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Manny Pacquiao is going through his throwing motion at Yankee Stadium. With easy deliberation, he shows off the form he says he perfected playing elementary school baseball in the dirt-poor southern Philippines before boxing took him over completely. His shoulder slips back, his torso pitches smoothly forward, left hand and arm torquing an imaginary ball into the depths of the air-conditioned players’ cafeteria, where he is waiting to take the field for an announcement. The diamond stud in his ear catches the light.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1935091,00.html#ixzz0W5O2tMRK

Willie Miller cooled down after two hot games but there’s still no stopping the Alaska Milk Aces.

Alaska continued to sizzle even as Miller slowed down, staying on the run with a 100-79 whipping of Coca-Cola in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome Friday night.

The Aces played steady basketball with practically everybody having their contributions as they stretched their unbeaten run to three games following earlier wins over the Barako Bull Energy Boosters and the San Miguel Beermen.

Miller was spectacular in their first two games, averaging 22 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. He was particularly awesome in three-point shooting, hitting at a 78-percent clip.

The two-time MVP awardee struggled for nine points versus the Tigers, but LA Tenorio, Reynel Hugnatan, Joe Devance and Larry Fonacier were among the Aces that picked up the cudgels.

“We were trying very hard through the last couples of conferences to establish our second group. They stepped up and created their identity tonight,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone lauding Hugnatan, Fonacier and Mark Borboran.

“The first group came out strong in the first quarter then the second group picked it up in the second quarter. The same thing happened in the second half. That’s the story of the game,” Cone added.

The Alaska mentor also said catching Coca-Cola minus Asi Taulava made things easier for them.

“It’s a big opportunity and we seized it,” said Cone.

The Aces dominated the Tigers, priming them up for what could be a slam-bang duel with the Barangay Ginebra Kings Sunday.

It’s actually a Big Time double-header featuring the four remaining unbeaten teams in the tourney — the Aces versus the Kings and the Talk n Text Phone Pals against the Sta. Lucia Realtors.

Alex Cabagnot gave the Tigers a big push towards the end of the third quarter as Coca-Cola charged from a 13-point deficit, coming to within one at 61-62.

The Aces, however, quickly regrouped and unraveled key counter runs to win the game pulling away.

Opting for a small starting lineup composed of Cabagnot, RJ Rizada, Marvin Cruz, Larry Rodriguez and Dennis Espino, the Tigers gave away the rebounds and trailed by six, 20-26, in the opening quarter.

Coca-Cola made some adjustments to control the boards in the second period but faltering offense had the team still on the trail, 37-41, at the half.

Tenorio and Hugnatan led the assault for Alaska in the first period then Fonacier and Jeff Cariaso took over in the second canto. (SB)

The scores:

Alaska 100 – Tenorio 17, Hugnatan 14, De Vance 12, Fonacier 12, Miller 9, Borboran 8, Dela Cruz 8, Thoss 6, Ferriols 5, Cariaso 5, Burtscher 4, Cablay 0.

Coca-Cola 79 – Cabagnot 15, Cruz 11, Rizada 10, Gonzales W. 9, Gonzales N. 9, Rodriguez 6, Allera 5, Bono 5, Espino 5, Ross 2, Calimag 2, Catli 0.

Quarterscores: 26-20, 41-37, 64-61, 100-79

Pba.ph

It seems that Burger King cannot find a way to get away from controversy. Fresh from licking its wounds following the Japeth Aguilar exodus, now the franchise is going through its ugliest moment in the league’s history.

In the middle of the second quarter of the Burger King-Smart Gilas game last Friday, Wynne Arboleda decided to change careers from pro basketball player to UFC fighter and attacked a fan who had supposedly provoked him by hurling curses and invectives.

The league responded by slapping the Whoppers guard with its harshest penalty ever: A full season suspension without pay.

But what was the root of the problem?

In a span of 18 minutes prior to the insanity, BK had committed four flagrant fouls. The first came from Arboleda, who sent a welcome-to-the-PBA clothesline to the side of the head of a driving JV Casio. Then, Gary David chipped in his own hard foul on Marc Barroca. Then rookie Ronnie Matias unloaded a swinging elbow as powerful as a Federer backhand to Chris Tiu. Then the infamous “oops I slipped” undercut of Arboleda on a driving Baracael that got him thrown out.

There were other flagrant fouls that should have been called. Like when Arboleda fought the screen of Casio by elbowing Casio’s chin. Such a blow above the shoulders was enough reason for ejection.

Any responsible coach would have taken out a player who clearly wanted to hurt his opponents. And this other team is not just any team, but our national team filled with kids training and playing their hearts out for the country. While they are compensated well, they still risk injury everyday as they put their pro dreams on hold to pursue the more noble dreams of representing the country.

Intense physical competition is normally expected from a heated rivalry in the middle of a championship series, like Ginebra and Purefoods in the 1990s. But what could possibly have caused that heat and “fabricated” intensity against a national team that only wants to improve its game?

It certainly wasn’t an attempt to simulate international play. I’ve seen so many international basketball games. And believe me, those fouls would not have been accepted in any international play. I’m sure that once the international basketball community gets a tape of that game, they will be appalled.

How did the referees fail to see the intentions of the burly veterans? If the PBA technical committee was indeed competent, they would’ve ordered the players to stop the shenanigans. Let’s not be naive gentlemen, we know what basketball is and is not.

Arboleda should have been banished much earlier. All told, he committed four fouls, two of them flagrant, and then attacked the fan all in officially three minutes of playing time. That is one for the Guinness book of world records indeed.

So could this have been stopped? Yes of course. Ejecting the fan that could not hold his emotions would have avoided the mauling. But would the hard flagrant fouls have continued?

There were unconfirmed reports that the game plan from the bench was to be a man and to put the kids in their place. One wonders why even a rookie like Matias had the nerve to throw an unprovoked elbow at Tiu’s chin. No rookie in his right mind would do that in his second game in the pros.

And that’s the key word there—provocation. Arboleda claims he was provoked by the cursing. But what could have possibly provoked that kind of play? Was it revenge for the Japeth issue? Was it payback for Powerade being humiliated by Smart Gilas in the charity game? In my entire coaching experience, no player would dare play the way the Whoppers did had they not received the “green light” from somewhere.

It was clear, too, that team management should have stepped in and stopped the carnage. Is this the way they want to start the season with their board representative as league chairman? I sure hope not.

The Commissioner’s office has missed the point. The criminal/criminals get the punishment while the mastermind manages to get off the hook and go free to create more havoc? – Inquirer.net

Arwind Santos played like a man on a mission in his first game against his former team.

Santos erupted with a huge double-double game with 28 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, and San Miguel Beer notched its first win in the 35th PBA season with a 117-99 blasting of Burger King at the Cuneta Astrodome Wednesday.

The Beermen woke up from a stupor, breaking into the win-column in the KFC Philippine Cup following back-to-back losses to the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Alaska Milk Aces.

The Whoppers suffered a second defeat in three starts with team skipper Wynne Arboleda starting to serve his long suspension for mauling a fan in their last game against Smart Gilas Friday.

Santos had his breakout game as a Beerman, dealing his former team much beating.

The versatile forward was 4-of-9 from the three-point area and 8-of-14 from the two-point zone as he raised his game several rungs up following mediocre showings against the Kings and the Aces.

He was 0-of-10 from beyond the arc in those games.

“Gigil siguro doon sa first two games kaya ganon. Saka medyo nagse-settle down na rin siguro ako with my new team,” said Santos, who also highlighted his game with 18 caroms, improving his previous career best by one.

“No doubt, Arwind is a great talent. He can play big or small. But talent alone doesn’t win games. The jury is still out if he can pick things up with us,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

The whole San Miguel team made a big turnaround from so-so showings versus the Kings and the Aces.

