25forlife
Basketball Club
Basketball Club
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January 6, 2009
Belated Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday season and celebrated in a safe
manner.
Contrary to my initial feelings, I gave in to the peer pressure and tried snowboarding for the first
time on New Years Day. It was the result of a drunken rant I made on NYE, but I was true to my
word, strapped in and hit the bunny hills at Snow Valley in Barrie, ON. The first test was getting off
the lift, which I understand is still tricky for everyone. Fortunately, I was able to dismount
successfully a few times without a hitch. Unfortunately, my first few runs were really tough – trying
to balance on my toe and heel sides, wiping out countless times! As I got better, my speed picked
up but my wipeouts got worse haha. By the end of my 4-hour session, I was able to do a few
transitions and was a lot more confident on my board. Unfortunately, my tailbone, knees, elbows,
triceps and quads were done. I was out of commission for 2 days.
But all I could think of over those 2 days was going snowboarding again. I was on all these sites
for hours and ordered a ton of gear. The people over at www.sourceboards.com, www.dogfunk.
com, www.valuesports.com and http://stores.ebay.com/Winter-Rules-The-Day got a lot of my
money! I was hooked to the sport with just one trip. Now, I’m just waiting on all this stuff so I can go
again. Of course, I’m going to look like a fool being draped in nice gear with my ass glued to the
slopes for most of the time.
On the topic of extreme sports, my brother had the pleasure of visiting Hong Kong and Macau over
the holidays and had the opportunity to bungee jump off the Macau tower. Here’s a link: http://www.
macautower.com.mo/eng/press/20061217.asp . He said that it was the most amazing experience
in his entire life – he was yelling the entire way down and ran out of breath before he reached the
end. Now his goal is to travel and bungee jump in different parts of the world haha.
I can’t wait to get back on the court again. I haven’t played in a couple weeks and I’ve got a lot of
rust to shake off. PhilCan is starting in a couple weeks and our roster is still being tweaked. Our
showdown with the Barons in Fil-Act is on the horizon. PHYBA is starting soon as well – I’m pretty
excited because I haven’t played at TL Kennedy in a few years. I’m sure the fans will have fun
watching James Forrester flying up and down the court.
I’m headed to Las Vegas this week for work purposes. I’m looking forward to staying at the new
Encore Hotel (www.encorelasvegas.com) which is a new luxury property of The Wynn – BALLER!
Should be a good time.
Al released his Top 25 Players for the Last 25 Years listing late last week and we’re already
getting feedback about it haha.
December 29, 2008
As we turn the page on another calendar year and with the upcoming release of the Al Geezy’s list
of the Top 25 Players of the Past 25 Years, I wanted to take this opportunity to take a look back at
some Filipino basketball history in Toronto…
For those of you who don’t remember, back in the 80s, your main source for Filipino basketball
was PhilCan and Fil-Act. Unfortunately at the time, these leagues only offered Open, Seniors and
Masters divisions – nothing for the youth. However in the Fall of 1989, PhilCan officer Wally
Landicho pioneered a plan to get the youth of the Filipino community (including his sons Jeff and
Jon) into organized basketball and started a PeeWee Division.
In its first year, the PeeWee Division was comprised of four teams – Blue Eagles, Red Lions,
Green Archers and White Knights (for those of you who don’t know the history, those are actually
the monikers of some of the top collegiate programs in the Philippines: Ateneo, San Beda, La
Salle and Letran). Comprised of kids born in 1977 and younger, this division would form the
foundation of the entire Youth League movement that would follow over the next 20+ years. A little
known fact is that as Tito Wally’s sons grew older, a new division would be made to accommodate
them – from PeeWee, Midget, Bantam to Juvenile.
I was part of the first wave of kids (born in 1979) and have been around the scene since I was 10
years old and have never taken a year off – that’s a 19-year career! I played predominantly in
PhilCan, but also played in Fil-Act, MPAA and PHYBA. I wanted to take this opportunity to shine
some light on some of the players that I grew up with and were the superstars of the youth
leagues. This list is in alphabetical order…
Shaun Adarna
Dominating post presence in his day. Led the Phil-Can league in scoring one year and his JC
Moneygram team (with Neil, Darwin and Paulo) are still talked about today.
Rami Casalan
Skyhawks and Dolce poster boy. This crafty lefty had decent size and could score from anywhere
on the court. Once scored over 50 pts in a Juvenile game in FilAct.
Jeff Cruz
This St. Mike’s star was a deadly shooter and was one of the studs of the Dolce franchise. Went on
to red-shirt one year at York University with Dean Labayen and Jerome Sta. Maria.
Ryan de Guzman
Back in the day of 5-and-5 shift changes, he and his Mississauga team found a loophole in the
system by only inviting the top 5 or 6 players on their team and having them play the entire game. It
didn’t matter to Ryan though, as fans had a chance to see more of the moves he was pulling
straight from the NBA. Outstretched Scottie Pippen lay-ups and around the back moves!
Gilbert Francisco
This Bayanihan / Vaughan product was an absolute beast underneath. Under the tutelage of Chito
Collantes, had a full bag of tricks to get any advantage. He was a well-rounded player that was a
dominant post player in Filipino leagues, but an all-star PG for his highschool team.
Marvin Lalog
Made the leap from relative obscurity to superstardom in his second year of organized ball. Took
his White Knights to the championship in Phil-Can’s second year of PeeWee play. Went on to
develop some of the sickest hops ever seen.
Jon Landicho
Absolutely dominated Youth leagues with his ball wizardry and scoring instincts. Probably has
plenty of scoring records under his belt. Combined with Jeff Pangilinan (his PF) for a legendary 1-2
punch.
Jeff Landicho
This quiet assassin could score from anywhere. NABA Best Forward in Midget (?) back in 1991.
Check out his camera work on Raptors TV now.
Martin Lim
A NABA MVP, Martin played with the vet savvy that was far beyond his years. Famous for the English
he puts on his finger-rolls around the basket.
Archie Navales
He was leaps and bounds ahead of his competition back in the day. Was a force for Mabini
Express before defecting to the Dark – oops I mean Dolce – side. After a long hiatus, he’s back
and known as the Skinniest Enforcer in the League. Spin moves and left-handed finishes in Grade
6. Enough said.
Melvin Pablo
Pure athlete with incredible hops. Good scorer with his back to the basket.
JP Patricio
One of the top guards in his highschool days. This Pickering product had a number of highlight
moves and frequently made tough baskets in the lane (ala Tony Parker).
Aaron Rafol
Help lead the West Side to prominence with this strong play with MPAA. Led the league in scoring
with his assortment of pump fakes down on the block.
Paolo Roldan
Another guy from the West Side – his size and athletic ability were unmatched. Went on to play in a
conference in the PBL.
Rey Roncesvalles
Rey played the game one step ahead of his competition. Think Steve Nash or Chris Paul of his
era. Dominated the game despite his diminutive size when he was young, then grew to be over 6ft
and became a two-sport star (volleyball) and became a solid post / shot-blocking presence.
Mitch San Pedro
A slick guard that was tough to stop. Combined with Paulo Roldan for a lethal combination.
JP Sapico
Mr. Do-it-All led his J&M Remittance team to their first PhilCan Youth League championship with
his cousin Archie Navales. The son of legendary coach Jun Sapico, JP did whatever was needed
to get his team the W.
Darryl Valera
An undersized guard with over-sized hops. He was the Allen Iverson of his era – could score at will.
Rumour was that he was Fil-Act’s first (and only?) 9ft Slam Dunk champion.
Jeff Zetazate
A do-it-all forward with an iron-man work ethic. His yeoman effort by playing almost every minute of
every game in the Windsor NABA tournament was a testament to his attitude.
