Middle East trip: Part 1

Hello again! It's nice to be writing here again. The past few months have just been so hectic. And thanks to twitter, I can post brief updates from time to time. Two and a half weeks of my first month in 2010 was spent in the Middle East. 4 days in Qatar and 14 days in Dubai.

Qatar
It was my first time to step on Middle Eastern soil. After traveling for 9 hours, we landed at their international airport at around 5pm (10pm Manila time) and we were welcomed by the Philippine Basketball Association of Qatar. Immediately, we checked in the Retaj Al Rayyan hotel to make it in time for practice at 8pm. I could literally feel my knees and muscles wobbling after the long trip but more so because of the time difference. It was as if we were playing at 1am Manila time.

The hotel was pretty new and quite spacious. Although no free wifi in the rooms, wifi was available for free at the lobby. We would have all our meals in one of the restaurants inside the hotel. Every meal was buffet style, eat-all-you-can. I loved the food there, Persian-Western fusion. We were booked by twos and my roommate was our newest Fil-Am player Marcio Lassiter, who would be my roommate until the end of the entire trip. Marcio played and graduated from Fullerton University in California, which is a NCAA Division 1 school. He plays either position 2 or 3, very athletic player who can handle the ball and shoot from outside. More importantly, he is a hard-nose defender. He blended in quite easily despite being with us for only a month.

The Smart Gilas team was scheduled for back-to-back exhibition games vs the Qatar National team at the Al Gharrafa stadium. Tickets were being sold and to our surprise, the gym was packed with enthusiastic Filipino basketball fans numbering approximately 3000, as compared to about 100 Qatar fans.

The first game was a purely defensive game. Both teams struggled offensively and Smart Gilas came out victorious 46-38. This was the first complete game that Jamal Sampson played for us. He scored only 2 points but grabbed 20 rebounds and changed a lot of shots close to the basket. He was able to neutralize somehow the inside presence of the bulky and athletic big men of Qatar. We were playing without JVee Casio who was nursing some internal injuries that resulted from a dangerous throw-down by Sotto of Alaska in one of our practice games during the holiday season. He would miss the next game as well. RJ Jazul was forced to play the point as backup of Mark Barocca.

In the 2nd game, we lost to Qatar by 8 points in overtime. They came out more physical and aggressive. Their star player #1 scored 24 points and hit 5/5 3 pointers.

It was a wonderful trip to Doha, Qatar to prepare us for the Dubai International tournament. The country has a population of about 1.5M people and approximately 250,000 Filipinos! Amazing! They are extremely wealthy because of their oil and natural gas. Lots of infrastructure and buildings being developed.

Too bad we weren't able to visit any commercial centers or tourist spots because of our very tight schedule. Thanks to all the Qatar-based Pinoys who came to support the team and lost their voices from cheering!! We will see you again in May for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup :)

Soon to follow... our Dubai trip!

Chris

MILO 3 on 3 Warrior Championship

Hello there, Milo 3 in 1 will be hosting a 3-on-3 Basketball Warrior Championship for the UAAP Schools. 7 of the UAAP member schools have agreed to participate, excluding DLSU (Don't ask me why). This tournament has a unique voting system that will allow you to choose the 3 participants whom you wish to represent your school. Voting period is only until November 18. The games will be aired through Studio 23. Vote now!!!

Check out this link to vote:

http://www.nestle.com.ph/milo/3in1/3on3_home.asp

Question for Mrs. Clinton

If you were given the chance to ask US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton one question, what would it be? Leave me a comment :)

Smart Gilas vs Talk and Text

One word to describe our game today against TNT... disastrous!! We couldn't get any rhythm going all throughout the game. I have to give credit to the coaching staff of TNT who crafted a freak defense catching us off guard. They started off in a man-to-man and as we made the first pass or screen in our set play, they would fall into a 2-3 zone. They did it from the start and we couldn't adjust 'til the end.

We trained with the TNT team for about a month (since we're supposedly 'sister teams') some time around July/August with Coach Toroman calling the shots and teaching the set plays. If you've noticed, both TNT and Gilas run very similar plays with almost the same defensive philosophy, except in today's game where they ran most of their old plays and applied a freak defense. Also with the absence of CJ Giles, they pounded the ball inside and got a lot of easy points underneath and through fast breaks. I was helpless watching in the sidelines due to a slight injury and i got so restless seeing the lead getting bigger and bigger.

