The Heart of Winning.

THE SAN BEDA SUPER SIX

Winning is everything. We hear players throw this around all the time. But whether they mean it or not, winning does feel good. Really, really good.

This leads us to a common question: what does it take to win in basketball? It’s a fair query. All players (at least, I’d like to assume) have pondered upon what they have to do to win games. That’s the first step – knowing what it takes. However, I think the better question is: what does it take to not lose?

I believe winning basketball starts from a disgust for losing. This feeling creates a drive to overcome defeat. It generates an urgency to win. And that’s what we saw from San Beda against Arellano.

After the infamous brawl between the San Sebastian Volleyball Team and the San Beda Basketball Team, more than half of the Red Lions were given suspensions. They ended up having only six players for their season 88 debut against the Chiefs. Thus, this group was labeled the “Super Six”.

It was a crazy game. Arellano came off a hot start. But in basketball, the start alone does not define the outcome. As hard as it is to say, the best example would probably be the Lakers. In fact, they deserve recognition. Perhaps the NBA record for ‘most games led by halftime then lost’.

Neither talent nor skill won San Beda the game. Heart did. That’s the only thing that could’ve.

When you play with six players, you’re not supposed to win. You’re expected to be crushed, demolished. But the Super Six found a way. They just would not accept defeat.

Three of the Super Six are fresh from high school. Two are tranferees. The other just got called up again from Team B. None of the veterans were on this squad of six. None of the Red Lions' usual go-to guys were there.

During the game, one of the six Red Lions even fouled out.

The Chiefs did play hard. It was obvious that they wanted to win. However, those six Red Lions simply refused to lose. And that made all the difference.

Coach Ronnie Magsanoc said it himself, “It was all heart.”

It all starts in the gym. That’s what they usually say about winning – that it starts in practice. But heart isn’t something you can practice. It’s innate.

It’s usually hard to differentiate ‘wanting to win’ from ‘refusing to lose’. It’s can also be difficult to determine which team is playing with more heart. But when a team of six players overcomes the odds and comes out victorious, it becomes a little easier to tell.

Asi Taulava - The Rock stays strong. by Jutt Sulit.

(via http://micohaliliblogs.blogspot.com)

May 28, 2012

Nino Canaleta was ready for his final dunk of the 2012 PBA Slam Dunk Contest. He lined up three persons under the basket. As if jumping over three average-sized people wasn’t enough, at the end of that line was the 6-foot-9 Asi Taulava. After a short gather, Cañaleta leaped off his left foot, extended his right leg, hit his crotch on Asi’s head, and made the dunk. As expected, it was a perfect 50.

As Canaleta received his 5th Slam Dunk King Trophy, he was asked how he came up with the idea of the dunk. He replied, “Yung plano naming aalis si Asi, hindi umalis!”

That’s Asi Taulava. There’s no getting rid of him. There’s no bringing him down.

You need proof?

In the early months of the year 2000, Asi was deported due to insufficient proof of his Filipino blood. Now, I’m not entirely confident about this but I vaguely remember him making a McArthur-esque statement that he will be back. True enough, he was back the following year and continued his PBA career.

More than that, he became part of Team Pilipinas from 2002 up until 2011. 9 years. Someone who got deported because he wasn’t Filipino played for our national team for 9 years.

You just can’t bring a stubborn man down.

In the game between Gilas and the Malaysians in August 2011, a certain Kwaang Yoong Jing, according to Asi, “grabbed, squeezed and punched” his balls. And no, he was not talking about the basketball. He fell to his knees for a second then quickly jumped back to his feet and unleashed a 1-2 punch combo right on the Malaysian’s face. Now I know punches belong to the boxing ring, but if someone GSP-ed (Grabbed- Squeezed-Punched) your balls, medyo hindi nga naman nakakatuwa ‘yon. Props to Asi. Not even a GSP could keep him down for three seconds.

When Team Pilipinas faced Yao Ming and the Chinese squad, Taulava went for a jumper right at the top of the key. Yao blocked it face-to-face and sent it back past half-court. What did Asi do? He hustled to get the ball back and went straight to attacking Yao’s defense again. Fine, he eventually passed the ball two dribbles into his drive. But you get the point, right?

