Bleachers' Brew #305 Hey, Dwight Howard. Be careful for what you wish for.

This appears in the Monday, April 9, 2012 edition of the Business Mirror.

Hey, Dwight Howard. Be careful for what you wish for.

by rick olivares

Wherever this season for the Orlando Magic goes, Stan Van Gundy made sure he salvaged a measure of personal pride when he went public with the news that Dwight Howard asked management to fire him. Were you surprised that the Magic were blown out that same evening by the New York Knicks?

Many have said that professional sports has turned into a player’s league. Free agency assured that. The players may get the coaches fired but at the end of the day, the players are perceived to be the petulant ones. And sometimes, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.

For sure coach-player relationships have been contentious for as long as there have been sports. As Van Gundy succinctly put it, it doesn’t have to be sports. One can feel dislike for a boss at work but still put in great work.

During Michael Jordan’s younger years, if he didn’t help run off coaches he would to his teammates. Does anyone remember Brad Sellers? It’s one thing to destroy foes during a game but your own teammate?

Jordan’s megalomania was eventually checked during Game Five of the 1991 NBA Finals when the Lakers came charging back while His Airness opted to hog all the shots. Phil Jackson called time and in one of the most memorable sports scenes ever, he asked Jordan several times who was open. Jordan finally admitted, “Paxson.”

“Then get him the fucking ball,” growled Jackson. Paxson went to hit five successive jumpers that killed Los Angeles and Chicago closed out the series in five for the first of their six titles of the 1990s. Jordan would later swear by Jackson.

In his Third Coming, this time with Washington, then Wizards coach Doug Collins acquiesced to everything that Jordan wanted that he lost the entire team save for His Airness. When the season was done, team owner Abe Pollin fired both Collins and Jordan. None of Jordan’s teammates saw him off.

Magic Johnson began his career by helping run out Paul Westhead out of LA. In his final act as a member of the team, Johnson was head coach but he gave up when he couldn’t control the likes of Nick Van Exel.

Both Jordan and Johnson are some of the league’s greatest players but don’t think for a moment that their reps are as vanilla as they would like. Jordan has yet to prove anything post-player. Johnson? Well, he was one of the worst coaches in Lakers history.

After Jackson left the Lakers in 2004, after management clearly decided they would opt to go with Kobe Bryant’s whims, he came out with a book on the 2004 season titled, ‘The Last Season’. In that book, Jackson told in rich detail the problems in dealing with the young superstar that caused the team to unravel. Rudy Tomjanovich took over the season after but he didn’t finish it citing health reasons. No doubt the pressures of coming in post-Jackson had a huge effect on Tomjanovich’s health. Jackson’s longtime assistant Frank Hamblen finished the year before Big Chief Triangle returned.

Not every NBA coach has Jackson’s cache. Who else? Pat Riley? Larry Brown and George Karl to an extent. But for the rest, it’s touch and go. Vinny del Negro sympathizes with Van Gundy’s predicament. “When things are going well every one is patting you on the back. When things are going bad, that’s when you see how much support you really have,” he told the Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner.

When Mike D’Antoni couldn’t get much out of Carmelo Anthony, he turned the keys to New York’s game to the most unlikely of people – journeyman Jeremy Lin. And what followed was the hardcourt’s version of Tebow-mania. When Anthony returned, the Knicks sputtered. Coincidentally, Stoudemire and Lin also got hurt not soon after. D’Antoni resigned having enough of this craziness. When assistant Mike Woodson took over as interim coach he wisely decided to hand over the keys to Anthony. As much as the Knicks are winning again, they are also feasting on bad competition. Let’s see where they go come playoff time.

Anthony was the franchise savior in Denver where he was first drafted. But eventually the team gave up on him. That game against Oklahoma where he bizarrely remained on the floor after bumping Kevin Durant could have been his Ron Artest moment. While Anthony has become a poster child for the current NBA problems, luckily, he still has time to rewrite history. A championship or two will help erase that coach-killer tag that comes along with his $18 million price tag.

And then there’s this bit of news.

