Meet the Bataan Risers' homegrown Bataenos: Gio Espuelas

Each team playing in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League is required to sign up three (3) homegrown players. Now meet them.

Profile on the homegrown Bataan Risers: Gio Alfred Soriano Espuelas

Edad at taga saan ka sa Bataan

Gio: Ako ay 21 years old at pinanganak asko sa Balanga, Bataan.

Bakit basketbol ang nahiligan mo?

Gio: Pinili ko yung basketball kase maliit yun na ang aking passion at masayang masaya ako pag naglalaro. Nag-varsity ako sa Bataan Peninsula State University ng isang taon, first year college ako nung time na yun -- 2014-2015.

Ano yung pakiramdam na kasama ka sa Bataan Risers?

Gio: Napakasaya ko kasi naging part ako ng Bataan Risers. Di ko ine-expect na yung mga napapanuod ko mga idol ay kasama ko na sa isang team. Sabi lang nila sa akin, wag ko isipin na di ako makukuha kase may naipakita naman din daw ako last season. Pinapalakas nila yung loob ko hanggang sa yun sinwerte ako na mapasama sa team.

Ano yung experience naglalaro ka para kay Jojo Lastimosa na tinuringan as one of the 40 Greatest PBA players?

Gio: Sabi nga ng tatay ko napakaswerte ko kase si Coach Jolas ang head coach, isa sa pinakamagaling sa PBA. Marami nga naman akong matututunan bilang player kaya lahat ng sinasabi ni coach sa akin yun lang sinusunod ko. Binibigay ko lagi ang best ko bawat practice.   

So one-of-a-kind ba yung experience representing your hometown of Bataan?

Gio: Napakasarap sa feeling na naglalaro ka para sa home town mo. Yung tipong gaganahan ka sa mga kababayan mo kase binibigay nila lahat para masuportahan ang Risers.

Sino yung pinakamakulit at masayang teammate sa Bataan Risers at bakit?

Gio: Si Jayjay Alejandro! hahaha, napakamasiyahin kase. At puro kalokohan pero kapag practice at game na – seryoso na. Tamang balanse.

May pagkakataon ang Bataan Risers na lumahok para sa kampeonato. Ang masasabi mo rito?

Gio: Siguro karangalan na din para sa kanila pag nakuha naten ang championship magiging proud lalo silang na maging Bataeño.

A Taste of Blue Mayhem: Ateneo's 85-53 win over UST

A Taste of Blue Mayhem

by rick olivares

On May 29, 2016, Aldin Ayo’s DLSU team featuring Ben Mbala clobbered Ateneo in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup, 98-66.

Mbala, in his first Ateneo-La Salle game finished with 28 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks. Ayo (in)famously said after the game as DLSU went to 5-0 that they were not sending a message but working on their team chemistry.

That was incidentally, was Tab Baldwin’s first Ateneo-La Salle game. Baldwin had his revenge last year when he upended Ayo, Mbala, and DLSU for the title.

And now, with a pretty damn good big man of his own, the Ateneo Blue Eagles blew out Ayo’s UST Growling Tigers, 85-53. Also 32-point blowout and a taste of blue mayhem. Tit for tat.

That Ateneo big man? Angelo Kouame finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 1 assist. In under 20 minutes of play. Imagine if he played more minutes what kind of stats he would have posted.

In that pre-season match of three seasons ago, Ateneo shot a measly 39%. This time, the tables were turned as UST shot 26%.

Ateneo outrebounded UST 50-41 and scored 29 second chance points to the Growling Tigers’ 17. The Blue Eagles blocked 10 shots to UST’s 2.

The defense was outstanding. For the first time since the pre-season of 2017, Ateneo sprung a press. The switching was so good that UST had few open looks. The Tigers only hit five triples, but they were scattered and their effect wasn’t felt.

The Blue Eagles also held the dangerous Ken Zamora and the up and coming Joshua Marcos scoreless, and the team’s third leading scorer in Marvin Lee nine points below his average.

The 18 points scored by UST in the first half are a season low for any team. The eight points scored by the Growling Tigers in the second period are a season low (Ateneo also held NU to 8 points in one quarter). The previous season low for UST was nine points… against NU (the third period).

Those same 18 points are the lowest output of any UST team for a half in a while.

UST showed their hand right off the bat to attack Ateneo and they got some quick points inside. But when Ateneo spread UST’s defense after some early outside shots by Matt Nieto and Thirdy Ravena posting up his man, the Tigers were easy pickings.

What I liked was also how Tab Baldwin rotated his bench. Can you believe that Will Navarro was the only one who played 20 minutes? A shade over actually. Only BJ Andrade and Jolo Mendoza played fewer than 10 minutes. But Jolo went out because Marvin Lee tried to take him out. As a result, he was the only Blue Eagle not to be listed in the scoring ledger.

