Barangay Ginebra: Raising the roof (of expectations)

Barangay Ginebra: Raising the roof (of expectations)

by rick olivares pics by nuki sabio

The 2013 PBA Draft haul: Greg Slaughter (number one overall) and James Forrester (number four overall) plus John Usita, Alvin Padilla, and Jens Knuttel.

Yes, Barangay Ginebra sure hit the lottery for this draft. They not only netted Greg Slaughter, a legit seven-footer but they also tabbed the exciting James Forrester out of Arellano University. The two look to be keepers for this team.

What do I like about the draft of Slaughter? For one, they brought in a bright young kid with loads of potential. He can post up. Hit the hook, spin around for a lay-up, and hit the outside shot. He can defend. He’s a seven-footer (I know I said that already). Perhaps more importantly, he’s also a winner. He’s got what it takes to lead Ginebra back to the Promised Land.

Greg has won with the University of Visayas and Ateneo. He has a gold medal from the Southeast Asian Games. He’s played on the national team. The man is a flat out winner.

Now he also joins a cast of winners – LA Tenorio and Emman Monfort have also won titles with Ateneo. Tenorio has also won a PBA title with Alaska. Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand have also led Ginebra to championships on top of winning individual awards. The coaching staff is also composed of winners who have brought home the bacon in the amateur and pro ranks: Ato Agustin, Jorge Gallent, Boycie Zamar, Art dela Cruz, Freddie Abuda and team manager Al Chua.

It’s nice to have a core that knows how to win because that will get you over the hump.

Greg will start right away for Ginebra with Japeth Aguilar playing off him. Now all of a sudden Slaughter and Aguilar look like the second coming of Marlou Aquino and EJ Fiehl albeit with more potential (they certainly are more decorated coming into the pros than Ginebra’s classic Twin Towers). They also have Billy Mamaril and Jay-R Reyes on the back stop.

On paper the frontline looks good. But Aguilar and Reyes can be inconsistent hence their having moved around from one team to another. Japeth has been with Air21 (ever so briefly) then Talk ‘n Text then Global Port and now Barangay Ginebra. Reyes has moved around a bit as well (Rain or Shine, Air21, Alaska, and Meralco). The onus is now on them to prove their worth.

Aguilar would love to build on his stellar showing in the last FIBA Asia Championships. What he needs to do is to put in a solid conference rather than a few games. That would give him the confidence he needs so bad.

With Rico Maierhofer and Willy Wilson gone from the team, someone has to really rebound for this team. If Greg can haul down more than 10 boards a game and Aguilar, Mamaril, and Reyes do their share in grabbing those boards for head coach Ato Agustin then losing Maierhofer and Wilson won’t be so bad (although Rico was so underutilized for this team).

It can’t be all defense though. If the frontline can score a lot of points they will open up the lane for their wings and their shooters.

And there’s death coming from the wings!

The three-spot for Barangay Ginebra looks solid with James Forrester teaming up with Chris Ellis and Mac Baracael. They are not only athletic but they will provide a lot of energy and hustle for this team.

Oh, here’s a thought… Barangay Ginebra will have the PBA’s version of Lob City as Slaughter, Aguilar, Mamaril, Reyes, Ellis, and Forrester will be skying in for throwdowns of epic proportions.

The off guard position will see Ginebra lifers Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand alternate.

At the point guard position, Ginebra will be solid with LA Tenorio, Josh Urbiztondo, and Emman Monfort. The question is how will Agustin find minutes for this cadre of excellent playmakers. But as good as their quarterbacks are there’s the question of their frontcourt passing. What makes a player like Marc Pingris or Ranidel De Ocampo dangerous is they can pass that ball from the post or facing the basket. If Slaughter, Aguilar, Mamaril, and Reyes can make smart decisions around the lane then it’s going to be a long game for other teams.

Consider what Barangay Ginebra can do – they can run or play the halfcourt set. They can shoot from the outside and now they’ll be able to pound it inside.

Still this team will have 13 days to work on their chemistry. It’s an exciting time for this team. Now they have to go deep in the playoffs.

Barangay Ginebra team manager Al Chua welcomes draft pick James Forrester.

The results of the 2013 PBA Draft

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud announced the names of all the draft picks. 