Isiah Thomas was just fired by Florida International University after three years on the job as head coach (his team posted a cumulative 26-65 record). Thomas was one of those mini-general managers during his time with the Detroit Pistons. As a player, Thomas is one of the NBA’s All-time 50 greatest. But he had a hand in the trade of Adrian Dantley for his childhood buddy and stooge Mark Aguirre. He was one of those who instigated the freeze out of Michael Jordan during His Airness’ first All-Star Game. Karma eventually set when it was said that his non-inclusion in the 1992 US Men’s Olympic Team to the Barcelona Olympics was due to Jordan’s influence.

You see, Dwight Howard, in case it isn’t obvious yet, what goes around comes around.

Yankees and Red Sox fall in the ninth while Pujols' Halo teammates play big for the win

photo by AP/Phelan Ebenhack

Opening Day meltdown to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Mo Rivera took the loss as the D-Rays came back at the bottom of the ninth with crucial RBIs from Ben Zobrist and Carlos Peña.

Peña earlier hit a grand slam off CC Sabathia to take an early lead before New York’s newest acquisition Raul Ibañez showed his promise by belting in a three-run home run to take a 6-4 lead.

The loss put New York at 2-1 against Tampa on Opening Day and Mariano Rivera fell to 60-2 in save chances against the D-Rays.

Alex Rodriguez hit safely once more on Opening Day for New York where he went 2-3 with two runs and two walks. Raul Ibañez had a solid debut for New York at DH.

Curtis Granderson was 0-5.

New York’s bullpen got the job done from Rafael Soriano to David Robertson and finally to Rivera. Should we be worried that Mo doesn’t have it? This was just game one. Now if he proves hittable in his next five save chances then I’d be worried.

Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, and Calos Peña had swell at bats for Tampa. Solid comeback and walk-off win for the Devil Rays.

How do you like that power-hitting tandem of Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera for the Detroit Tigers? But it was Austin Jackson who came through with a game-winning hit down the right field line to propel the Tigers to a 3-2 win. Pitchers duel between Justin Verlander and Jon Lester but it was the former who pitched superbly for the Tigers although Jose Valverde allowed Boston to tie the match at 2-2.

Not a great debut on the other hand for Albert Pujols with the Los Angeles Angels as he went 0-5 but his new teammates showed that they can pull their own weight. Great 5-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Solid pitching by the Halos' Jered Weaver.

Looking at Opening Day between New York and Tampa Bay

Looking at Opening Day between New York and Tampa Bay

In the 111 seasons of the New York Yankees, they have a 74-1-36 record on Opening Day. They are 3-1 under current skipper Joe Girardi. They are 2-0 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Yankees pitchers with the most number of opening day starts are Whitey Ford, Mel Stottlemyre, and Ron Guidry who all have seven. Lefty Gomez has six. Red Ruffing has five. When CC Sabathia takes the mound at the Tropicana Field, he will tie Roger Clemens and Bob Shawkey with four starts.

Now on their 112th season, if Girardi starts this lineup of Brett Gardner in left field, Curtis Granderson at centerfield and Nick Swisher at right field then Alex Rodriguez at third base, Derek Jeter at shortstop, Robinson Cano at second base, and Mark Teixeira at first base, this will be the third consecutive year that he will have done so with the same players.

Here’s how I figure the starting lineups for New York and Tampa Bay:

New York

SS Derek Jeter

CF Curtis Granderson

2B Robinson Cano

3B Alex Rodriguez

1B Mark Teixeira

RF Nick Swisher

DH Raul Ibañez

C Russell Martin

LF Brett Gardner

P CC Sabathia (3-6 vs. TB in last three years with 3.45 ERA). I'm gonna follow that two-seamer fastball of his that he worked on this Spring Training. Here's to its effectivity. 