With Raffy Verano unavailable (he will be ready for the next game), I like Navarro starting for this game and Matt Daves getting meaningful playing time that will really help his confidence. That dunk of his? That wasn’t his best by a long shot having covered and followed him while playing for Crossover Canada in the NBTC League for three seasons. Trust me. When he gains more confidence, those rack attacks will be filled with menace.

And speaking of confidence, Kouame’s game has grown with every game and he has been nothing short of amazing.

But in terms of a breakout game, it was SJ Belangel’s turn (7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block) as he began to show the stuff he displayed with the Blue Eaglets. And it was great to see Tyler Tio play better and with more confidence. His buzzer beating shot to end the first half was exhilarating.

Adrian Wong struggled once more with his decision making (he dribbled a bit too much and by the time he decided to move the shot clock was perilously close to a violation). He did redeem himself with a huge triple to snuff out any notions of a rally by UST.

For the blue and white, it was a huge ad satisfying win (given the rivalry with Ayo) that propels them to the next outing… against La Salle.

Ange Kouame was chosen as the Player of the Game and rightfully so.

What ails the UE Red Warriors?

What ails the UE Red Warriors?

by rick olivares

While no one is expecting the University of the East Red Warriors to challenge outright for a Final Four slot this season, their losses have been surprising.

The newcomers to the current UE line-up are Ric Gallardo, Jojo Antiporda, Brian Lacap, and Jan Sobrevega. Gallardo is no rookie; having played a few years with the Perpetual Help Altas where he was a teammate of Scottie Thompson, Juneric Baloria, Harold Arboleda, Justin Alano, Bright Akhuetie, and Prince Eze. Lacap is from the rejuvenated program of the Mapua Red Robins. Antiporada is a solid player out of a winning program at Chiang Kai Shek College while Sobrevega played for De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Juniors.

The Red Warriors lost Clark Derige, Mark Olayon, Andrey Armenion, Jeremy Cruz, and Nick Abanto (to injury).

Last year’s Red Warriors lost their first games of Season 80 by an average margin of 13.7. This Season 81, they are not only once more 0-4, but they are losing by an average of 20.0 points.

Let’s take a look at the averages of key players in the first four matches of the past two seasons.

Player	Average through first four games Season 80
Alvin Pasaol	15.3
Clark Derige	13.5
Mark Maloles	10.3
Mark Olayon	6.8

Last season, through the first four games, Pasaol had 60 field goal attempts. Derige had 36. Maloles had 43 shots while Olayon had 27.

Player	Average through first four games Season 80
Alvin Pasaol	22.3
Jason Varilla	7.8
Wil Bartolome	7.3
Philip Manalang	6.8

This season, Pasaol has taken 84 field goal attempts in the first four games as well as 20 free throws. The next player is Varilla with 55 field goal attempts. Bartolome has 24 total attempts from the field while Manalang has attempted 30 shots.

Scoring is down from the 72.0 of Season 80 to the 67.0 of this campaign.

It stands to reason that after Pasaol, the other players haven’t done well. Hence, perhaps, Pasaol taking more shots.

They are hovering somewhere in the bottom three of almost all statistical categories save for turnover points (fourth with 11.3 points per game) and second chances points (second with 16.0) so there are some positives.

What is ailing them?

Several things. Varilla and Chris Conner, players expected to carry the load with Derige and Olayon gone, have not been able to do so. They have struggled.

The bigs – Bartolome, Rey Acuno, Shan Gagate, and Ric Gallardo have also underwhelmed. Without that scoring and rebounding, Pasaol has done more. I am not sure if he trusts his teammates less. I thought that in the first game, he made an effort to pass that ball around, but when they were off target, he opted to shoot more. It would be wrong to say that Pasaol has entirely thrown caution to the wind. Maybe at times, he has, but make no mistake, the problems of this team cannot be undone in a few short months.

However… boy, are they shooting. This year through the first four games, the Red Warriors have jacked up 83 triples (with 15 finding at the bottom of the net). Adamson have been unloading like anything from the outside with 131 triple attempts. FEU had fired 87 threes as well.

Last season, UE fired 73 and made 16 of them.

Here’s an anecdote that probably says something about them. During the summer, UE listed Chris Conner as their representative in the one-on-one competition of the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. One-on-one might not be as prestigious anymore the way 3x3 ball is, but I figure any time you rep your school, you try to do your best.

Conner was content to loft three balls and played token defense in the sudden death format. He was bounced in the very first game. Maybe he wasn’t into it, but I am a firm believe that you do your best in everything assigned to you.

And further to that, in my opinion, a lot of players have to step up. Varilla, Conner, Maloles, Gagate, Manalang, Bartolome, and Acuno should all raise the level of their games.

Management should also pitch in and give their coaching staff a chance. No one said it was easy. Years of defections by players and not even listing a foreign player has really hurt this once proud team.

Four games down. Maybe they should look at the San Sebastian Stags in the ongoing NCAA tourney. They too faced a lot of departures, they had games overturned, but they play like there is no tomorrow.

Maybe that is all they can do at this point.