PBA Latest News and Updates

[DaNZ|G]

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sorry guys, i stand corrected.. annual draft will be on aug 20..

also, it has been confirmed that coach jong will be calling the plays for ginebra and coach siot will be his assistant.. coach chot will take over SMB..

regarding the 3-team trade, some coaches namely yeng quiao, alfrancis chua and tim cone are complaining about the trade calling it an 'overkill'..

[DaNZ|G]

Hatfield back soon but will he play?
By Joaquin Henson
The Philippine Star 08/03/2006

Rudy Hatfield is returning to Manila on Aug. 28 but his agent Bill Rosmarino told The STAR yesterday nothing is final on his much-awaited comeback in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

"Everything will be finalized when he gets back," said Rosmarino in a text message from Chongqing, China. "So it’s status quo until his arrival." Rosmarino said the recent trade for Hatfield’s signing rights by Coca-Cola to Ginebra San Miguel – assuming it is approved by PBA commissioner Noli Eala – was "a pleasant surprise" but there are implications on how much the "H-Bomb" can expect as a salary because of the team cap.

"With the rights trade, Rudy will have to accept a major pay cut but we are willing to explore this," said Rosmarino who mentioned a two-year contract may be an agreeable option.

Hatfield, 28, is finishing a paramedic course for a fireman’s license in Michigan and will arrive in Manila with Rosmarino.

"I’ve been talking with Rudy and he’s excited to come back and play," said Rosmarino, an American who speaks Filipino and has lived in Bacolod for years. "I think his best friend Eric (Menk) had a lot to do with it. With Eric’s prodding, Rudy started to get the itch to play again. Eric and Rudy spent a week together in Michigan recently."

Rosmarino said a two-year contract won’t tie Hatfield down for a long period and gives him the freedom to decide his future in the medium term.

Hatfield played his last PBA game for Coca-Cola on Oct. 17, 2004. He compiled 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and four steals in 38 minutes as the Tigers beat San Miguel Beer, 92-84, in the 2004 Philippine Cup. Coca-Cola was 3-1 with Hatfield in uniform and 6-10 without him in the conference.

The 6-5 forward was included in a Department of Justice order for deportation on a charge of falsifying documents to acquire Filipino citizenship in 2004. He was later cleared of the charge, leaving no doubt as to the lineage of his full-blooded Filipina mother Lilian Advincula Valdez. Asi Taulava and Mick Pennisi were also cleared.

Hatfield left Manila in October 2005, exasperated by the long wait for his clearance. He gave up his condo unit and got rid of his car. The night before his departure, his citizenship was cleared. But Hatfield had made up his mind to leave.

Trying out a life without basketball, Hatfield enrolled in a pro wrestling school in Boston but decided to join the fire academy instead.

Early this year, Hatfield played against a PBA draft prospect in a Filipino league in Michigan and realized how much he’d missed the game.

"I played a game in the Filipino league which is pretty hardcore," said Hatfield. "I played against the future of the PBA, Kelly Williams, who was back in town for a week or so. He basically kicked my ass up and down the court. Dunked on me a couple of times, blocked about half my shots and was really just abusing me. So that really pissed me off. Definitely woke me up a little bit and got me thinking about playing a little bit more."

Rosmarino said if Hatfield returns to the PBA, he’ll start all over again by finding a place to live, buying a car to drive and settling in.

[DaNZ|G]

i dont agree na overkill ang trade.. ginebra is giving away 7 players in exchange of 2 players and 1 player who is not even sure if he will play (hatfield)

mas grabeh pa gani ang gihimo sa alaska when they took the star players of shell pag disband nila..

[clarkhkent]

i dont agree na overkill ang trade.. ginebra is giving away 7 players in exchange of 2 players and 1 player who is not even sure if he will play (hatfield)

mas grabeh pa gani ang gihimo sa alaska when they took the star players of shell pag disband nila..

mao gyud....hadlok cguro sila nga mkaduwa jud si hatfield kay kuyaw na kaayo ang bgk kung tinuod man nga maka duwa na si hatfiled! lalim mo nang menk plus hatfiled...sa front court then caguiao ug helterbrand sa backcourt...naapa jud si mamaril ug reavis! ahhh....ahhhh...ahhhh

SMC verifies coaching shuffle

Chot to San Mig, Jong to Ginebra this season

By Joel Orellana, Reporter

CHOT REYES, the national team mentor, is indeed the new head coach of San Miguel Beer for the coming 2006-07 season of the Philippine Basketball Association, a top San Miguel Corp. official confirmed Thursday.

Robert Non, SMC’s external affairs manager and league governor, also verified previous reports that the Beermen’s coach Jong Uichico will be transferring to crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra, whose own head coach Siot Tanquingcen slides down as an assistant.

SMC management ordered the other two squads under its umbrella, Purefoods Chunkee and Coca-Cola, to keep the status quo, with Ryan Gregorio and Binky Favis retaining their posts with the Giants and the Tigers, respectively.

“We would want a fresh start with the re-tooling and the coaching changes. These changes are not permanent and they [coaches] are constantly evaluated on a performance basis,” Non said.

“We run our teams like a business firm. At the end of the day, each of those coaches will be answerable for every game, every tournament, every season,” he added. “If something’s lacking, most likely we’ll shuffle them again.”

Reyes, currently with the RP five competing in the four-nation El Amadi International Basketball Championship in Doha, Qatar, will be bringing in his own coaching staff that includes Aboy Castro, Biboy Ravanes and Nash Racela.