Tampa Bay

CF Desmond Jennings

RF Ben Zobrist

3B Evan Longoria

DH Jeff Keppinger

SS Sean Rodriguez

2B Elliott Johnson

1B Carlos Peña

C Jose Molina

LF Matt Joyce

P James Shields (5-9 vs. NY in last five years with 3.88 ERA)

My predictions for the 2012 MLB Division Champions:

AL East: New York

AL Central: Detroit

AL West: Texas

NL East: Philadelphia

NL Central: Cincinnati

NL West: Arizona

What I will follow aside from my New York Yankees:

- Albert Pujols with the Los Angeles Angels

- The Philadelphia Phillies with their starting pitching staff of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels and their closer in Jonathan Papelbon.

- Atlanta Braves without Chipper Jones

- The flow of beer and chips in the Boston clubhouse.

- AJ Burnett with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bleachers' Brew Podcast #8: With Nomads' Mick Dennison, Randy Musters, Jeff Blake, and Phil Connolly

Podcast interview with Nomads' Mick Dennison, Randy Musters, Jeff Blake, and Phil Connolly at Howzat sports bar in Bel Air, Makati last Wednesday, April 4, 2012. Listen to the lads talk about what's it's like in their maiden season in Division 1 football, the challenges they face and well, their bold prediction for the season. Great bunch for great quotes.

Cutillas airs side over his leaving Kaya

Cutillas airs side over his leaving Kaya

by rick olivares

After more than 30 years of coaching football, Dr. Juan Cutillas says that after resigning from Kaya over disagreements with management over certain matters, it’s time to finally enjoy the finer things in life.

The Spanish coach, who has made the Philippines his home since arriving in the 1970s, resigned from Kaya last Sunday over what he felt was management interfering with his job. Cutillas was content not to talk about matters but following a report that a Kaya insider divulged that he was fired in the wake of the team’s embarrassing 5-1 loss to Global last Saturday, he had to say his piece. “Some ethics are lacking here in some people,” said an angry Cutillas. “I could have come out in public and given the details but out of deference to the team owners who I greatly respect, I stayed quiet. How will that help Kaya? It will make matters worse. And now there is this ‘reliable team source’ who says I was sacked? It was never my intention to go public with this, but I have to keep my integrity.  I will not allow anybody to put doubt on my integrity with false and malicious information.”

Cutillas was referring to published reports where an unnamed source from Kaya said that he was fired following the loss to Global. Kaya is currently in third place with a game at hand and one point behind erstwhile league leader Loyola (with 19 points) that was held to a 3-3 draw with Air Force also during last Saturday’s doubleheader. Kaya’s final assignment of the first round is with Stallion that currently totes a 4-2-1 record.

“I resigned because I disagreed with some matters that are internal issues. It did not have anything to do with the loss to Global,” clarified Cutillas. “The loss was terrible. Terrible, I tell you. But like Global, we have only two losses. The tournament is not even halfway finished. However, some things are not negotiable. Whoever that ‘reliable source’ from Kaya is who said I was sacked is a not only a coward but he is also a liar.”

During a lunch we had a few months ago, Cutillas mentioned to me that he was thinking of calling it quits at the end of the league tournament. “For me to be there for the cup competition, I really have to think about that. I am not getting younger in my years.”

Some Kaya players are reportedly unhappy over their coach’s decision to call it quits. And despite some their pleas for the former Philippine National Head Coach and Atletico Madrid player to continue his duties with Kaya, Cutillas thinks that the die has been cast. “I have given much of my life to the game. I didn’t think it would be over this yet. But you see my wife, she gets worried about me. At my age, I shouldn’t take the game too seriously she says. I am too serious about it. She gets worried when I am bothered about a loss or when there are some concerns.”

“Now I have a chance to visit Spain again. Time to enjoy my social life. I can watch the UFL games on the stands and cheer for Kaya. I only wish them the best.”

Taking Cutillas’ place is his assistant Kale Alvarez. “I’m only here as ‘interim coach’,” said the former University of the Philippines player who won a UAAP title during the 2000-01 season with Andres Gonzales (now playing with Loyola) and Ariel Zerrudo (now playing for Diliman in Division Two). Alvarez was most recently the trainer for the Ateneo Blue Eagles when they won the third of their four straight UAAP Men’s Basketball titles. Alvarez’ younger brother, Kurt, who plays for the Ateneo Men’s Football Team, was recently picked up by Kaya during the March transfer window.   

