2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM

Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM
3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM
Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM
3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM
Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

ESPN
Sky Cable 31
Destiny 82

I'm ashamed to admit, inspite of supposedly being a writer for this basketball blog, that this is the first time I've watched a UAAP game end to end this year, DLSU vs ADMU or not. I was at least hoping to watch the game previous to this in full, but I was on vacation and had the bright (at least I thought it was bright) idea to have buy seafood at a wet market and have it grilled so we can eat during the game. Turns out because of said bright idea, I missed out the whole first half. So much for specially grilled food. Yummy though.

At any rate, here are my thoughts on this 5th ADMU - DLSU Game this year, Season 70 of the UAAP - a very rare occurrence, and an incredible treat for all basketball fans regardless of College history. The ADMU - DLSU games are special events in themselves, and are unique amongst sports events in the Philippines. The most rabid fans imaginable come out in full strength to support their team, and arguably, the pressure on the players rival that of playing on the National Team. This 5th game just happens to be extra special being a rubber match after ADMU forced a second game against DLSU which it had to beat twice, the winner moving on to face lossless powerhouse UE in the Finals, starting October 7, 2007.

1. The Eagle's terrific shooting from the freethrow line is nothing short of epic. Claiford Arao's perfect 10 of 10 from the stripe harkens back to the old school days when players still put value on the importance of shooting freethrows. I have always been in awe of good free throw shooting teams - a good indication for me that the coaching staff had done their job. By contrast, DLSU's woeful freethrow performance was nothing short of a disaster, with Oliver Cua missing both gimmees that could've increased the lead to 7 with a few seconds left. Instead, ADMU's Sivirino Baclao scored on a trey, bringing down the gap to a mere 2 points, 11 seconds left. If it weren't for JV Casio's and Rico Maierhofer's own freethrows later on, ADMU could have possibly another heart attack. Maierhofer even split his own freethrows, missing the 2nd. I do not believe you can win in the big leagues if you miss your FTs in crunchtime. Doing so is akin to just giving the game away.
2. I realized at some point in the 2nd that this is definitely the weakest DLSU team I've seen in years. While more recent teams had superstars like Joseph Yeo, MacMac Cardona, RenRen Ritualo and Mike Cortez, there is no such player who has stepped up to that level in this team. Instead, you have the spunky JV Casio, whom inspite of being a sparkplug is still playing the same level as he did last year. Rico Maierhofer has stepped up a bit, but seems to fade in the crunch and occasionally loses composure. He took this horrible running J from behind the backboard sometime in the 2nd quarter that made you wonder if you were watching a neighborhood pickup game. Pocholo Villanueva was the guy I thought would step up bigtime this year, but again like Casio, I think he plays just as well, if not worse, than he did last year. Last year I saw an up and coming old school slasher with a good head on his shoulders. Today I saw a guy who occasionally flashed some of that brilliance, and true enough relied on his superior skills down the stretch. However he delivered in spurts, sometimes being there, sometimes not.

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With their backs against the wall, the Ateneo Blue Eagles summoned all the strength that they could get to force a deciding game against the De La Salle Green Archers, 65-64 in the UAAP men's basketball tournament. The Green Archers needed only a win to formally advance to the finals against UE but the Blue Eagles had a different thing in mind.

Ateneo sharpshooter Chris Tiu redeemed himself from a lethargic first half with clutch shooting down the stretch to help the Blue Eagles overcome a six-point deficit in the last 2:10. The sudden death match, their fifth encounter this year, will be played this Sunday 3PM at the Big Dome. So far, the Blue Eagles have a 3-1 edge in their series match-up against the Green Archers but the lone win by De La Salle last Sept 18 was the most crucial as it enabled them to gain the number 2 spot and a twice-to-beat advantage in the final round.

Ford Arao was again a beast for the Blue Eagles torching the nets with 19 points, 10 of which came in the first canto. Arao had a buzzer-beating jumper in the waning seconds of the game to help save the Blue Eagles' campaign this season.

After Chris Tiu banged in a three-point jumper to cut the deficit to 61-64, Arao beat the shot clock with a baseline jumper to pull the Blue Eagles within one, 63-64, with only 51 seconds left on the game clock. Tiu then went on to score on a lay-up with 7.3 seconds left to push the Blue Eagles ahead 65-64 and the game.