I know this list is rather biased because it mainly consists of guys I played against. There’s an
entire crop of players from 1978 and up that I never really saw, only heard about or caught the
ending of their games played at WA Porter. I think there’s an old-school PhilCan group on
Facebook if you want to join it: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?
gid=2259363288
December 22, 2008
Christmas is almost upon us and we just finished up the 2008 season with a couple big wins over
the weekend…
On Saturday, we avenged our lone loss in MPAA this season by dismantling the ‘juggernaut’
known as The Saints. The Saints went undefeated the entire season, reeling off eight straight wins
in the regular season and two easy wins in the playoffs. I have no doubt that Ali Nizam and
Company had their champagne ready to celebrate their first championship at our expense.
Unfortunately for them, that was not the case as we turned the defensive intensity up a notch and
handcuffed their offense the entire game. Kudos to James Forrester for blanketing Ali, holding him
to single digits after having a career game against us earlier in the year. On offense, it was like
watching a new episode of The Wayans Brothers, as Shawn (James Forrester) and Marlon (AJ
Serjue) were showcasing their skills for the crowd. Shout out to AJ Mandani (the ‘Keenan Ivory’, to
our Shawn and Marlon haha) who’s currently playing at a D2 college in Missouri. He’s home for the
holidays and came out to support his brother John – who had a strong game for the Saints.
Congrats to our court general Adam Aglipay for winning MVP honours – a testament to his strong
play throughout the season.
On Sunday, there was a serious buzz surrounding our game against Uncoachables (UNC). They
had a great OT win against the Barons a few weeks ago but were coming off a loss to Kim Tigley
and his PNB squad last week. With the mediocre play of our team lately, they were probably
thinking we were ripe for the picking. They brought their crowd as they wanted to make sure they
had plenty of support for what was supposed to be their biggest win of the year. However, things
didn’t go their way as continued our strong play from Saturday and played stifling defense. We held
their dangerous shooters in check while their inside play was kept to a bare minimum. Meanwhile,
James Forrester put on a show, torching his defenders to the tune of 31 points – not to mention a
crowd-pleasing off-the-board alley-oop from JR Manlucu (who was our Warrior of the Week as he
played with a badly strained right hamstring) that even brought UNC’s crowd to their feet. In the
end, it was a double-digit win for us and sent us into the Holiday break as the #1 team in my
unofficial Fil-Act Power Rankings. The highly-anticipated match-up against the Red Barons (who
beat Durham on Sunday) is drawing very near…
This weekend made me feel good about the state of Filipino basketball in the GTA. The
competition is fierce as ever, as we have a target on our back in every league we play. It makes
games exciting, as team’s are gunning for us in hopes of being the ones to knock us off our
pedestal. The Phil-Can league will be starting up early next year and with teams splitting up and
players moving around, it’s shaping up to be very interesting. Look for a team repping Rexdale to
make some noise, as Archie, Elvin, Jeremiah and Ryan form the core of a squad that will try to re-
ignite the past glory of the Martin Grove and Finch area.
It’s no secret that with all of our winning over the past decade, we’ve become the team that
everyone loves to hate. Like the Yankees in the 90s, the Laker three-peat teams and the New
England Patriots of this decade, people want to see us lose. We’ve grown to relish this label and
know that the ride isn’t going to last forever. But we won’t give up the crown without a fight, so come
get some haha.
Merry Christmas everyone!
PS – You won’t want to miss the unveiling of Al Gregorio’s TOP 25 PLAYERS OF ALL TIME that
should be up later this month. If you want to see where you measure up or get a taste of some of
the top Filipino ballers that have come out of the 416, this list is for you!
December 15, 2008
Its mid-December already and the year is quickly drawing to a close. It’s been a pretty eventful
week, as we had an exciting semi-final game in MPAA, had our fund-raiser with Chris Bosh (yes he
did show up!) and our 25-for-Life Christmas Party.