“I wish Kale all the best,” added Cutillas. “Is this the end for me and Philippine football? Maybe. At the most now, I can serve in an advisory position but that is it. But I will always be there in the stands cheering. It is a good time to be a fan, eh?”

---------------------

My take: Some people should really park their egos and get their shit together. 

Kentucky Blue redux

Check out these two Sports Illustrated covers depicting the Kentucky Wildcats' NCAA victory. The one above was in 1996 when Rick Pitino coached the squad. That team had a bunch of NBA stars led by Antoine Walker (Boston), Ron Mercer (Boston), Walter McCarty (New York), Mark Pope (Indiana), Tony Delk (Golden State), Nazr Mohammed (Philadelphia), Derek Anderson (Cleveland), Jeff Sheppard (Atlanta), and Wayne Turner (Boston). That's nine NBA players on this team! Pitino not only coached Boston after but a number of his former wards suited up for the Celtics eventually -- Walker, Mercer, McCarty, and Turner.

Cut all the way to 2012 and this new Wildcats team as coached by John Calipari are now NCAA champs. And the new cover of Sports Illustrated looks very much like the 1996 version. Hopefully, Anthony Davis, who will go to the NBA will not see his post-NBA career go bust like Walker's did. So who else will make it to the Association? 

Barcelona dispatches Bilbao to stay hot on Madrid’s heels.

Barcelona dispatches Bilbao to stay hot on Madrid’s heels.

by rick olivares pic by gustau nacarino (reuters)

After Osasuna piped Barcelona 3-2 at the Reyno de Navarra, Josep Guardiola’s men tore up La Liga with a seven-match win streak. Just when it was deemed that Barcelona had lost their appetite for winning after they have earned the sobriquet of ‘the world’s best football team of all time’ where they won 13 titles in Guardiola’s four years as manager, chasing Real Madrid has become the late mantra this campaign.

Barca closed the gap of 10 points to six after Real Madrid was held to back-to-back draws first by Malaga (1-1) then by Villareal (1-1). The favorable 0-0 draw with AC Milan at the San Siro (Champions League) meant the Catalan club was going home to Camp Nou to first play Athletic Bilbao and then the Italians in succession.

It wasn’t like Bilbao had the advantage to catch Barca being winded for they too came from a surprising 4-2 win over Schalke 04 in the Europa League quarterfinals.

Guardiola wasn’t taking it easy even if he rested Carles Puyol, Xavi, and Seydou Keita in favor of Thiago, Christian Tello, and Adriano. Xavi and Keita were listed as reserves in the event Bilbao threatened.

The Basque club did well, if only for the opening five minutes as they threatened early on and were aggressive in going after the Catalans’ midfielders. Then as if to say, ‘we’ve had enough of this nonsense’ Barca turned the game around with their trademark ball control and possession and riddle Bilbao’s goal. Bilbao keeper Gorka Iraizoz, like the 16 other La Liga goalkeepers that Barcelona routinely tortures, was given the ultimate workout as he fended off shot after shot despite shoddy defending by his back four.

It is a youthful side that Bilbao put on the field. Immensely proud of their youth system (they have looked to Barcelona’s La Masia Academy as inspiration), Marcelo Bielsa, one of the game’s bright minds after his wondrous work with Argentina, Chile, and Bilbao, hoped that they could challenge. They are still a galaxy far far away from Barcelona as they were reduced to a late tackling, hip checking, shirt pulling squad as Sergio Busquets, Leo Messi, and Andres Iniesta left them chasing the blades of grass.   

Bielsa would have been better suited to run a 442 to Barca’s 433 as his mids were routinely stripped of the ball. On the few occasions they got the ball to the final third, they maddeningly lost the ball and the animated Bielsa would let loose a tirade. Thus, Barcelona unloaded 20 shots at Iraizoz who was the only impressive player for Bilbao.

