	6-6	Los Angeles Lakers
Tyson Chandler	F-C	7-1	New Orleans Hornets
Dwight Howard	F-C	6-11	Orlando Magic
LeBron James	F	6-8	Cleveland Cavaliers
Jason Kidd	G	6-4	New Jersey Nets
Mike Miller	G	6-8	Memphis Grizzlies
Tayshaun Prince	F	6-9	Detroit Pistons
Michael Redd	G	6-6	Milwaukee Bucks
Amare Stoudemire	C	6-10	Phoenix Suns
Deron Williams	G	6-3	Utah Jazz

Eddie Griffin was one of my players in my NBA live 2005 fantasy team!hahaha He was an effective shot blocker down low. That is why he was included in my line-up.

After a long silence, the guy was recently in the headlines of sports columns. The former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Eddie Griffin died last week when his sports utility vehicle collided with a freight train in a fiery crash. Griffin was badly eaten by fire. He was identified through his dental records. 

According to the talks, Griffin had consistent liquor/alcohol problems since 2001. For more on this story, CLICK ME  

 Rest in peace man-

The Air21 Express continues its hunger for a crown in the PBA. From the previous conferences, they have proven they have the potential to become title contenders. The team’s run and gun game is just lovely and exciting to watch. Just overlook their turnovers though.

After the Draft day, the team becomes even more exciting with the addition of high leaper JC “The Rocket” Intal, Doug Kramer, “Marvelous” Marvin Cruz and JR Masbang. I am not very familiar with JR Masbang but with the other three, I can certainly say give good insights on them.

Intal and Kramer were teammates in Ateneo de Manila University. Intal is most effective playing the small forward position with his explosive drive to the basket moves. In his late years in UAAP, he has develop his outside shooting but it’s not that consistent yet. Kramer in the other hand, operates well under the rim. He doesn’t have a solid low post play but he does have a decent perimeter jumper. What you admire about Kramer aside from her lovely girlfriend(hahah Cheska Garcia..wOw), is his hustle, intensity, and hardwork. He is the type of player that will always dive for loose balls and go after rebounds. Meanwhile, Marvin Cruz is the standout point guard of the UP Fighting Maroons. He has good ball handling skills, court vission, leaping ability, and can very well slash to the hoop. As a point guard however, he has a tendency to drive to the basket and will suddenly dish out risky passes. He has a high turnover average for a point guard in his UAAP days. Nevertheless, Cruz is an explosive point guard. He loves the run and gun type of gun and so I think he is perfect for Air21.

So, add these new players to the likes of KG Canaleta, Gary David, Winnie Arboleda and Arwind Santos, you get added explosiveness and youth. The team only has to improve on their defense and limit their turnovers and they’ll surely be a team to watch in the PBA.

After the Draft day, the Welcoat Dragons continued in building a solid frontline by acquiring Nic Belasco from the Alaska Aces for JunJun Cabaty, the son of former PBA star, Sonny Cabatu. I’m happy with this move of the Dragons. By having Belasco, they now have a presence of a veteran in the team. Belasco is a certified PBA veteran and has championship experience. Beyond his basketball skills, he can impart so many things to the Welcoat team. On the side of the Aces, letting go of Belasco is not really a big loss since they’ve acquired two undersize bigmen in the person of UAAP standout, Ken Bono and University of Visayas star, JR Quinahan. The two stand around 6′4″ but operates effectively inside the paint.

Yousif Aljamal, the 8th overall pick by Air21 is headed to the Talk n Text Phone Pals to reunite with his San Beda head coach, Frankie Lim. Lim is the team manager for the Phone Pals. The exchange for Aljamal is yet to be revealed.

Meanwhile, Marc “BigMac” Andaya is now a part of the Red Bull squad. He was freely acquired by Red Bull from Air21. I expect “BigMac” to improve in Red Bull. I think this move is a big break for him because Coach Yeng Guiao of Red Bull is very good in improving and exploiting the potentials of young players.

Purefoods, out of nowhere signed rookie free agent and PBL veteran, Chico Lanete for a 2-year, 5 million contract. I’m very surprised with this move. I think Purefoods doesn’t need a wingman or a shooting guard. Lanete plays the 2 spot and the point as well. He can shoot and slash but lacks consistency. The team, despite acquiring Rommel Adducul still needs a big man rather than a guard. I hope they’ll still make some moves in the next days…

 

After the 2007 PBA Draft Pick last Sunday, 17 PBA hopefuls were given the chance to play in the Pro league. Welcoat Dragons opted for Joe DeVance as their no.1 overall draft pick. The 6′8″ Samigue Eman landed no. 2 with the San Miguel Beermen. Eman by the way is from Davao City. He is a product of the University of Mindanao Wildcats. The other players selected were:

Sta. Lucia - Ryan Reyes at No. 3
Air21 - JC Intal at No. 4
Air21 - Doug Kramer No. 5
Alaska - Ken Bono No. 6
Alaska - JR Quinahan No. 7
Air21 - Yousif Aljamal at No. 8
San Miguel - Jonas Villanueva No. 9
Brgy. Ginebra - Macky Escalona No. 10

In the second round, In the second round, Ronjay Buenafe went to Coca-Cola, Arana to Welcoat, Melvin Mamaclay to Sta. Lucia, Marvin Cruz and JR Masbang to Air21, Jojo Duncil to Red Bull and Ardy Larong to Alaska.

This year’s draft isn’t as deep as the previous drafts in terms of talent and size.

“Team Pilipinas” went home without the crown but with pride. They brought not the olympic dream but the respect of the Asian countries and the rest of the world.

This is how to look at it in a positive wy, but hey, I must say I am upset with the outcome of their quest for the Olympics. I do believe the team had what it takes to win in the FIBA-Asia. Yes, the team was in the “Group of Death,” but the way the team was beaten by Iran and Jordan, was unpleasant. I would prefer seeing them beaten, playing a good game than winning despite playing a bad game. I mean, National teams are supposed to be playing their A-game every outing, whether against a strong or weak team. The opposing doesn’t really matter at all. Team Pilipinas can very much beat any team in the Group of Death.

Team Pilipinas beat China twice but hey, China’s squad wasn’t the A-squad compared to the Philipines (Asi Taulava is not the best center, but the only center who can compete internationally). And yet, the games were close. The victories over China is the “conswelo de bobo” for team Philippines.

These are just my thoughts. Feel free to share yours.