I really hate the feeling of losing, i mean who doesn't? Most especially now that we are the RP team and we will be carrying the flag of the Philippines. Every game won is not just a win for the brand or the company, but rather the entire nation. Huge responsibility and pressure! Today's game was truly frustrating for us, and i know for many Filipinos alike. In basketball, just like in life, you win some you lose some. I just want to assure each Filipino (whether a believer of the RP team or not) that we are trying our very best in every game and in every practice everyday. We are giving everything we've got l in every practice, knowing that we are playing for a greater cause. I know 'trying our best' is not enough... we have to be the best!

I texted an old wise friend expressing my frustration and disappointment. The reply was "In these trying times, you have to stick together and toughen up! Be patient and you will definitely get better." Again, I want to thank all those who continue to support the Gilas team! Hope that you never get tired of cheering and believing!

Chris

Smart Gilas vs BK

Today, we got clobbered, literally and figuratively, by the 'BK Whoopers'! It was more of a boxing match than a basketball match. We expected it, but we didn't see it coming this bad.

Our offense wasn't so bad as we were still able to score 105 points and shot 47% from the field. BUT it was our defense that killed us, as we allowed 115 points for BK. We lost the rebounding battle as well by 12. BK played a great game today as well and made the necessary adjustments. They shot 59% from the field! That's excellent.

For me it's not so much about the X and O's. It was their viciousness that got us out of our normal rhythm. 4 flagrant fouls in the first half and Winnie Arboleda's "attacking a fan" moment saw our 13 point lead disappear. Our players became hesitant to drive to the basket and dive for the loose balls. Most coaches will probably instruct their players to play physical when playing against a younger, skinnier and faster team in order to intimidate them. But playing dirty, is something else. It was a fitting initiation for us in our debut game in the PBA.

It was a sorry loss for the Gilas team. We don't expect the referees to cut us some slack as seen today. It's as if there were two different standards for both teams. But that's precisely why we're in the PBA as a guest team. We're here to learn, to toughen up when playing more experienced and physical players.

It's just really embarrassing to see a veteran/franchise player behave so unprofessionally. After getting away with a slap to the face of JV Casio, an elbow again to the face of JV and a football tackle to Mac Baracael, he still hasn't had enough and goes up to the stands to beat up a Gilas fan. All that in just 3 minutes inside the court. I am really curious to see what actions or inactions the PBA will take for such actions.

Nevertheless, it was an entertaining game. See you Wednesday vs Talk and Text.

Chris

MILO 3-in-1 TVC

Hello, here's my latest MILO 3 in 1 TVC with JVee Casio, my current teammate in SMART Gilas. Hope you like it!

Cheers,

Chris

Blue Eagles win it BACK 2 BACK

I was kinda nervous that morning before the game because I knew that UE was a tough team that plays with a lot of energy and emotion. Anything could have happened! Once UE gets their rhythm going, they're very very difficult to contain.

Ateneo did everything right in game 3 to clinch the championship convincingly! They proved that they are the best team in the UAAP and probably in the entire collegiate level in the Philippines. Game 2 was just a disaster where the Blue Eagles fell into the trap of UE's 2-3 zone defense. They attempted too many 3-pointers and never got it going. Eventually, they lost the confidence shooting from the outside. UE on the other hand, was on fire. They started connecting on their outside shots and that got them on a roll.

In game 3, everybody knew that UE would play the same zone press, then fall back to a 2-3 zone defense. Coach Norman and the rest of the coaching staff did such a great job making the necessary adjustments. First, they attacked UE on the fast break and secondary break on every opportunity. They were quick on the outlet passes and they were going hard to the basket against Espiritu and Llagas. They didn't settle for too many 3 point shots. They were patient moving the ball around and hitting Rabeh inside for a higher percentage shot. And lastly, their defense was suffocating! Nonoy was holding the fort as usual, and everybody else did their part. From the start of the game, i could tell that Rabeh didn't care about the stats, he just wanted to win it. You could see it in his body language.

Jai Reyes played a great all around game. His dishes to Rabeh and timely 3 point shots broke the game open, not to mention the leadership. Ryan Buenafe, Kirk Long, Nico Salva, Bacon Austria, Eman Monfort all stepped up as well on both ends of the floor. Eric Salamat finally came out to play, not necessarily scoring points, but breaking down the UE defense and making important plays.

I would have loved to be part of this back-to-back team. Victory is always sweet but we should recognize the dedication and effort but in by each individual, player, coaching staff, management, utility, etc. It has been a great basketball season for Ateneo seniors and juniors as well. We hope that the other Ateneo athletes can bring home the crown as well. Good luck to you guys and more power!

In the meantime, it's time to celebrate! Congratulations to the BLUE EAGLES! But let's also not forget our brothers and sisters in Northern Luzon who are in great danger and suffering because of typhoon Pepeng. Let's pray for them and do what we can to help them out! One Big Fight!

Chris