There were subplots galore. Guardiola has always looked up to Bielsa. But it is more like the youthful Guardiola is the master having won so much in so little time. And Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean forward for Guardiola once played for Bielsa in the Chile national team. And Messi did play for Bielsa with the Argentine national team before the unfortunate tenure of Jose Pekerman.

Bilbao has climbed La Liga in Bielsa’s two years thus far – eight to sixth last year. This year, they hovered in the top ten before only taking one point from a possible 12 in their last four fixtures. And they were away in Camp Nou for this one.

And it was a matter of time before Barcelona scored as they had their way with the game. After Messi found a cutting Iniesta, Bilbao defender Javi Martinez tried to tackle Iniesta. He tugged at Iniesta’s shirt but the Barcelona midfielder, who had gone down to the grass more than he would have liked during the match unloaded a wicked shot from his right boot that nearly took of Iraizoz’ head. That reminded me of Landon Donovan’s shot against Samir Handanovic during USA’s incredible comeback against Slovenia in the last World Cup. But 1-0, Barca.

Because of all the tackling of Bilbao, Tello won one although it looked like he went down rather too easily inside the box. Penalty. And Messi took an awful shot that Iraizoz could have stopped but the Flea’s momentary hesitation also caused the Bilbao keeper to pause. Goal. 2-0, Barcelona.

Bilbao nearly pulled back one when late sub Iker Muniain flicked one past Victor Valdes from the right post. But Gerard Pique, who early in the match looked to have lost a goal when it was headed out after it seemingly crossed the line by a Bilbao defender Jon Aurtenetxe, slid in to stop the ball’s progress. Valdes and Barcelona kept its clean sheet for the 2-0 win.

Madrid earlier waylaid Barca’s tormentor Osasuna, 5-1, to stay ahead with six points, 78-72 and a 25-3-2 slate. Guardiola’s squad in the meantime improved to 22-6-2. Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace against Osasuna still put him atop the Pichichi list with 37 goals to Messi’s 36.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona know that there is no room for error at this stage. Any dropped points could be fatal prior to their April 22 match up at Camp Nou.

The upcoming match up could provide a thrilling finish to rival the 2006-07 season when Madrid won their 30^th league title after beating Mallorca 3-1 when late sub Jose Antonio Reyes gave them a massive lift while Barcelona whipped Gimnastic 5-1. Because of Madrid’s superior head-to-head match up with the Blaugrana, Madrid won La Liga.

This is going to be one whopper of a finish.

He's a star! Stephon Marbury leads Beijing to the CBA title.

You can say what you want about Stephon Marbury but this is a great sports story. He picked up the tatters of his broken NBA career, went to China where he led the Beijing Ducks (in his third season there) to the 2012 CBA title over seven-time champion Guangdong with a 4-1 series win. Want to read more of what Starbury has done in China, then read this excellent article from Sports Illustrated.

I took the pictures from Marbury's twitter account so thanks for that. Check out also the youtube video that was taken after he brought Beijing to the finals. It's powerful beyond words.

2012 New York Yankees Preview: Will the Yankees find some spring in their step?

Will the Yankees find some spring in their step?

by rick olivares

If there is one professional sport that affords an athlete so much longevity it is baseball.

In a 2007 study made by the University of Colorado, the average career of a professional baseball player* lasts for 5.6 years. Say that again – 5.6 years.

Take a look at the average pro career of athletes in other American professional sports:

That means even before a player hangs up his glove and spikes, he has to think about his future. Even before he hits the age of 25, he has to factor in the next 50 years of his life!

If that is the case, then the New York Yankees’ Jorge Posada who retired a little over a month ago would have played a lifetime as he was in pinstripes – his only team – for 17 years aside from making and supposedly making a fortune! He was the starting catcher for a decade after Joe Girardi left for another team (and Posada was still the backstop when Joe returned as team manager).

Posada’s retirement left that great farm team of the Yankees of Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Posada down to two of Jeter and Rivera. And now the club’s senior circuit looks to add another Golden Boy in Pettitte (39 years old until June 15 when he turns 40) who came out of a year’s sabbatical for a one-year contract to play for a New York minor league team with a possible invitation to spring training.