The Beermen hit at a 42.9-percent three-point shooting — a big improvement from 3-of-32 clip in their first two games.

“Very obvious, nagkakapaan pa ang team. No excuses but we played like shit in our first two games. In short stretches lang kami nakapaglaro ng maayos,” said Tanquingcen.

“We won tonight but we’ve yet to get the chemistry that we want. We’re still a work in progress,” Tanquingcen added.

Finally hitting their strides, the Beermen drew double-digit outputs from six other players in Mike Cortez, Mick Pennisi, Dondon Hontiveros, Lordy Tugade, Jonas Villanueva and Dennis Miranda.

Richard Yee, a transferee from Purefoods, paced BK with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Beermen led by as many as 15 points before settling for a 60-49 margin at the half.

They took the opening quarter at 34-24 with Santos beating the buzzer with a long heave for his first three-point shot in the season. (SB)

The scores:

San Miguel 117 – Santos 28, Cortez 16, Pennisi 14, Hontiveros 13, Tugade 12, Villanueva 10, Miranda 10, Pena 6, Custodio 3, Racela 3, Eman 2, Calaguio 0.

Burger King 99 – Yee 17, Billones 16, Quinahan 14, Lanete 13, Matias 7, Buenafe 7, Aban 7, Sharma 7, Yee 5, David 4, Belga 2.

Quarterscores: 34-24, 60-49, 85-73, 117-99 – Pba.ph

The PBA’s 35th season is just a week old but Barangay Ginebra and Alaska Milk have already made an impact by posting two convincing wins in the KFC Philippine Cup.

The Aces and the Kings, both runners-up in the previous two conferences, roared past rivals on opening week, including a huge victory each over fancied San Miguel Beer, to stay on top of the standings.

Alaska opened its campaign with a resounding 99-83 win against the rebuilding Barako Bull last Wednesday where former two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Willie Miller collected his third career triple-double with 19 points 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

The Aces then stunned the Beermen, 85-74, with Miller delivering another solid game with 25 points in Panabo City.

Ginebra, on the other hand, welcomed the return of Mark Caguioa with a 98-86 triumph against San Miguel.

The 6-foot Caguioa, who was sidelined last season due to tendonitis, fired 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter in his first game back, while Eric Menk had 18 points and nine rebounds and reigning MVP Jayjay Helterbrand added 17, seven boards and nine assists.

With Menk out in their second game, the Kings turned to Helterbrand, who scored 19 points with five rebounds and nine assists in their 95-85 win versus the Purefoods Giants. Willy Wilson came off the bench to add 16 points.

“We just hope that we keep on improving,” said Ginebra mentor Jong Uichico following his team’s victory over Purefoods.

Alaska coach Tim Cone said it’s too early to tell or use their two wins as a gauge, saying: “Not much to crow about. Beat an undermanned Barako Bull team and ‘hangover’ SMB squad but certainly better than 0-2. Tough weekend coming up for us, it will be telling.”

While Alaska opted to keep its team intact – at least for this conference – Ginebra made some adjustment with its roster, especially on their frontcourt rotation.

The Kings got in a three-team trade Rico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, and Celino Cruz from Purefoods, while the Aces decided to stick with Miller, who admitted that he’s happy that he’s still with Alaska despite off-season rumors that he will be traded to another team.

Despite losing forward Rafi Reavis and guard Paul Artadi in the trade, the arrival of Villanueva and Alvarez has solidified the Kings’ frontline rotation,
while Cruz has been a steady playmaker so far as a back-up to Helterbrand.

But their mettle will put to test when they clash on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Also making their presence felt are defending champion Talk ’N Text, which downed Rain or Shine, 85-76, and 2008 Philippine Cup champion Sta. Lucia Realty, which won against Coca-Cola (95-76).

Burger King and Barako Bull have also shown their resolve by bouncing back after dropping their opening game assignments.

After losing to the Giants, 80-93, the Whopper turned back the Smart-Gilas RP Team, 115-105, while the Energy Boosters rebounded from their loss to the Aces with an 81-73 win over the Tigers last Sunday at the Big Dome.

The Manila Bulletin

The Philippine Basketball Association on Monday handed down its severest penalty to date, suspending veteran Burger King guard Wynne Arboleda without pay for the rest of the 2009-10 Season.

Arboleda Arboleda went after a heckler at courtside during the Whopper’s game against Smart-Gilas at the Araneta Coliseum last Friday, landing a kick and some punches before being restrained by cooler heads.

The suspension means P2.73 million in lost income for Arboleda, not counting won game, advancement and player award bonuses. For committing two flagrant fouls penalty 1 in the game, the nine-year PBA veteran also drew a P20,000 fine and a one-game suspension, which would be served on Wednesday in their game against the San Miguel Beermen.

In his decision letter sent to Arboleda, PBA commissioner Renauld “Sonny” Barrios said, “As we pointed out to you, even granting that said fan was foul-mouthed and verbally abusive as confirmed by reports to us, there is a ‘line’ that a PBA player cannot and should not cross: to physically harm a fan.”

Coming just a few months after two separate incidents involving players and fans, commissioner Barrios told Arboleda that “your serious breach of this ‘line’ at this time and in the manner described herein endangers the PBA as being perceived by the public as unwholesome and not deserving of fan support.”

Even granting that said fan was foul-mouthed and verbally abusive as confirmed by reports to us, there is a ‘line’ that a PBA player cannot and should not cross: to physically harm a fan. – Sonny Barrios, PBA commissionerThe PBA Commissioner ended his letter by saying a repeat of the same or similar act will result in a lifetime ban from the league.

Barrios, who met with Arboleda Monday morning at the PBA Commissioner’s Office in Libis, added that the PBA must send a strong signal that such an unwanted act has no place in the league and will never be taken lightly, stressing that the fans’ interest is always the league’s primordial concern as established by PBA forefathers over the years.

While serving his suspension, Arboleda cannot be present at the playing venues during Burger King’s games.

As a contracted PBA player even while suspended, Arboleda likewise may not play in any other league. - GMANews.TV

Nick Giongco’s October 19th article published on the Manila Bulletin entitled “Pacquiao’s weakness exposed” is quite compelling.

It vividly exposed the long ignored issues in boxing – loyalty amongst team members hired to do a specific job.

But, loyalty, or rather the lack of it is certainly not surprising given the present mentality in the sweet science that is no different from today’s corporate world where employees move from one company to another and in the process exposing the weaknesses of the former employer so they will look good to the new employer.

And, the old cut-man, Joe Chavez is no different.

Chavez who used to be a mainstay of the Team Pacquiao was not hired to be on the Pacman’s corner in his fight against Miguel Cotto on November 14th at the MGM Grand.

On the contrary he will be working the corner of Miguel Cotto that night.

Since he is now on the opposite corner, Chavez has been telling the Cotto people all the little secrets he learned while he was working for Pacquiao perhaps thinking it may disadvantage the Filipino spitfire. Thus, he will look good to the Cotto people.

Now people can say that is okay. It’s part of the game.

Bull!

Chavez’ behavior is a classic example of loyalty gone bonkers.

And, it certainly exposed the character of the man.

It is a classic example of what the almighty dollar can do even to the character of an old supposedly venerable cutman who has been in the business for so long.

It would be perfectly understandable if he tells the Cotto people about the “weakness” of Pacquiao. After all, he is now employed by the Puerto Rican.

However, he should have been more discreet and kept it away from the media.

But alas, he didn’t. Thus, an issue about his character was exposed.

The behavior of Chavez is a lesson learned for boxers from the Philippines that fight in foreign lands, the US included.