The Green Archers had one more chance to win the game but guard JV Casio decided to pass to Fil-Bahraini Bader Malabes on the left wing. Malabes’ three-point attempt was off the mark. Forward Rico Maierhofer's offensive putback failed to beat the buzzer.

De La Salle was paced by guard TY Tang with 20 points while Casio had a ho-hum performance, finishing with only 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field.

The Green Archers have not lost a twice-to-beat edge in the UAAP.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles are still alive and breathing after defeating the defending champs UST Growling Tigers 69-64 in the 2007 UAAP step ladder phase. The Blue Eagles leaned on Chris Tiu, Ford Arao, and the surprise plays of the lightly-regarded Severino Baclao and Mike Baldos to pull off the win. Arao topscored for Ateneo with 17 points followed by Tiu with 14 markers. But it was the unexpected contribution of Baclao and Baldos that spelled the difference.

Baclao, a transferee from West Negros College, added 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 shot blocks while Baldos had a productive 7 points in just 5 minutes to set the tone for the match. Before the contest, Baldos played in only 5 games for the Blue Eagles. Baclao collared a pair of crucial rebounds in the closing minutes that foiled UST’s comeback.

The Tigers didn't get good games from their main men Jervy Cruz and Khasim Mirza. Cruz, the leading candidate for UAAP MVP, finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds but was horrible from the field. He hit only 6 of his 21 shots, including a horrible 1 of 12 shooting in the second half. Mirza finished with only 2 points on 1-9 shooting. Dylan Ababou was a bright spot for the team chipping in with 16 points and grabbing 11 caroms.

The Blue Eagles face the De La Salle Green Archers on Thursday with a twice-to-beat disadvantage.

Meanwhile, a visibly dejected Pido Jarencio of UST was in tears after an emotional postgame talk with his players. He's still unsure if he'll still coach the Growling Tigers next season.

The De La Salle Green Archers won the battle of nerves against rival Ateneo Blue Eagles 70-69, thus assuring itself of a twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP stepladder phase. Just to show you how tight the game was, score was dead even 10 times and there were 13 lead changes.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles are still from their loss to the lowly National University last Saturday. A win could have given them the outright number 2 spot but it wasn't meant to be.

Forward Cholo Villanueva pushed La Salle to a 70-67 lead with 9.3 seconds left on the clock and the Blue Eagles, with no timeout left, settled for a two-pointer instead of a game-tying three to virtually hand the game to the Green Archers.

Jai Reyes went for a triple but was covered and was forced to pass off to Zion Laterre who instead took a 15-footer with just a second left on the game clock.

The victory over the Blue Eagles was the only Green Archers' first in three meetings with Ateneo but they gained the all-important win which could push themselves in the UAAP finals.

The loss means that Ateneo has to win three straight games in order to arrange a title duel with the undefeated University of the East. The Blue Eagles need to win over UST this Sunday for the right to face the De La Salle Green Archers.

Brgy Ginebra Kings are still looking for an able replacement to Fil-am forward Rudy Hatfield who may not be back with the team this campaign and are reportedly looking into the direction of Talk N Text fronliner Don Allado. Joel Orellana of Business Mirror reported that the Gin Kings have inquired about the availability of the 6-5 Allado but the Phonepals wanted injured center Rafi Reavis in return. Brgy. Ginebra turned down the proposed one-on-one deal and are instead focusing on ways of getting the former Green Archer without involving Reavis.

Allado just signed a lucrative three-year P12.6 million deal with the Phonepals. Just early this week, the Gins completed a three-team deal with Purefoods and Air21, acquiring guard Paul Artadi. They were also rumored to covet Nic Belasco from Welcoat until the latter decided to stick with the Dragons with a reported two-year P8.4 million deal.

As promised, here's Arwind Santos' story care of Nike:

Nike Philippines has gone and made videos featuring some of the hottest local ballers in the country. With Cannes-winning director Carlo Ledesma and Producer Mel Lozano at the helm, they have since produced a 60 minute documentary inspired by grassroots Filipino basketball, called "My Game".

As a teaser to this, we at BallEx have the privilege of delivering to you three 30 second videos featuring DonDon Hontiveros, Arwind Santos and this first one, featuring Purefoods Chunkee Giants Superstar James Yap. So without further ado:

Here's the official Press Release after the jump:

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The University of the East swept the UAAP eliminations as expected but not before getting roughed up by the highly-determined De La Salle Green Archers. With the score tied at 16 in the opening canto, De La Salle forward Rico Maierhofer landed a hard foul on UE forward Mark Borboran. Mark Fampulme came to his teammate's aid and confronted Maierhofer on the De La Salle bench, which sparked a verbal and shoving incident among players of both sides.
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Even before he could suit up for his new team, Nic Belasco may find himself a new home.

Welcoat and Brgy. Ginebra are reportedly closing on a deal that would send the disgruntled newly-acquired forward to the Gin Kings for forward Mike Holper and rookie guard Macky Escalona.
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Purefoods jitterbug Paul Artadi demanded to be traded in the offseason and now gets his wish. He's officially Brgy Ginebra's property after the TJ Giants dealt him to their sister team. As sister teams cannot transact directly with each other, a third team (in pba lingo a conduit) is required to make the deal push through. Air21 Express is reportedly the third team and as part of the deal, ships a 2008 second round pick to Purefoods, and in return, receives Jec Chia and Paolo Hubalde from Brgy Ginebra.

Artadi demanded a trade from Purefoods management as he was being used sparingly by the coaching staff. How he fits into the Brgy. Ginebra system with already three point guards in its line up (Jayjay Helterbrand, Johnny Abarrientos, and Macky Escalona) remains to be seen. If his playing time dwindled with the Giants that only had Roger Yap, Boyet Bautista and at times Noy Castillo and PJ Simon rotating at the point, what more with Gin Kings who arguably have the better and more solid backcourt rotation anywhere in the league. Artadi gives the Gin Kings another "energy" boost off the bench, similar to what former UE teammate Ronald Tubid brings to the table. His non-existent offensive production may not even be needed by the team since they already firebrands like Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa who can handle the offensive load.
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It's the morning after La Salle's heartbreaking (yes it is always heartbreaking to me. Always.) loss to Ateneo, 87-89 at Araneta last night. Obviously, I'm disappointed, but what the heck. What a game, huh? It was exciting all the way, from start to finish, and I promise you I've watched so many games for so many years it's hard to get me as excited as I was when I watched it last night.

Here are some thoughts:

1. That boy Salamat (15 pts) is fantastic. He is a true point guard and even acts and runs like it, with quick feet doing most of the motion and his torso up and erect, allowing his head to look steadily at what's happening at the rest of the court. With good training from the Reyes brothers he can be a very effective player in the future.
2. The Escueta boy (16 pts) is another revelation. One of those stick thin shooting guard types that's deadly with the 3. He gives Chris Tiu much needed reprieve from scoring chores and reminds me of a smaller Jason Terry.
3. Speaking of Chris Tiu (19 pts), this guy blossomed early and is still the epitome of cool confidence. What a stroke. He's got that down pat, but I still think he's too short so he's got to prepare himself for the life of a point guard if he's gonna turn pro. If that's the case, he'd be behind pure PGs like Salamat or UST's Cuan, so he might be in the mold of another Ren-Ren, which is unfortunate because the Philippines needs taller shooters. We'll see what happens there.
4. Rico Maierhofer (24 pts) has turned out to be DLSU's main man, but I always thought it would've been Pocholo Villanueva (18 pts), an old school type slasher - or maybe it'll be his year next year? In any case, Maierhofer is unstoppable, but still a little too raw and undisciplined. He needs to learn a bit more about life in the post and bulk up as well. In other words, try and find other ways to be more effective other than relying on his jumping ability and scrappiness. His athleticism is exciting to watch and results in sensational plays, but like all young athletes, gravity will eventually set in and he'll need to slow his game down. He'll need to develop a mid - range 'money' shot that doesn't require so much effort. Think Tim Duncan's bankshot, Kareem's hook or Karl Malone's 20 foot J from the either wing. If he develops a reliable shot he wouldn't have to get beat up too much and reserve the spectacular stuff for later.

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After successfully prying away Mark Telan from Air21, the Coca-Cola Tigers firmed up its frontcourt corps even more with the acquisition of Mark Isip and Cesar Catli from Sta. Lucia for incoming sophomore Joseph Yeo and a 2009 second round draft pick.

Nelson Beltran of the Philippine Star reports that the two teams have already consummated the deal in time for their clash in the 2007 PBA pre-season tourney tomorrow at 6 p.m. at The Arena in San Juan.

With the two Marks in the lineup: Isip and Telan, the Tigers are expected to battle it out for the rebounds, unlike last year when they only had Fil-am Ali Peek to rely on the glass. Catli, on the other hand, replaces guard Will Antonio who was not re-signed by the team. The Tigers now have two deadly perimeter shooters on the team. The Tigers drafted an outside gunner in the draft in the person of Ronjay Buenafe.
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Ex-Ateneo center Japeth Aguilar is within weeks of fullfilling his dreams. Aguilar will see action for the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in a nationally-televised game against Gonzaga on November 22. Japeth sat out the whole of last season for the Hilltoppers due to transfer rules.
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Paul Anthony Artadi has officially demanded to be released by Purefoods and it looks like the team may be willing to do so. Zean Macamay of People's Journal reports that the player dubbed as Kid Lightning for his lightning-like speed on the court has approached Purefoods management and asked to be released, citing limited exposure given by the coaching staff as the main reason.
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It's still early but I'm making a mock draft for next year to gauge how deep the draft will be. It will not be as deep as this year but still has marquee names like Gabe Norwood and Jason Castro to make it interesting. The draft order is based on this year's order (of course it could change next year depending on the performance of each team this year, but with the prospect of Harbour Centre joining the league it could throw off my draft projections in great disarray if and when the team decides to elevate the likes of Jason Castro and Fil-Am Nick Stephens).

Here how it goes:
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This just in: if you lucked out on the tickets to the Ultra event but still wanna catch a glimpse of Kobe, I've just received news that he'll be at the Nike High Street at Bonifacio Global City as well, for a meet and greet for the general public.

Here's the clickable official accouncement:

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Oakland, CA --- Associated Press, September 3, 2007

In an NBA Season that saw a record number of deals and a slew of blockbuster trades happening one after the other, the relatively inactive Golden State Warriors, which only made a couple of Free Agent pickups (apart from the draft picks they signed), has proven that playing an intact roster (from the Pre-Season, that is) for the full duration of a regular season can pay dividends by reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time since Rick Barry led the underdog Warriors to a 4 game sweep of the Washington Bullets en route to their lone 1975 championship.

All too often second-guessed during the Pre-Season and Regular Season, the reclusive Warriors GM, John Knight, finally spoke to the press about the seeming "stand still" and virtual non-movement of personnel in the Warriors Organization. "I have gotten a lot of interesting suggestions and recommendations from basketball experts the whole season to tweak and even overhaul our line-up, especially with the wave of trades happening around the league. But we, as an organization, wanted to see how our current roster will develop into a well-synchronized and cohesive team, especially with the fact that we had all the valuable pieces of the core team in place. Chemistry was and is number 1 in our list."

Unknown to the multitude, the Warriors' GM got its share of trade offers, but promptly rejected most of them, opting to stick with the current roster and see how the budding chemistry pans out. GM Knight confirmed with reporters that he used Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson as trade baits at one point in the season. "This was done at a time when we were having troubles with the rotation as we wanted to insert Marco and Brandan into the picture to help in their development as future cogs of the team. We spoke to both Al and Stephen about it at that time, and they understood the situation. Only after a team powwow, just weeks before the trade deadline, that everybody came together and decided to stick it out and gut it out for the playoffs.", Mr. Knight quipped.

What a "powwow" that was... (more...)

Kobe Bryant's Sept. 5 Manila visit begins with the basketball superstar meeting kids from Eliseo Belen Charity at Nike Park, The Fort at 2 PM.

In the afternoon, Kobe will headline the Kobe Supernatural Manila Event at the Phil Sports Arena (Ultra) where he will share his training regimen with young Filipino ballers. Gates will open at 3PM.

Tickets to the Kobe Supernatural Manila Event will be distributed for one day only on September 1st 12:00PM at Nike Park, The Fort. Tickets are free of charge on a first come, first serve basis and only two tickets will be given per person.

The September 5 Manila visit is part of Kobe Bryant's Supernatural Asia Tour 2007. To be launched during the tour is the new version of Kobe II, part of the Fall 2007 basketball footwear product line. The shoes will hit the Asian markets on Sept 6.

From Manila, Kobe will visit Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. For more information on the Kobe Supernatural Asia Tour Manila stop, visit www.nike.com.ph