It’s amazing how sports analysts cannot make up their minds about veterans and rookies. One minute they laud teams for getting veteran players with veteran smarts and the next it’s about them getting old in the legs and in dire need of a youthful injection. That ageing veteran team is how many describe at the New York Yankees with Rivera’s age now matching his uniform number (42); free-agent pick up and native New Yorker Raul Ibañez at 39 years of age; Jeter now 37 years old (he is no longer the kid but the Bronx Bombers’ version of Cal Ripken); Alex Rodriguez, 36; Freddy Garcia is 35; Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez, 34; and Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and Nick Swisher both 31.

But they’ve got a still youthful core of Russell Martin (29), Robinson Cano (29), and Eduardo Nuñez (24) approaching their prime.

With pitching a concern since the 2009 season, who is there on the staff who will lead this team? There’s only CC Sabathia who has proven that he can pitch in pinstripes. There’s star in waiting Ivan Nova, the enigmatic Phil Hughes when he’s locked on, and Freddy Garcia.  If Hughes pitches well then that will boost New York’s pitching. Michael Pineda should be there but all of a sudden I get this feeling that General Manager got fleeced. Is this Carl Pavano all over again? If Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, David Robertson can  bridge the starters all the way to the ageless Rivera they’ll be okay.

If Hiroki Kuroda can provide quality pitching as a fifth starter (and that moves Garcia to the bench), if Pineda can pitch to his potential let alone play, and if Pettitte can flash his All-Star form of 2010 (11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 21 starts) – now those are a lot of ifs -- then the Yankees, in their 112^th season, will compete in a much tougher and arguably the best in baseball AL East with Boston, Tampa Bay, and Toronto all competing for the division title and even the World Series.

Let’s look at the potential batting order here for Girardi:

SS Jeter

CF Curtis Granderson

2B Robinson Cano

3B Alex Rodriguez

1B Mark Teixeira

RF Nick Swisher

DH Raul Ibañez

C Russell Martin

LF Brett Gardner

I think that the addition of native New Yorker Ibañez to the lineup affords a move by Cano to the top of the order. How dangerous is that? Tex is at fifth in the order! It’s a dangerous lineup right there.

A-Rod had a sub-par year and some say that he is on the decline. We heard that about Jeter so much last year but he did hit some milestones and after he broke his slump there was not much talk about his hitting anymore. We’ll have to wait and see if that blood-spinning treatment that Kobe Bryant recommended to Rodriguez will help him play better this year.

Ibañez and Jones should provide more hitting for this team. I’ve always been a fan of Eric Chavez and I think that his addition to the Yankees (as of last year) was a good pick up.

I recall that comment in Michael Lewis’ Moneyball how Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane remarked about their club being a farm team for the Yankees. Well, yeah. Look at who they’ve picked up from the A’s through the years – Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Jason Giambi, Nick Swisher, and Chavez to name a few.

Last season, the Yankees won 97 games and their 11^th AL East crown in the last 14 years. They also set some team and individual records on the way to the post-season that ended in disappointment. This year, there’s some optimism coming out from spring training as there are questions. This year could be the last ride for players like Jeter, Rivera, and Pettitte but that also depends on the kind of year that they have. This Yankees team – barring injuries – will definitely compete for the division title and playoffs. Age and all.

Global destroys Kaya and leaves the club with all sorts of questions that are in need of answers

Kaya and a sea full of question marks

by rick olivares

Even before the kick-off of the Global-Kaya match, I wondered aloud (inside the control room of UMak) that Global did their homework while Kaya went in with some tactical mistakes. And that feeling only got reinforced as the game progressed.

What makes this worse in my opinion is that they committed the same tactical mistakes in their earlier match with Loyola.

Take a gander at the lineups and formations:

GLOBAL

Etoundi

Barbaso    Guisso    J. Guirado    Basa

Reichelt    Hoshide    Kama    De Murga

El Habbib    Bahadoran

Burkey    Beloya    Dagroh

Romero    Omura    Moy

Semblat    Sabio    del Rosario   Mallari

Garmaroudi

KAYA

First of all the formation.

If Kaya’s forwards did not go back on defense then their midfield would be overwhelmed. And that is what happened.

Furthermore, Kaya received a significant upgrade in offense – well, supposedly – with the addition of Alu Kigbu. But I also thought that they had lost significantly on defense. Aly Borromeo has begun solo training but won’t be back until a few weeks. They let go of Ruffy Llorente who went to play for his old college coach Norman Fegidero in Pachanga. That’s two cogs on D. They started Eddie Mallari in right back when he is not a right back. Then in an effort to spark the offense, they reinserted Jonah Romero back to left midfield. While they moved Adrian Semblat to LB. That’s three moves in the back four with Anton del Rosario moving to CB.

I love Eddie Mallari but he is no RB and he does not have the speed to go up against Misagh Bahadoran. Anton would have been an ideal match-up but by the time they switched, Bahadoran was making del Rosario eat dust. Why wasn’t Masih Razaei started at LB when he has played well there?

If they watched the Pachanga-Global match during the cup, they would have noticed how Kross Ubiam shut down Izzo while playing stopper. Ubiam did go in but not as a stopper.

Three of Global’s early goals came from the left wing and from assists or targets from Bahadoran.

Mysteriously, Kaya did not match up speed for speed as they benched Kigbu and Boley. I have always thought that the speed of those two helped create match up problems. Not in this instance.

And Global’s mastery of the midfield rendered Romero, Lexton Moy and Masa Omura ineffective. Global left side defensive unit of David Basa and Juani Guirado has been solid. They shut down the wing play and Kaya continued to force the issue instead of trying to go through the middle where there was some success.

I thought that Beloya was lost in the scheme of things and was hardly a contributor to Kaya’s effort.

At the half, it was decided that they’d drop to a 442 with Burkey and Dagroh atop (AK47 went in for Beloya). But Burkey had to go back deep into his team’s territory to help bring that ball forward as nothing was coming from the midfield. For sure Boley coming in was huge but that was a 3-1 hole they had to dig themselves out of. The thing about Kaya is that they have not shown that they could come back from a deficit. They sure fought in the second half with Dagroh nearly scoring a brace but shots at goal were in short supply.

When Kaya finally quieted Bahadoran’s influence on the game, Angel Guirado came in and this time was on target with his crosses and free kicks. Global continued to play and perhaps for the first time all season, played as clinical as ever. They added two more goals to complete the humiliation of Kaya, 5-1.

The Juan Cutillas coached club averages 1.75 goals in every match. It sounds somewhat incredible when they have Dagroh, Beloya, Kigbu, Burkey, and Boley up front. For all the questions surrounding their offensive woes, they have a new question to answer – the glaring need for a left back.

They have one more match to play to close out their first round campaign. The problem is they’ll be up against Stallion, a club that plays with precision and quickness. And Kaya is like an island surrounded by a sea of question marks.

Bleachers' Brew #304 Motivations and an emerging rivalry

This appears in the Monday, April 2, 2012 edition of the Business Mirror.

Motivations and an emerging rivalry

by rick olivares

This was one match that the Loyola Meralco Sparks needed no motivation in getting up for… their first meeting with Philippine Air Force since the 2011 UFL Cup Finals.

After 96 minutes of play, the Sparks will have to wait for the second round meeting with the defending champs to settle a score. The match ended with at 3-3 with Air Force notching two goals in stoppage time to snatch a “won” game from Meralco that left the Sparks seething over what they perceived to be poor calls from referee.

Just as it was in the cup finals, Loyola dominated possession and launched a barrage of shots at the Airmen’s goal (26-14). Unlike the cup finals where the Sparks were unable to find the back of the net, this time, they scored. And they did early on by sending two past Air Force goalkeeper Tats Mercado.