First Round

1.    Barangay Ginebra – Greg Slaughter

2.    San Mig Coffee – Ian Sangalang

3.    Rain or Shine - Raymond Almazan

4.    Barangay Ginebra – James Forrester

5.    GlobalPort – Terrence Romeo

6.    GlobalPort – RR Garcia

7.    GlobalPort – Isaac Holstein

8.    Alaska – Ryan Buenafe

9.    Rain or Shine – Alex Nuyles

10. San Mig Coffee – Justin Chua

Second Round

1.    GlobalPort – Nico Salva

2.    Rain or Shine – Jeric Teng

3.    San Mig - Coffee Justin Brian Melton

4.    Barako Bull – Jeric Fortuna

5.    Talk ‘N Text – JP Erram

6.    Air21- Eric Camson

7.    Talk ‘N Text – Robby Celiz

8.    Alaska – Chris Exciminiano

9.    Rain or Shine - Gayford Rodriguez

10. Barako Bull – Carlo Lastimosa

Third Round

1.    Air21 – Joshua Webb

2.    GlobalPort Jopher Custodio

3.    Barako Bull Darwin Cordero

4.    GlobalPort LA Revilla

5.    Petron Blaze – Samuel Marata

6.    Meralco – Anjo Caram

7.    Talk ‘N Text – Eliud Poligrates

8.    Alaska – Raymond Ilagan

9.    Rain or Shine – Ervic Vijandre

10. San Mig Coffee – JR Cawaling

Fourth Round

1.    Global Port – PASS

2.    Air21 – Angelo Lance Ingco

3.    Barako Bull – Jett Vidal

4.    Barangay Ginebra – John Usita

5.    Petron Blaze – Nate Matute

6.    Meralco – Michael Parala

7.    Talk ‘n Text – Oping Sumalinog

8.    Alaska – PASS

9.    Rain or Shine – PASS

10. San Mig Coffee – PASS

Fifth Round

1.    Air21 – Randolph Chua

2.    Barako Bull – Mike Silungan

3.    Barangay Ginebra – Alvin Padilla

4.    Petron Blaze – PASS

5.    Meralco – Mark Lopez

6.    Talk ‘N Text – John Villarias

Sixth Round

1.    Air21 – PASS

2.    Barako Bull – PASS

3.    Barangay Ginebra – Jens Knuttel

4.    Petron Blaze – PASS

5.    Meralco – Ron Guevarra

6.    Talk ‘n Text – PASS

Seventh Round

1.    Barangay Ginebra – PASS

2.    Meralco – Mark Bringas

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Additional reading: Barangay Ginebra: Raising the roof of expectations

Bleachers Brew #367 On that wakeskating stunt at the Banaue Rice Terraces

This appears in the sports section of the Monday, November 4, 2013 edition of the Business Mirror.

Taking it to the extreme

by rick olivares

When I saw the video of American wakeskater Brian Grubb skating down a rail atop the picturesque Banaue Rice Terraces, my reaction was equal parts, “wow” and “Is this right?”

This is the first I’ve seen the Rice Terraces in a different light other than the usual sleepy but no less scenic spots in tourism advertising. And it sure brought out conflicting emotions in me.

I heard about the rhubarb about Grubb’s “feat” and decided to watch the three minute and four-second video before making any comments.

And here’s what I thought while watching the video:

Wow.

What great camera angles!

They got some tribal approval but this is going to piss off some people.

Okay, these guys are amazing.

I wonder if this construes as disrespecting a tourist site?

What amazing camera angles!

Wow.

Landmarks, historic places, or even man-made structures have always been a fascination for some people to try something unusual. That brings to mind Sir Arthur Mallory’s famous line about scaling Mount Everest: “Because it’s there.” Hence, stunt like Grubb’s atop the Banaue Rice Terraces.

Contrary to popular belief, the Banaue Rice Terraces are not a part of the areas designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the presence of numerous modern structures. The Rice Terrace clusters of Batad, Bangaan, Mayoyao, Nagacadan, and Hungduan are the one’s deemed by UNESCO to have outstanding universal value.

Nevertheless, have there been any other sporting events held on UNESCO Heritage Sites? I can remember a few.

In 2005, American skateboarder Danny Way (these Yanks sure are extreme) became the first person to leap the Great Wall of China (over the Ju Yong Guan Gate) without a motor vehicle and land successfully. Way, who holds a number of skateboarding records, pulled off the feat five times in front of a huge crowd that included Chinese dignitaries and government officials. A mountainbiker attempted the feat in 2002 and was killed. Prior to all of this, in 1993, English motorcycle stuntman, Eddie Kidd, jumped over the Great Wall in a motorcycle.

Angkor Wat, the famous Hindu temple ruins in Cambodia, is also the site of an annual international half marathon that is organized by Cambodia’s National Olympic Committee to generate funds for the victims of landmines. The race takes runners around and through the largest religious monument in the world that was built in the 12^th century.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish, and 4,000 types of mollusk as its inhabitants. But this remarkable site on the northeast coast of Australia is also a choice venue for surfing.

Knowing all of these (and there are quite a few more examples), should we make a big deal out of Grubb’s wakeskating at the Banaue Rice Terraces?

It should be pointed out that the organizers of this stunt took great pains not to damage anything on the rice terraces. They asked permission from the tribal leaders that shows a sign of respect and for that I guess, we should be grateful for as well. Grubb and company are unlike those Russian thrill-seekers -- Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov to name a few – who last March illegally scaled the 4,000-yearold Great Pyramid of Giza to snap photos.

I believe that stunt like this can be good as long as the proper requests and precautions are made. The video will certainly be a boost for local tourism advertising. However, I do not believe these rice terraces should become a full-time wakeskating park because that will surely damage these centuries-old landmarks. They are much too delicate for any board sport. In that light, I am not at ease with Grubb’s statement early in the video where he says, “It’s just a wakeskating paradise but no one even knew it was here.”

That also begets the argument, should Grubb and company wakeskate across the Lincoln Reflecting Pool in Washington? I don’t think many of his fellow Americans will appreciate that.

For many extreme sports athletes, breaking new ground is just as important to being technically proficient in their sports. In that regard, I understand how “ground-breaking” it is to wakeskate in a national historical site so I believe it is fine as long as no sensibilities are offended.

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The oddity site oddee.com lists eight most extremetourist attractions but I am only pointing out those with an element to sports to them.

Cliff BASE Jumping in Norway

The Nordic country is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in God’s green earth. A place like Preikestolem Rock has a drop of 600 meters (1982 feet) high into the Lysefjord below.

Bungee jump Villarrica Volcano (Pucon, Chile)

Remember the James Bond film, Goldeneye, where 007 jumps off the Verzasca Dam? Well, since that iconic film bungee jump, it has become the world’s second highest jump after Macau’s 233-meter-high Skyjump. But no bungee jump (US $10,000 include the trip and the six-day stay) has a view to a kill more than 122-meter dive into the Villarrica Volcano in Pucon, Chile. One hovers some 213 meters above white hot lava. Incredibly, no one has evaporated into the magma since this became an adrenaline junkie’s death ride.

Kayaking with whales (Alaska)

This is not just an extreme sport it’s a selfie with an element of danger. While the whales my be gentle sea creatures, their sheer size and mass can be dangerous when splashing about.