The fighting spirit in Asi Taulava is remarkable. After 14 seasons in the league, he can still be a force on the basketball court. Yes, his numbers have gone down dramatically from his prime years. But give the guy a break; he’s freaking 39 years old.

At this point, Asi’s resiliency impresses me the most. It’s not only that he bounces back from whatever keeps him away.

The fact that he deviated from the original plan and decided to stay under the basket for Cañaleta’s final dunk seemed metaphorical.

Hindi umalis eh.

Ayaw umalis.

I don’t think we’re about to see the end of Asi Taulava.

I don’t think Asi’s ready to leave the game any time soon.

Seriously, I think the only way to get rid of Asi right now is to deport him again.

But in these fun times, when resilient Asi remains relevant at 39 years old, who would want to? 

Denzel Bowles and the impact of imports in the PBA. by Jutt Sulit

(via http://micohaliliblogs.blogspot.com)

May 6, 2012

Jimmy Alapag – reigning MVP, former Rookie of the Year, 2-time Finals MVP.

Jayson Castro – 2-time Finals MVP, reigning Most Improved Player.

Kelly Williams – former Rookie of the Year, former MVP.

Ryan Reyes – former Rookie of the Year, 3-time All Defensive Team.

Larry Fonacier – former Rookie of the Year, former Finals MVP.

Japeth Aguilar – 6’9”.

These players, along with their credentials, banner Talk N’ Text. People say it’s a dynasty in the making. On paper and on the court, TNT is a powerhouse.  But they aren’t invincible, especially when an additional factor comes to play – the import.

I’ve come across one too many people saying that they only watch the PBA when it’s the All-Filipino conference.  Their noble reasoning: imports overshadow the locals and mas enjoy daw kapag walang import.

Bullsh*t!

I think imports play a bigger role in the league than what most of us think. They balance out the competition and allow for the weaker teams to have a shot at the trophy.

Unfortunately, for the weak, imports also solidify the already strong. Case in point, Denzel Bowles. He is the biggest reason why the Llamados are in the PBA Finals right now. I really thought Talk ‘N Text would easily take the championship series. But B-MEG kept on winning. How could I have underestimated a team that took the top seed in the previous conference? Oh yeah, maybe because they got knocked out by the 8th-seeded team. This conference, however, B-MEG got their well-deserved Finals appearance. It’s greatly because of Bowles. Regardless of what happens in game 7, Momma Bowles should be proud.

That is not taking away the possibility of an import leading the downfall of a team. Recently, we saw two of the greatest displays of ‘patalo’ imports in Jackson Vroman and Earl Barron. Ginebra lost because Vroman couldn’t control his emotions. Meralco lost because, for some reason, Earl Barron thought he was Michael Jordan. He missed seven straight shots in the crucial minutes of their do-or-die game against B-MEG in the quarterfinals. That includes a three-pointer. We all know what happened after.

Back to the good stuff. More imports might mean more dunks. We’re tired of Asi’s ‘barely making it to the rim’ dunks. We want more Chris King baseline throw-downs – circa 2000 or Urbiztondo to Bowles off-the-backboard alley-oops. When imports are around, we realize it doesn’t hurt to have more than one dunk per game.

It’s also refreshing to see 7-footers who can actually play ball. Truth is we have talented local big men in the league. But some of them probably think they can just come over and dominate because of their height or NCAA Division 1 experience. Thus, they end up sulking on the bench.

The importance of foreign blood in the association is underappreciated. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy the All-Filipino conference perfectly well. I just happen to argue that having imports is, aside from fun, advantageous to teams and fans. The only team that may find it disadvantageous is – yes, you guessed it – Talk N’ Text. I believe the presence of imports makes for healthy competition in the league. By ‘healthy competition’, I mean there’s an actual possibility of Talk ‘N Text not winning a Game 7.

That being said, time to pick imports.

Dibs on Lamont Strothers.