My Respect For Tony Chua

It's a sad day for Philippine basketball.

Tony Chua, manager of PBA team Red Bull Barako, passed away Saturday night due to typhoon Ondoy. Chua, who also served as PBA chairman before, was drowned by the flash floods near his home in Cainta Rizal when he decided to retrieve something from his car that was parked on their driveway.

For the record, Marikina and Cainta are the most disastrous areas, wherein floods are already chest-deep.

Yet, Chua gambled and paid dearly for his life.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of Chua since he owns the team I hated the most, Red Bull, but somehow I'll pay my tribute for the guy who provided Philippine basketball a lot.

Ever since Red Bull came into the league last 2000, competition in the league have become stiffer. It was Chua who transformed an expansion team in 2000 into a championship-caliber ballclub in just a year. They won the 2001 Commissioners cup led by their import James Lang. Again, Chua formed one of the best lineup Red Bull have ever posted by drafting scoring machine Willie Miller. He also drafted Enrico Villanueva last 2003 to add low post presence for the Barakos which paid off beautifully.

With several roster moves, Chua was able to assemble a roster loaded with talent led by Tugade, Valenzuela, Harp, Pennisi, Villanueva, Fonacier, Najorda and Cyrus Baguio which would give opposing teams a hell of a competition night in,night out to gain the respect and loyalty of PBA fans.

But 2008 season, Red Bull has filed bankruptcy and lost it's key players, majority to San Miguel Corp. Tugade, Valenzuela, Alvarez, Villanueva, Baguio, Pennisi, Celino Cruz, Miller and even coach Yeng Guiao was either dealt or resigned due to the issue of disbandment.

But yet, Chua never disband the team. Yes, they got cheaper players and formed a less competitive team but they never abandoned the league. Being a chairman of PBA board of governors, Chua kept his word and continued to patronize the PBA.

As for this day, it's sad to see a great man go. It's hard to believe that a Tony Chua is no longer existent and it's hard to imagine to see how Philippine basketball will continue without the support of Tony Chua.

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My NBA Asia Challenge Experience

Simply amazing.

The score might not best describe the outcome but the experience of watching former NBA greats play against our own live is priceless. Despite the heavy rain downpour and floods across Manila, more than 10,000 Filipinos stormed to Araneta Coliseum to witness a classic history in the making game featuring Dominique Wilkins-led NBA generations against Alvin Patrimonio-led PBA generations.

To revive the memories of our own legends, including Patrimonio, Paras, Magsanoc, Duremdes and the "triggerman" itself Allan Caidic is pretty amazing. To watch the players I grew up idolizing play live is one thing I never thought I would be able to do. Even though the game was a blow-out for the NBA generations(109-85), the game was still lively, thanks to bloopers by Tim Hardaway, Robert Horry and Vlade Divac.

But each and every Filipinos would watched the game live would remember how the "triggerman" pulled out a shooting show in this one. Allan Caidic, who holds the most three-pointers converted in a single game with 15, came out blazing hot, shooting 5/8 from the three-point line in the first quarter alone to lead PBA Generations to an early 26-25 lead. The crowd was so alive that by during after converting his second triple, fans roared everytime Caidic holds the ball. The atmosphere was so intense once Caidic released a shot beyond the arc. And lastly, crowd was at their feet when the "triggerman" converts a triple. Even Robert Horry has seen enough as he applied a box one on Caidic after the latter converted his fifth triple of the night.

Caidic was loved by the fans for his shooting display that while he was on the bench, we saw and heard fans screaming "We want Caidic!"

Dominique Wilkins gave Filipinos something to remember. The 49 year old veteran from Atlanta Hawks put on a dazzling offensive display, shooting for 28 points in just 2 quarters of play. First quarter, he scored 12 points alone. By the time he played during the third quarter, he showed each and everyone of us why he was nicknamed "The human highlight Film". From three-pointers, to low post moves and dazzling drives, Wilkins still has game despite his age. Every defender of PBA squad have no answer to "Nique". From Taulava to Thoss,Villanueva,and Santos, they simply have no answer for this guy. Among the 5 former NBA stars, it was Wilkins, who undoubtledly shone among the brighest.

