Update: Tim Cone Lands Consultancy Job for DLSU

It seems that the Green Archers are not yet done with their major revamping, showing that they are doing all that they can in order to put the Green Archers back into the radar.

Just days after acquiring prized high school standout Jeron Teng, the Green Archers hired Coach Tim Cone of the B-Meg Llamados to serve as the team's consultant for Season 75. The post has been held by Coach Jong Uichico, who left the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings and landed a position as one of the coaches of the next Smart Gilas Pilipinas team and a consultant for the Meralco Bolts.

Before handling the reins of the B-Meg Llamados, the former head coach of the Alaska Aces, which won 13 titles under his leadership, expressed his interest in becoming the Green Archers' head coach. But due to his commitments with B-Meg, the DLSU management gave the post to Gee Abanilla, following Coach Dindo Pumaren's departure.

Known as the master of the famous triangle offense, which became the key to NBA Coach Phil Jackson's success with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, Coach Tim Cone would contribute largely to attaining the goals set for the Green Archers come Season 75, which primarily include returning to the Final Four after a dismal Season 74 where they were booted out of the final four with a 5-9 record.

Credits to Manila Bulletin for the news and Inquirer Sports for the image.

Sinag Pilipinas

According to Bleachersbrew, Coach Norman Black has chosen fifteen players who will soon become members of "Sinag Pilipinas," the national team who will suit up for the South East Asian Games in Indonesia. However, after a few weeks, the number will be trimmed down to 12 to conform to the rules set for the maximum number of players. The primarily chosen ones are:

ELLIS, Chris (PBADL: NLEx Road Warriors)
GARCIA, RR (UAAP: Far Eastern University Tamaraws)
HODGE, Cliff (PBADL: NLEx Road Warriors)
LANETE, Garvo (NCAA: San Beda Red Lions)
MONFORT, Emman (UAAP: Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles)
NEWSOME, Chris (UAAP: Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles B)
PASCUAL, Jake (NCAA: San Beda Red Lions)
PASCUAL, Ronald (NCAA: San Sebastian Golden Stags)
PARKS, Bobby Ray (UAAP: National University Bulldogs)
RAVENA, Kiefer (UAAP: Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles)
SALVA, Nico (UAAP: Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles)
SANGALANG, Ian (NCAA: San Sebastian Golden Stags)
SLAUGHTER, Greg (UAAP: Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles)
TENG, Jeric (UAAP: University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers)
TIU, Chris (Smart Gilas Pilipinas)

Furthermore, there are four additional players to join them in practice games, namely:

BUENSUCESO, JR (US NCAA: Brigham Young University-Hawaii Seasiders)
CHUA, Justin (UAAP: Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles)
FORTUNA, Jeric (UAAP: University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers)
JENSEN, Keith (US NCAA: New York University Violets)

Joining Coach Black would be assistant Coaches Glenn Capacio (who last coached the FEU Tamaraws in 2009 and 2010) and Gene Afable (part of the present Ateneo coaching staff).

It's really nice to see them set aside their school (and league) colors temporarily to work for a common cause, and as we can see, this team is clearly a threat, not only because it has stars but these stars also play dynamic team basketball when asked to (Oh, and surprising to see once again two prospects from US NCAA schools!).

And another piece of information from Mr. Olivares is that because of five players being considered for the SEAG national team, the Blue Eagles who will slug it out in the Unigames would be composed of the following (also consider the leave of Bacon Austria and Oping Sumalinog, who are playing under Freego Jeans in the PBADL right now):

CAPACIO, Gwynne
CIPRIANO, Bon Jovi
ERRAM, John Paul
ESTRADA, Jeric
GONZAGA, Tonino
GOLLA, Frank
PESSUMAL, Von
TIONGSON, Juami

Eight Team B players will join them (including Elorde and Adornado, perhaps?), with the team's coaching reins taken over by Coach Sandy Arespacochaga.

One Big Fight to Sinag Pilipinas and the Ateneo Blue Eagles!

All thanks to Bleachersbrew for the info.

Where To, Smart Gilas?