Uichico and Tanquingcen, who spent fruitful years together with the Beermen, will be reunited with the Kings. Assistants Art de la Cruz and Juno Sauler will join them on the staff. Allan Caidic is still the team manager.

Boyvits Victoria and Richie Ticzon, formerly from San Miguel, and George Ella, one of the former deputies of Tanquingcen at Ginebra, will beef up Favis’ coaching crew at Coke.

Gregorio, who steered Purefoods to back-to-back finals stints last season including the conquest of the Philippine Cup, retained his staff composed of Ronnie Magsanoc, Koy Banal, Eric Gonzales and Dayong Mendoza.

Non reiterated that the changes were made for the coming season, and the coaches’ performances will be reevaluated at the end of the season.

“Each team or coach is asked to tell us their goal and to say if it’s achievable. We give them leeway in getting the players and salary they want, and if they fail to meet that goal, they are required to explain everything,” Non said. “Nothing is really permanent here.”

Reyes will join San Miguel Beer in an international tournament in Taiwan in the second week of August, while Uichico will accompany Ginebra in the Sultan’s Cup in Brunei—where the national team under Reyes is the defending champion—on August 19 to 26.

Non also defended the controversial three-team multiplayer trade that involved Ginebra, Coke and Air21, and criticized the teams that questioned the legality of the transaction.

“There were instances before that there appeared to be one-sided trades by other teams, but we have never questioned that during board meetings,” Non explained, as the PBA board held an emergency meeting to settle the matter last night.

In 11-player the trade, the Kings got Rafi Reavis and Billy Mamaril while the Tigers received Manny Ramos and Kalani Ferreri plus Ginebra’s two second round picks and a future first round selection.

For the two sister teams to complete the deal, they needed the Express’ help as a conduit to satisfy league rules. Air21 thus got Aries Dimaunahan and Ervin Sotto but gave away Ryan Bernardo to Coke.

Besides the legality of the deal, Ginebra’s salary cap is being questioned, as the Kings have Eric Menk, Mark Caguioa and Rommel Adducul all receiving maximum salary under the league’s salary cap, pegged at P32 million.

“A lot of things could still happen,” said Non, hinting there are still trades to be made by Ginebra to get under the cap.

[usrolla]

theres a rumour circulating that coca cola has plans on disbanding (1 or 2 yrs from now ) thats why there letting go of some top caliber players...is this true?

[DaNZ|G]

theres a rumour circulating that coca cola has plans on disbanding (1 or 2 yrs from now ) thats why there letting go of some top caliber players...is this true?

yep mao na ila ingon but the top management of coke denied that.. another rumor is it will be changed to a different name but still under the coke or smc umbrella..

[taburnok]

RP cagers lose to Latvia but coach satisfied
The Philippine Star 08/05/2006

SMC-Pilipinas absorbed its second straight setback in the Al-Emadi International Basketball Championship, bowing to Latvia, 65-73, Thursday night at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Hall in Doha, Qatar.

Unlike in their 58-77 loss to Qatar Wednesday, however, RP team coach Chot Reyes said he was satisfied with the way his wards battled the taller and heftier Latvians on both ends of the floor.

"I’m very, very happy and very proud of the guys. They did a great, great job out there," Reyes said. "We were getting our shots and not turning the ball over and that’s what we wanted."

The victory gave Latvia an unblemished 3-0 card and top seeding in the semifinals of this four-nation tourney. SMC-Pilipinas, for its part, fell to 0-2 and will try to finish the elims with a victory over Angola Friday night.

The crossover semis will pit the No. 1 team against the last placed squad with the Nos. 2 and 3 teams clashing for the other final berth.

Like in their opening game against Qatar, the Filipinos, whose stint is sponsored by San Miguel Corp. and backed by Accel, got off to a good start behind Arwind Santos and Kerby Raymundo, who powered the team to an 18-14 lead after the first quarter.

But the Latvians found their rhythm late in the second period, unloading an 8-0 run in the last minute to grab a 42-33 lead at the half.

Kristaps Valters presided over another big Latvia attack in the third to make it 54-37. But just as the Latvians thought they had heard the last of the Filipinos, SMC-Pilipinas fought back behind Larry Fonacier, Willie Miller and Joseph Yeo.

The troika combined in a big RP counterattack that had the Nationals bouncing back to within, 56-60, early in the final period.

SMC-Pilipinas then traded baskets with Latvia to keep it close but clutch baskets by big man Uvis Helmanis kept the Filipinos at bay in the closing minutes.

"We’re definitely achieving our goals," Reyes said. "For both the players and coaches, this is the kind of teams we really want to play. And for the players, they can only get better playing teams like Latvia.

"Also, we’re actually using this tournament as some sort of a tryout to see kung sino talaga ang puwede just in case the FIBA suspension is lifted," he aadded

All of the people we’ve talked to here are saying it’s already lifted, so we might as well be ready for that eventuality."

Truly, after that disappointing loss to Qatar, the gutsy stand put up by the Filipinos against Latvia was certainly a big boost.

"We were a lot better today than we were last night against Qatar. The challenge is how we can still be better in our next game," said Reyes.

[DaNZ|G]

if u guys wants to see KG dunked on that game, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHM7-UZXtv4

courtesy of THE11thROCK™..

[SQUiDnine]

kinsa jui ma #1 pick ron bai?? kinsai maayo ron nga batch?? pait! wala na koi tan-aw² PBA!

[Onins]

maybe arwind santos