Among the sidelights of the game was the New Jersey Nets dancers. Their dancers delighted the sell-out crown by their dance routines number. And one thing that made the crowd up on their feet once these cheerdancers are performing is their slam dunk stunt. Backed by a spring board, these girls jumped, performing between the legs dunk, threadmill dunks and 360 dunks. Sly the fox, the mascot of NBA team New Jersey Nets, also flew in and provide total entertainment, marking this event a total success.

The ticket that I bought was 1,320. But to witness a game like this, to be part of a crowd cheering for their once-promising idols and to be part of an atmosphere wherein we share common interest, is simply priceless.

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Bruce Bowen Retires!

After 12 seasons in the NBA, after menacing the Kobe's, Lebron's and T-Mac's, Bruce Bowen finally hang up his jersey.

Bruce Bowen officially announced his retirement Friday, ending a defensive legacy that many stars would definitely appreciate. Bowen, who was key part of the 3 championships of Spurs, will be sorely missed by fans and even myself. Labeled as the dirtiest player to ever play the game, Bowen openly acknowledge that he only had one play wherein he purposely kicked a player, that player is Ray Allen during the 2006 season.

Nonetheless, his defense and his tenacity will be missed. His defense brings the best out of Kobe. His defense ignited Amare. His defense drew the ire of Nowitzki. And most of it, his defense won multiple titles for San Antonio. Playing with 3 gifted offensive players, Bowen knows his role when stepping on the court. But when push comes to a shove, Bowen steps up by knocking down big shots as evident to numerous back-breaking triples he made during clutch times of regular season and playoffs.

As a fan, I hate the guy but surely he will be sorely missed. Without a Bruce Bowen in the league, there will be no controversies. Playoffs will be dull without this guy. He's in the level of Raja Bell,Ruben Patterson, Eric Snow and Ron Artest, making waves in the playoffs with his defense. Here are some of his memorable "dirty" acts:

1.) Kicked Wally Sczerbiak during a March game, 2002.
2.) Undercut Vince Carter during the 2004 season, ending Carter's season.
3.) Kicks Ray Allen during a March game, 2006 in Seattle.
4.) Struck out his foot when Jamal Crawford was shooting a jumpshot during 2007 regular season.
5.) Kneed Steve Nash's groin during the 2007 playoffs.
6.) Forearmed Amare Stoudamire during a April game, 2008.
7.) Kicked Chris Paul during the 2008 playoffs.

From a fan standpoint, we love to see controversy and rifts and that's what this guy provides. He provides entertainment by frustrating other players and of course, drawing controversies. But for a player stand-point, his retirement is the best thing that happened in the course of the NBA.

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Rubio Staying In Spain, Wolves Screwed!

The 19-year old shaggy boy point guard of Spain is staying home after all.

After weeks of debacle, Ricky Rubio have come to a decision to stay in Spain to play for Barcelona rather than fulfilling his dream of playing in the NBA. The fifth overall pick of 2009 NBA draft agreed on a six year contract with Barcelona, with a buyout clause for 2 years that allows him to join the NBA after 2 years. Despite the efforts of Minnesota president David Kahn, all went to naught after Rubio's mother team, DKV Joventut traded the latter to Barcelona together with $5 million buyout clause.

"When the season ended, I entered the draft with the intention of going to the NBA. But some things happened that kept me from being ahead of the rest and I ended up No.5, which I was happy with, but it didn't allow me the chance to go to the NBA. I tried, but in the end it wasn't to be." Rubio said. Kahn, who travelled to Spain three times just to negotiate with Rubio, actually appeared to have lured Rubio out of Barcelona before the kid changed his mind.

This just justifies one thing. The Timberwolves are screwed.