It seems that after the Olympic qualifier, we won't be seeing the same Smart-Gilas team that brought a revived enthusiasm for Philippine basketball. There are those who would try their skill in the professional leagues, namely JV Casio, Andy Barroca, Mac Baracael, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Lutz, who applied for the PBA draft. On the other hand, the Cebuano Hotshot, Dondon Hontiveros, called it quits after a tiring stint. The same goes for Asi Taulava, who already felt that a handful of PBA seasons and stints with the various national teams were more than enough.

The good news is, Smart-Gilas Pilipinas team captain Chris Tiu decided not to play in the professional league, and hoped that his contract will be renewed with the Philippine team. And hopefully, Tiu's decision to stay would also invite Coach Raijko Toroman to do so as well, seeing that there's still someone left who knows his system.

But the more important concern is the replacements for those who have departed. Who could be the ones who can wear the red, blue, and white, and represent our country in international tournaments?

-News came in a few months ago about the addition of professional cagers Sol Mercado, Jimmy Alapag, and Kelly Williams in the Smart Gilas roster. Of course, their professional experience have already said a lot about them, and they could provide the necessary force that the national team needs. But the question is, can they work full time with the national team like Hontiveros or Taulava? Could they also be willing to leave their respective teams and participate on a full time basis?

-Also, remember that there are current Smart Gilas players playing in the collegiate ranks. Greg Slaughter still has to work for his college degree, including two years of serving as the pillar of the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles. Aldrech Ramos, on the other hand, is in his final year in Far Eastern University. These two will be helpful especially that Japeth Aguilar and Marcus Douthit need reliable back ups to cover the paint.

-Speaking of collegiate players, how about considering recalling JR Cawaling, also in the final year of playing for the Tamaraws? Or former applicant Ryan Buenafe, who is on a hiatus at the moment to catch up on academic requirements and trim his weight down?

-It might be also good to review the previous Powerade Pilipinas national team, led by Yeng Guiao, and pick out some gems. Governor's Cup Finals MVP Arwind Santos is a likely candidate, and so is Alaska Aces guard Cyrus Baguio. James Yap would be a good addition, as well as Gabe Norwood. But then, we run again into the question of commitment.

-Is anyone familiar with the Sinag Pilipinas team that Coach Norman Black came up with for international amateur tournaments? There are a handful of names from the collegiate ranks that could be standouts for the Smart Gilas team. But the most qualified candidate among them would be FEU Tamaraws' RR Garcia. The Season 73 Most Valuable Player can do even more than what Mark Barroca can do in his FEU days, and maybe he will be as valuable as Barroca was in the team. Fil-Ams Bobby Ray Parks and soon-to-be Blue Eagle Chris Newsome could also be good additions. On the NCAA side, we have "The Beast" Calvin Abueva and Garvo Lanete, from the Stags and the Red Lions respectively. And this may not be an immediate concern, but Smart Gilas should do all it takes to sway the Phenom Kiefer Ravena and have him play for the country. After all he has already done so in the U-16 and U-18 categories.

So, having all these options, what would it be for Smart Gilas? Or would everyone still hang on to the hopes that the guys in the PBA draft drop their names off when Friday comes?

Credits to Inquirer.net, Interaktv, GMANews, CDOLifestyle.com, Kvitters, Nugglepurl, and Metagini for the pictures.

Rafe Bartholomew on the Ultimate All-Star Weekend

Here is another splendid article from Rafe Bartholomew, the author of "Pacific Rims," that discusses how the whole Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend was cooked and served by MVP, former RP Coach Chot Reyes, and those responsible for speaking and negotiating for Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, et al. Here are some of the highlights of the article:

• Assuming that MVP has the best interests f the public in mind, we can safely say that it's not entirely about the money. C'mon around eight hundred bucks to be in Upper B?
• Kobe not only got game. He's game for these events. Thankfully, the rest were, too, and did not act like demanding divas.
• There you go, the bright side of the NBA lockout.
• Finally, imagine the ecstasy that this event brought to all fans, whether they're watching live or on T

And here's the video from the article: