Meanwhile in the PBA…

I’m 400% certain that the Philippine Basketball Association felt the pinch when their fans joined the ride on the Azkals bandwagon. With the girls who went nuts for James Yap, Dondon Hontiveros, and Mark Caguioa now shrieking for the Younghusbands and company, it is a really weird time no one in Philippine sports has ever imagined–football is starting to take over the country!

But in fairness to the PBA, they are actually off to a banner year despite the the Azkals growing popularity. The Final Four series has reportedly drawn a whopping average gate receipt of P1.1 million in four game days, boosting this season’s running total to a more whopping P21 million!

But if you’re one of the tons of Azkals fan, I know you anticipate the Panaad showdown between the Philippines and Mongolia more than what’s happening in the PBA (and if James really has moved on after his breakup with Kris Aquino), I can tell you the past days has been quite exciting around the league.

Beermen, Tropang Texters clash on Philippine Cup Finals

In case you live under a rock or only read the entertainment section of your newspaper, the PBA Philippine Cup finals showdown will be between two real hungry teams–San Miguel Beermen and Talk N Text Tropang Texters. Will Alex Cabagnot do a repeat performance of his shooting clinic (especially with just 10 seconds left in the game)* or Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams and the rest of TNT make Manny V. Pangilinan feel like a real MVP at the end of the series?

San Miguel’s real edge here is their predictability. You know Jay Washington will perform; Danny I. is still as reliable at the post, and Cabagnot, Hontiveros, Dorian Pena and a lot others are threats waiting to explode in any game. But Talk N Text is known as a dangerous team. Athleticism is their trump card. Alapag will always be a danger man whether he scores 20-something or not. Williams, Harvey Carey, Jason Castro and the whole cast can also explode at any given moment. At any rate, this year’s all-Filipino finals is truly a PBA fan’s wetdream.

*Who can forget what Alex Cabagnot did against Ginebra in the semifinals which earned him the title ‘Ginebra’s Public Enemy #1’? When Cabagnot has the ball down the wire, good things happen for the Beermen. He would either sank a buzzer-beater or dish a bullet pass to one of his team mates for an easy trey.

Barako Bull out, Smart Gilas in

The perennial canon-fodders of the PBA, Barako Bull has finally threw in the towel. After a couple of season of half time and post-game tongue-lashing in the dugout, the management decided to call it quits, at least for the next two conferences. This gives the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas under Rajko Toroman a chance to play in the PBA. According to commissioner Chito Salud, unlike their last stint in the league a year ago, Gilas’ games would now bring bearing to the fate of other teams. Personally, Barako’s exit from the PBA is a good thing in raising the level of competitiveness in the league notches higher. It will also be good for our national team since playing against pro teams will make their bones stronger. This will also give them a chance to get back on track to the hearts of the fans and catch up with the growing popularity of the Azkals.

Mercado is now with Meralco

The Meralco Bolts hit the jackpot when they acquired Rain Or Shine hotshot Sol Mercado in a blockbuster deal in which they only had to give up Reed Juntilla, Beau Belga and some future draft picks. And not only they did get Mercado; Paolo Bugia and Erick Rodriguez will now also don the juicy orange colors of Meralco. The next season really looks bright for Meralco (pun intended) as Macmac Cardona will now have a partner in the back court. I hope we get a rollback on our electricity bills next month!

Rain Or Shine on the other hand gets slasher Ronjay Buenafe, Ronnie Matias, Belga, next draft’s top pick, and another first round draft pick in 2013 (if they survive the end of the world in 2012).

Former University of the Philippines standout Jay-R Reyes meanwhile goes to Air 21 along with Juntilla and a couple of first round draft picks in 2011 and 2013 (if, like RoS, they also make it through 2012).

See? We’re still a basketball country. It is still as exciting in the oldest pay-for-play league in Asia as ever. I just hope that football and basketball will grow harmoniously with each other. MM