Filipino boxers should drop the long existing colonial mentality that makes them favor more popular cut-men of foreign origin over cut-men of Philippine ancestry who are just as good as anybody in the business and whose only fault is lack of exposure.

They seem to forget that popularity does not always translate to ability to get the job done, and get it done well.

Filipino boxers and their handlers should perhaps take a lesson or two from Tony Aldeguer and the Team ALA from Cebu.

ALA boxers have fought in many places including the US and Mexico. But I do not recall seeing a non-Filipino cut-man in their corner. Now Tony Martin, the Englishman from Las Vegas could be an exception. Yes, he is British, but he is married to a Pinay and is Filipino at heart. Even his kids speak Cebuano.

In fact, Tony Aldeguer himself goes out of the way to seek Filipino cut-men to work the corner of ALA boxers instead of hiring someone who is a-non-Pinoy.

Chavez’ behavior may have an unexpected redeeming value. It is a wake up call for Filipino boxers fighting in the US.

In particular, it opened the eyes of Filipino boxers, managers and promoters to the presence of good Filipino cut-men in the US some of whom have medical background and thus the training and experiences to handle cuts and even intra-oral injuries the proper way.

On top of that, they are not only knowledgeable about infection control but are conscious about it as well 24/7.

Certainly, you will never see these Filipino professionals act as cut-men without using universal precautions to protect themselves and the boxers from potential deadly cross-infections or more so, keep a Q-tips (used to apply coagulant on the cuts) in their mouths or held on top of their ears.

Joe Chavez, who once worked for Manny Pacquiao as a cutman, said he holds the key to the victory of Miguel Cotto over the Filipino pound-for-pound king when they clash on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.

While Chavez has a different role inside Team Cotto with Joe Santiago as head trainer, the seasoned cornerman has immersed himself so much in Pacquiao’s corner that he claims that he knows some of Pacquiao’s  innermost secrets.

“When attacked, he (Pacquiao) doesn’t know what to do,” Chavez told the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia over the weekend.

Before the Argentine-born Miguel Diaz was recruited by Team Pacquiao, Chavez had been a familiar fixture in the corner manned by Freddie Roach, having aided Pacquiao in his bloody brawl with Juan Manuel Marquez and a few of other fights.

“I have other work here (in Team Cotto), but if they ask me, I can help and do my comments and I know Pacquiao very well,” said Chavez.

Aside from Team Cotto’s observation that Pacquiao doesn’t do well when he is the one being pursued, Chavez believes that Cotto’s natural advantage in size will eventually prove to be Pacquiao’s downfall.

“Cotto is (like) a bull. Pacquiao is fast, but Cotto has more power in the punch and is strong. This will be the difference. Pacquiao has never fought as strong as Cotto,” said Chavez.

Ronald Tubid provided the spark coming off the bench in the last three minutes as Barangay Ginebra upended Purefoods, 95-87, to gain a share of early lead with Alaska Milk in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Tubid pumped in a trey then scored on a drive following his own steal, triggering a decisive 11-3 run that keyed the Kings’ second win following a triumphant debut against the San Miguel Beermen Wednesday.

Jayjay Helterbrand put in team highs of 19 points and nine assists while Willy Wilson came through with a career-best of 16 points as the Kings pulled abreast with the Aces who earlier won their first two matches in the all-Filipino tourney against the Barako Bull Energy Boosters and the Beermen.

Mark Caguioa was limited to eight points after scattering 17 points Wednesday — his return from a one-year layoff.

“Both team struggled tonight. It’s good we ran a streak at the right time,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“It’s a big back-to-back wins for us. To be honest, medyo takot ako in our first two games. We’ve got new players at dalawang malakas agad ang kalaban namin. We wanted sana na maka-adjust muna sa system namin ang mga new players namin,” Uichico also said.

“The veterans did a good job, nakalusot kami against San Miguel and Purefoods.”

The Kings take a four-day rest before facing another tough back-to-back games against Smart Gilas Friday and Alaska Sunday.

“Hopefully, we can pick up from tonight’s game, we continue to improve and get past Smart Gilas and Alaska. Pero siguradong mahirap na laban yon,” said Uichico.

The Giants, winners over the Burger King Whoppers in the season opener, provided a tough battle, fighting the Kings through 10 deadlocks and 13 lead changes.

James Yap fired 21 points, including a fastbreak layup giving Purefoods its last taste of the lead at 76-74.

The count was tied at 78-all before Billy Mamaril canned in a charity then Tubid struck with his five-point binge pushing the Kings ahead at 84-78 with 2:16 left to play.

Biboy Simon and Helterbrand traded a triple each in the ensuing plays as the Kings eventually settled the outcome of the game, getting the two-game roll after a runner-up finish in the most recent Fiesta Conference.

Enrico Villanueva started at power forward spot against his former team, coming through with 10 points, three rebounds and one assists in 25 minutes of play.

Rich Alvarez, another Purefoods player, was 0-of-2 from the field.

Eric Menk sat out the game due to a fractured small toe on left foot. (SB)

The scores:

Ginebra 95 – Helterbrand 19, Wilson 16, Tubid 14, Villanueva 10, Mamaril 9, Salvacion 9, Caguioa 8, Intal 5, Baguio 4, Cruz 1, Alvarez 0.

Purefoods 87 – Yap J. 21, Simon 16, Yap R. 13, Maierhofer 9, Artadi 8, Pingris 8, Raymundo 6, Timberlake 3, Allado 2, Reavis 1, Canaleta 0.

Quarterscores: 23-22, 38-39, 66-61, 95-87

THE CONCERN OF THE KFC-PBA PHILIPPINE CUP field is not the chemistry and consistency problems San Miguel Beer experienced in its season-opening 98-86 loss to Barangay Ginebra last Wednesday.

What is outright scary is when the Beermen iron out the rough edges of their game and unleash the true power of their talented roster.

Despite posting an early 11-point lead, San Miguel was thrown off by a second-quarter blitz engineered by the returning Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid.

* * *

When Ginebra plays small and hits emotional shots, it stirs its faithful fans and unfurls a volatile concoction that opponents find difficult to deal with.

Ginebra outscored San Miguel, 18-9, on the break and was sharper, 47 to 38 percent, from the field. It didn’t help at all that the Beermen couldn’t nail a trey all night, missing all 15 three-point attempts.

It was clear that there was some getting used to that the Beermen had to address.

New recruits Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda were feeling their way around. Their teammates were still getting accustomed to when they would take their shots and how they would move alongside them.

Anybody who has played hoops knows that the equation changes when somebody you’ve played against suddenly becomes your teammate.

It can be expected that this will not last very long.

* * *

Siot Tanquingcen is not unfamiliar to the role of conductor of an orchestra of virtuosos. Once everybody settles into the roles they are assigned, San Miguel should be quite a force to deal with in the tournament.

In the backcourt, they have Jonas Villanueva, Olsen Racela, Mike Cortez and Miranda and up front, there are Mick Pennisi, Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle and Santos.

That’s not even the complete lineup and still you can make two great starting fives. San Miguel has enough interchangeable parts that will be useful when the wear and tear of a long conference kicks in.

* * *

Take nothing away from Ginebra though.

Back with its core of Caguioa, Helterbrand, Menk and Tubid for the first time in a while, the Gin Kings play with a passion that is the envy of many teams. What it lacks in size, Ginebra makes up for with spunk and emotional runs that can overhaul leads and inspire breakaways.

The return of Caguioa is an early Yuletide gift for the Ginebra legions. They would rather have The Spark playing for them than not at all. His 17-point comeback performance against San Miguel could be a sign of good tidings to come for the Barangay.

The acquaintance party is on.

The teams that shortens the getting-to-know-you part of the season will have the best shots at choice spots at the end of the classification phase.

Source: Inquirer.net