Loyola forward Mark Hartmann showed why he is the best free kick taker in the business (although Global’s Angel Guirado will give him a run for his money) when he targeted Phil Younghusband inside the box and the league’s leading scorer headed in a goal in the 13^th minute. Air Force forward Ian Araneta made a case for himself that he still cannot be overlooked when it comes to playing for the national team when his wondrous free kick dove in hard and fast past Loyola keeper Ref Cuaresma for the equalizer 10 minutes later.

Four minutes later, an Araneta foul just outside Air Force’s box saw Hartmann line up once more for a direct free kick. It was just an spectacular as Araneta’s earlier goal as this one had Mercado flailing in the air; 2-1 for Loyola.

Unlike their last meeting where Loyola preferred the long ball (until the second half), this time the midfield of Byeong Jeol Jeong, Anto Gonzales, Davide Cortina, and James Younghusband played a more controlled tiki taka style with a series of forward, square, and back passes. That made for better build-ups as they carved up the Airmen’s defense.

Air Force was not wholly without attempts. They threatened with their trademark speed (as they were faster than the Loyola defenders) and showed the vulnerable central midfield of the Sparks. But they suffered from poor wing play were unable to largely get anything inside the box. The absence of Chieffy Caligdong, still recuperating from that injury sustained in their recent battle with Global, had him on the bench. On stand by in the event he was needed.

Hartmann later found Younghusband with another free kick that the top striker converted to make it 3-1 and seemingly over. Right before stoppage time, Younghusband found himself with a nifty one-two combo play with Jake Morallo who came in for Byeong. Younghusband split the defense and forced Mercado to rush out. The Loyola striker had to merely slot around but he hammered it wide. In that instance, I wondered, will Loyola rue that missed shot? It sounded preposterous at that instance but I have played and watched this game for so long to know that matches can turn in a heartbeat.

And it did. The Airmen’s inability to stop the Sparks’ passing game saw them play rough and referee Rey Ritaga’s poor handling of the match caused it to get out of hand. Air Force would tackle and take shots but it was Loyola that was caught for the retaliation. When a scuffle broke out in injury time, James Younghusband was given a straight red card that reduced Loyola to ten men.

Incredibly, Loyola suffered a brain freeze right there. Instead of sending everyone back to defend, they opted to bring the ball forward. Air Force dug deep into their reservoir of determination and attacked. The Sparks’ central backs were caught flatfooted on two occasions and Joebel Bermejo and Araneta (showing his stout fighting heart) scored goals in succession to stun Loyola. Araneta’s goal was especially stunning as his defender and Cuaresma played the angles quite well. The ball evaded the outstretched arms of Cuaresma as the spin on the ball propelled it towards the goal. It was like a Bata Reyes shot with the billiard ball going to its inevitable pocket destination. Goal and the late equalizer! And Air Force head coach Sgt. Edzel Bracamonte turned to the crowd and pumped his fist.

When the final whistle blew, it was as if Loyola had been swindled out of a fortune. While they lost two of the three valuable points, vengeance had been stayed. The draw allowed Global to leapfrog past them after their earlier demolition of a Kaya side that was found wanting in so many fronts.

As for Air Force, they celebrated and how. It was like that masterful triumph last December. It may have in fact, resuscitated their season as they have only played seven matches and claimed eight points off them. Should they win their final two games of the first round, they will have 14 points and be back in the thick of the fight and their title defense.

Loyola in the meantime has a 6-1-1 slate and 19 points with a game at hand from Global (versus Pasargad).

Inside Loyola’s locker room, disappointment hung heavy in the air despite team management’s best efforts to ask their squad to go out with their chins up. “We’re still on top,” said team manager Woowee Evangelista. “And we’ll meet them again.”

The team gathered for a prayer that James led but not without a few words that still dripped of disappointment. “That wasn’t a prayer,” laughed Phil. “That was a petition.” The locker room erupted in laughter and the heavy cloud of disappointment was mostly lifted.

But for many on the team, they were thinking ahead when they play Air Force a second time – in this burgeoning rivalry that is turning white hot - in the league season. “There’s no short supply of motivation,” said Phil looking ahead. “None at all.”

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