Happenings in the first two weeks of the PBA Governors' Cup

Less than two weeks into the ongoing PBA Governors’ Cup and all teams have already played three or four games, in a rapid-fire, fast-break-paced conference, where games are being held every day of the week, except on Thursdays. There have been sterling performances, major disappointments, comebacks, blowouts, and down-the-wire finishes. Below are some happenings beyond the playing court.

Coaching Change

Before the Conference started, Siot Tanquincen replaced Bong Ramos as Barako Bull Energy Head Coach.  Barako’s consistent under-achievement prompted the change, and Tanquincen, who has won multiple championships in the PBA, brings more impressive credentials to a dangerous squad consisting of young ones and veterans, with a second-generation import in the person of Eric Wise, son of many-time PBA import, the hulking Francois Wise.

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In more surprising news, Luigi Trillo, the reigning Coach of the Year with a championship under his belt (2013 Commissioner’s Cup), stepped down as Alaska’s lead bench tactician, less than two years after being named Head Coach.  Since the last championship, Alaska has not performed to the same standard, having up-and-down performances, being inconsistent and unspectacular at times.  There are different versions of what actually transpired leading to the change, but Trillo himself has not really expounded.  I, and I am sure the rest of the PBA community, wish Coach Trillo the best of luck in his next endeavor, whether it be in coaching or somewhere else.  What is certain is that he now has a much more impressive coaching resume than he did prior to being named Alaska Head Coach.

Alex Compton, the American who is more Filipino than some Filipinos, assumed the Head Coach position for the Aces, and promptly won his first game against an “importless” Talk ‘N Text squad.  Congratulations to Coach Alex and good luck as well.

Import Changes

The batch of imports for this Conference promised to be a good one.  It included some returnees (Marqus Blakely of San Mig, AZ Reid of Rain or Shine, and Leroy Hickerson of Global Port, formerly of Barako and Air 21), an NBA D-League MVP (Othyus Jeffers of TNT), a first-round NBA Draft pick (Terrence Williams of Meralco), NBA vets (Reggie Williams of SMB and Henry Walker of Alaska) and, as mentioned above, a second-generation import in Wise, among others.  However, considering the frequency of games, some teams had to make quick decisions and replace their imports before things really got out of hand.

Fans anticipated awesome play from Terrence Williams; however, all he did was hoist three-pointers, and miss much more than he could make them, in a no-conscience display, and he wore out his welcome quickly as Meralco, already 0-3 with him as its reinforcement, took action.  Meralco brought back its import from the past two seasons, reliable Mario West, likewise an NBA veteran.  Too bad for West, he played well in his first game, but his team went deeper in the hole at 0-4.

Hickerson, here for the third time with a different team, led the Batang Pier to a victory in their second game, beating Alaska in Trillo’s last game as Aces’ Coach.  However, after losing in the next game in a rout, Global Port decided to replace Hickerson with more of a low-post threat in former Ginebra import Dior Lowhorn.  Some fans are wondering why Global seems to enjoy bringing in past PBA imports (they had Evan Brock, formerly of Barako, in the Commissioner’s Cup), particularly imports who were not overly impressive before.  Sometimes, though, the effectiveness of an import depends on where he plays and, perhaps, Lowhorn can excel down low in a team bereft of a consistent low-post threat.

Jeffers had an outstanding debut for TNT.  Unfortunately, the NBA called and questioned his capacity to play in another league without clearance, forcing him to sit out the Texters’ second game, which they lost to Compton’s Aces, and forcing the team to recruit someone to either replace Jeffers or substitute him in the meantime.  Enter Rodney Carney, another NBA vet who I actually used in my Fantasy League team a few years back.  He arrived in the morning of 28 May 2014, took a shower, and found himself in Biñan, Laguna a few hours later to face physical Rain or Shine.  Talk about rushing into things.  I had the privilege of calling the game with Dominic Uy to see Carney commit five turnovers, score thirteen points, and repeatedly huff and puff, and even ask Coach Norman Black to substitute him early in the second quarter.  Clearly, Carney, who admitted he had not slept in more than twenty-four hours, was feeling his way, not knowing his teammates and his team’s plays, and experiencing the physicality of PBA basketball for the first time.  TNT did manage to still win, though, and I expect Carney to be better in his next games, which could mean trouble for the rest of the league.

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Since I already mentioned Biñan, Laguna, I must say that the Alonte Sports Arena, where San Miguel Beer beat Barako in overtime, prior to the TNT-ROS game aforementioned, is an impressive venue.  It is new and, so far, well-maintained, and huge compared to most venues the league has played in outside of Metro Manila.  The only problem was the air-conditioning, which lost its battle with the outside temperature, leaving things warm and humid at courtside, where Dominic and I were seated.  Nevertheless, thank you to the local government of Biñan for hosting us.  There will be two more playdates at Alonte, on 08 and 14 June 2014, respectively.

Fines

Most of you know of the skirmishes that happened in tune-up games prior to the start of the Governors’ Cup.  Several fines in the total amount of P115,000.00 were meted out by the PBA against players who were involved, as the league continues to try and curb hooliganism and unnecessary roughness.  Just this week, on 27 May 2014, an incident involving Marc Pingris of San Mig and James Sena of Meralco, resulted in the league fining Pingris P40,000.00 for punching Sena’s back, after the Meralco forward set a hard pick that jolted Pingris, who claimed Sena went for his ribcage, where he had suffered a recent injury that had just healed.  I called the game, also with Dominic, and saw the punch as it happened.  Even before the referees decided to call a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 on Pingris, I was certain he would be ejected.  Fortunately, things did not escalate after the incident, and Pingris was able to escape with a mere fine and not a suspension.  The nature of the tournament, being a short one where teams only play nine elimination round games, makes the scramble for playoff spots very tough, such that emotions are higher than usual.  While overall the fans seem to enjoy the rough and tumble nature of the games, hopefully things do not get out of hand and the teams remain focused on playing basketball.

Overall, it has been an exhilarating sequence of games, with both locals and imports impressing us at times, and bewildering us at others.  In about two more weeks, the elims will be over, and the playoffs will begin.  Much can happen between now and then, more so with the changes that have taken place, as the PBA Governors’ Cup continues.

Finally, please do not fail to watch the coming episodes of Kuwentong Gilas, the stories of our national basketball team that placed second in last year’s FIBA Asia Championship, and the individuals that compose it, including the additional candidates for the roster that will go to Spain this August for the FIBA World Cup.  All past episodes have been both entertaining and lesson-filled.  My friends at Sports 5 are producing a great series.  Airing is every Thursday, 9:30pm on TV 5.

You can follow Charlie on Twitter @CharlieC.