NU LADY BULLDOGS SHOW RESILIENCY TO DEFEAT ATENEO LADY EAGLES

Badly needing a win to extend the championship series, the NU Lady Bulldogs dug deep in their bag of tricks to defeat Ateneo in three straight sets at Shakey's V-League Season 10. The win sets up an all-important game 3 on Sunday where the winner goes home with the championship title.

Kudos to Coach Edjet of NU for devising a game plan that Coach Roger of Ateneo could not figure out. Admittedly, two crucial calls did not go Ateneo's way. But the resiliency and focus of the Lady Bulldogs were unwavering throughout the entire match.

Game 3 promises to be an exciting down-the-wire match. It will be NU's height against Ateneo's heart. On paper, NU is the better team. NU has the MVP, best setter, best attacker, best digger and best scorer of the tournament. But Ateneo has the heart of a champion. In the end, I think it will all boil down to which team has the better coach. The coach who will come up with a better strategy and inspire his players to outdo themselves will emerge victorious. Coach Roger has his vast experience to back him up. Coach Edjet has the unpredictability of a rookie coach on his side. Game 3 could go either way. But my gut feel is that NU will end Ateneo's championship run and start its own golden age in Philippine women's volleyball.

SHAKEY'S V-LEAGUE SEASON 10 CHAMPION : ATENEO OR NU ?

courtesy of interaksyon.com

Ateneo beat NU in three straight sets to lead the championship series, 1-0, of Shakey's V-League Season 10 first conference. Ateneo pulled the victory in front of a capacity crowd at Mall of Asia Arena.

NU now has its back against the wall. A win is a must for the Lady Bulldogs to extend the series. Dindin and Jaja Santiago must now exploit their height advantage over the Lady Eagles. Pablo, Urgas and Aganon must play exceptional as well. De Leon must set her teammates perfectly to earn those crucial points. Floor defense must be outstanding for NU to have a chance of levelling the series.

But more importantly, NU must know how to silence the largely pro-Ateneo crowd in game 2. NU must have a player who will get under the skin of her opponents because of her proud display of talent and skills. A player who will make sure that her opponents know who they are dealing with. It will be easier to beat Ateneo when its fans are quiet. In the vernacular, I think it is referred to as nganga. Kailangan nganga ang Ateneo at fans nito para manalo ang NU.

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO GINEBRA'S TITLE DROUGHT ?

courtesy of slamonlineph.com

Alaska won the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup with 3 consecutive and convincing victories over crowd-favorite Ginebra during the championship series. Ginebra was in totally disarray during the whole series as it found itself down by 20 points or more in every game. Ginebra never came close to winning a single game in the championship series.

Despite having in its line-up two former MVP's, an explosive and athletic rookie and a point guard that may well be the best in the league today, Ginebra was not able to draw the needed points from its players. On the other hand, Alaska had no MVP's and even had 40 year olds in its roster. Yet, even Alaska's bench players were able to contribute to the team output. Ginebra too had tremendous support from its fans. Yet it was not able to translate the crowd support to victory.

The obvious reason for Ginebra's defeat was its coaching staff. Ginebra's head coach and his staff failed to come up with a game plan that would prove to be effective. After losing to Alaska in two previous meetings before the championship series, one would think that Coach Chua and his staff would come up with new ways to neutralize Alaska's running game and set plays. Sadly, Ginebra relied too much on individual plays that proved to be ineffective against Alaska's smothering defense. Coach Chua and his staff failed miserably in their assignment to come up with a winning formula for Ginebra.

Perhaps, it is time for San Miguel officials to seriously consider changing Ginebra's head coach and his staff. Not a single person in Ginebra's coaching staff can be considered a winning coach. Not one bench tactician of Ginebra has steered his team to multiple titles. Head Coach Alfrancis Chua relies too much on Ginebra's fans to motivate and inspire his player when it is the responsibility of the head coach and his staff to do so. Coach Alfrancis Chua and his staff must be shown the exit door for Ginebra to enter the winning circle once again.

COACH ALFRANCIS CHUA AND GINEBRA : A TRADITION OF MEDIOCRITY ?

courtesy of AKTV

As expected, Ginebra once again lost terribly to Alaska. Alaska now leads the championship series, 2-0, and needs only one more victory to clinch the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup title.

While Ginebra Coach Alfrancis Chua was able to prevent a first quarter massacre, Alaska nonetheless was able to post 20 point leads several times in the third and fourth quarters. Like in game 1, Coach Chua did not know how to stop the onslaught that his team was experiencing. His import was a non-factor as Alaska put up a superb and solid defense on the floor. His local players were lost both on offense and defense. Alaska players were quick to the ball despite leading by so much while Ginebra players looked sluggish.

It is a slap on the face of Coach Chua that he is being outsmarted by a rookie coach. It seems that his years of experience as head coach in the PBA have not served him well. But then again, Coach Chua's record as head coach in the PBA is not impressive. In six years as PBA coach, he has only won a title once. It is really a wonder why San Miguel officials have decided to take in a less accomplished coach for Ginebra. As long as Ginebra's head coach is decided by personal ties and not by merit, Ginebra will continue to disappoint its millions of fans. And should the time come that fans start to abandon the team and transfer allegiance to other teams, San Miguel officials have only themselves to blame. The fans, after all, can only take so much heartbreak.

CAN COACH ALFRANCIS CHUA MAKE GINEBRA A CHAMPION ?

Ginebra San Miguel suffered a terrible defeat to Alaska at the start of the championship series of the PBA Commisioners Cup. Alaska now leads 1-0 in the best-of-five championship series.

Interestingly, Alaska beat Ginebra in two previous encounters by double-digit margins. And the tradition continues in the championship series. Coach Chua should by now know that Coach Trillo has him figured out. But Coach Chua hardly had something new to offset the strategy of Coach Trillo. Ginebra import Vernon Macklin hardly touched the ball during the entire game. Ginebra's vaunted point guards did not perform to expectations. LA Tenorio did not issue a single assist. The ball stayed too long with Kerby Raymundo. And Coach Chua could only stare at the 26 point edge of Alaska at the end of the first quarter. Ginebra closed the first quarter with only six points.

The question now is whether Ginebra can bounce back after the humiliating defeat. I believe that it is Coach Chua who must do his assignment well for Ginebra to have a glimmer of a chance to bounce back. He must design plays that will maximize his import. He must instruct his guards to distribute the ball more effectively. And he must motivate all of his players to do their best even before stepping inside the playing court.

Clearly, game one was won by the better coach. Sadly, Ginebra's coach failed to respond to the challenge. But now is the time for Coach Chua to prove to everyone that he can devise a game plan that can resurrect Ginebra from its initial defeat.

IMPORTANCE OF THE TRUTH BEHIND JARED DILLINGER'S CAR ACCIDENT

Talk and Text player and Smart-Gilas mainstay Jared Dillinger met a serious car accident last April 27, 2013. A report by Mariz Umali of GMA News reveals that the accident happened at four o'clock in the morning and a day before an important semifinal game between Talk and Text and Ginebra San Miguel. Interestingly, the report also reveals that Dillinger asked baranggay officials not to bring him to the nearest hospital after the accident. He instead asked to be brought home despite the serious injury that he sustained. No police report was made on the accident because Dillinger did not issue a statement. All these only fuel speculations that Dillinger was drunk driving when the accident happened..

To add to the confusion and uncertainty, Talk and Text seems to downplay the serious indiscretion of its player. Instead of clearing things up, Talk and Text evades the question of whether Dillinger was indeed highly intoxicated when the accident occurred. In its official statement, Talk and Text merely emphasizes the need of its player to undergo hip surgery and rest for a considerable amount of time.

PBA and Talk and Text fans deserve to know the truth and learn a valuable lesson or two from the accident. The truth may even save a life if acknowledged and put in proper perspective. Instead of highlighting a serious issue like drunk driving, Talk and Text officials seem more concerned with protecting their image and interests. Fans certainly do not deserve to be taken for a ride most specially when the ride is extremely dangerous.

CROSSROAD

I am at a crossroad. I have come to a point in my life where I must decide what I want and need to do. Circumstances force me to take action and leave certain things behind.
The decision to make things things entails so many considerations and effort. Things are now different and new. There are more people who will now be greatly affected by my decisions and actions. While the prospects are daunting, I remain strong and positive through my faith in God. It is truly in hard times that One really strengthens his faith in God.
Whatever the consequences of my decisions and actions are, I will make sure that there will be no regrets. As far as I am concerned, I simply have to give it my best. I hate to look back and think of what could have been. Eventually, with God as my guide and strength, I know that all will work for the good of everyone.