After trading Sebastian Telfair to Clippers and Randy Foye / Mike Miller to Washington in order to obtain the number 5 pick which they used to pick Rubio, Timberwolves now found themselves in a nut-shell upon learning the news. "I don't think disappointment should overshadow the big picture. Ricky is the youngest player in the draft. He'll be 20 in two years. We tried and came very close." Kahn said.

But not close enough. Add Rubio to T-Wolves previous trade busts in Michael Olowokandi, OJ Mayo and Kevin Garnett.

Foye, who have improved dramatically every year and posted career high in points and assists, was blind-sided upon his trade during the draft night. A player who was envisioned the future franchise player with Al Jefferson, was traded eventually for an 18-year old kid that they envisioned as "long-shot" to join them for 2010 season during draft night. For a team who is rebuilding when they traded Kevin Garnett for Al Jefferson, and for a team who has shown improvement the past year and even competed for a playoff spot before Jefferson went down, to trade away their starting guard is simply stupid.

Maybe Rubio's stay in Spain might be fruitful, considering he have 2 years more of improving his game before joining the big league. Maybe Flynn, who impressed scouts during summer league, can revive all Minnesota fans to come watch their game and increase sales tickets. Maybe Jefferson, who suffered an ACL last year, can come back and dominate like what he did last year. Unless these things happens this season, I envision this team to be the worst team in the NBA and bound for lottery again.

And maybe, it's better for David Kahn to call Isiah Thomas and play golf, rather than handling basketball operations. Believe me, as long as this clown is in town, Minnesota will have no hopes of reviving a doomed franchise that once a guy named "KG" built.

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Allen Iverson: Still Unsigned

How could a 10-time NBA all-star, winning 2 all star MVP awards,netting a MVP plum during the 2000-2001 season and single-handedly carried a team into a championship during his prime, still unemployed at this rate?

Ask Allen Iverson itself.

From a superstar to an outcast, Iverson has yet to join a NBA team with just a month into spring training. Backing his career statistics of 27.1 PPG 3.7 RPG and 6.2 APG, how can 30 teams of the NBA bypassed these kind of stats? Several teams indeed need a scorer, teams like Memphis, Minnesota or even Clippers yet the news of "Iverson joins or Iverson signs contract with" has yet to be seen on news nor the internet. Given his reputation, the guy is a proven scoring machine that could easily help teams with scoring problems a lift.

That's the issue. The reason why the guy remains unsigned is his reputation.

Iverson, who won the NBA scoring title during years 1998,2000,2001 and 2004, remains a bad shot for teams who are hoping to contend for a title. Based from his previous run-ins with previous coaches including Larry Brown and Chris Ford, the guy is like a bomb waiting to explode. His run-ins with Brown are well documented, most notably after the 2002 playoffs wherein they were eliminated. Brown criticized Iverson for missing practice and the former franchise player answered "We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're talking about practice".

Another problem that made Iverson still jobless is his big ego. The guy refused to be the sixth man. His unwillingness to come off the bench complicates his pursuit of a new team. This was evident during his tenure with Detroit, saying that "He'd rather retire than playing off the bench". The guy is selfish and a ball-hog. He is way past his prime and probably his game also has diminished. Even though there were some diminishing players who was quickly offered a contract, like Rasheed Wallace, brings a lot to the table. Not to say that Iverson would be a liability, he has the ability of changing a team with his offense and he also has the ability to ruin a team and youth development with his ego.

Now, Iverson firmly believes that Memphis would sign him. Grizzlies has 2 young key core guards that I think are just 2 years away from being flourished. OJ Mayo and Mike Conley are franchise backcourt. Inject Iverson into that team is like placing Superman on a field of kryptonite. Previous rumors surround that Clippers are willing to sign Iverson, halting the development of young guard Eric Gordon. The truth is, Clippers needs ticket sales in which they thought Iverson could give them. New York was another possible destination since they lacked a more capable guard than Chris Duhon. Since the Knicks are in self-destruct mode since the era of Isiah Thomas, why not sign Iverson and destroy the whole team itself.

Better yet, he probably need to call Stephon Marbury and join forces in a Greek team called Olympiakos. If Olympiakos remains interested at this point.

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