Saturday morning, we played Lakan in the MPAA semis, with the winner moving on to the Finals
next week to face Ali Nizam and his Saints squad. The game featured some of the top young
players in the game, James Forrester (25 for Life) and AJ Serjue (25 for Life), while Matthew
Wright suited up for Lakan. A decent-sized crowd woke up early to catch the game, as the MPAA
league is somewhat of the ‘Home’ league for the Lakan organization and hopes were high to that
their kids would knock-off the love-to-hate defending champs (us). The game was definitely one of
the most exciting we’ve played in a while, as Lakan never let us out of striking distance, extending
us to double overtime, before succumbing to a one-point loss.
Though the game itself was very exciting and had the crowd on their feet, I’m sure people were
more excited about watching these two go head-to-head. These guys didn’t disappoint, as many of
the game’s crunch time plays had them involved in one way or another. 80% of Lakan’s offense
ran through Wright, a task that would cause most 17-year-olds to crumble. But there he was,
against a group of seasoned winners like us, making the right play time after time on his way to
dropping 30ish points. James was faced with the daunting task of guarding him for most of the
game, using his length and athleticism to bother him. Needless to say, Matt and his widespread
offensive repertoire gave him trouble.
The roles were reversed on the other end of the floor, as James used his strength and speed to
get into his comfort zones against Matt, as he himself chipped in 20+ points (including the game
winner) helping us to the win. Of course, I want to mention that that Adam Aglipay had a huge
game, controlling the tempo, running the offense for us and making big baskets for us.
On the way home, my dad and I dissected James and Matthew’s games and threw around the
idea of making a 21-and-under Toronto All-Star Team to send to the Philippines. This is what I
came up with:
MY STARTING FIVE
NORBERT TORRES – 6’6”
Year: 1990
Highschool: Mother Theresa
NBA Comparison: Tim Duncan
Note: The only legit ‘big man’ ever to come out of Toronto. Currently enrolled at DLSU (UAAP) and
sat this year out as a red-shirt. Controls the paint, blocks shots and captializes on his scoring
opportunities. Played on the international level and performed well as a member of the 2008
Philippines RP Youth team.
JAMES FORRESTER – 6’2”
Year: 1989
Highschool: Thornlea (Due to graduate in early 2009)
NBA Comparison: Vince Carter
Note: One of the most gifted athletes in the Asian basketball scene. Has all the potential in the
world. Just needs the right coaching to get the most of out of his rawness. Once thought of as a
Man-Child, he’s now 19 years old and should be ready to take the next step. Has legit star power
and would be a good addition to any UAAP or NCAA program in the Philippines. YouTube him and
check out a number of his crowd-pleasing dunks.
AJ SERJUE – 6’1”
Year: 1989
Highschool: Cawthra Park (Graduated 2008)
NBA Comparison: Leandro Barbosa
Note: AJ is usually the fastest guy on the court and can score in bunches. He’s long and finds a
way to finish around the basket, a streaky shooter as well. Like James, he’s still learning the game
and needs to be part of a good program to get the most out of his potential.
MATTHEW WRIGHT – 6’2”
Year: 1991
Highschool: Martingrove (Due to graduate in June 2009)
NBA Comparison: Kevin Durant
Note: Though he’s the youngest guy on my list, his game is the most polished out of everyone –
the product of good coaching for sure. Is near the top of his highschool class and has already
played (was even one of the top scorers) of the Philippine RP Youth team last summer. Can score
in a variety of ways and is comfortable creating off the bounce. Like many 17 year olds, he needs to
get stronger, but that will come in time. Probably has a number of options after he’s done school
this spring.
JON SEMIRA – 6’0”
Year: 1987
Highschool: Mother Theresa
NBA Comparison: Chauncey Billups
Note: Of course many of you will think I’m being biased because he’s my brother, but there’s no
doubting that Jon has the tools and the drive to make it to the PBA. Currently enrolled at San
Sebastian College (NCAA), the progam’s coaching change has him exploring his options for next
year. He’s a combo guard that can pretty much score from anywhere on the court, drop a dime and
lock-down the opposing team’s best wing scorer.
ALSO…
NORMAN PENOLA – 6’0”
Year: 1991
Highschool: Notre Dame (Ajax)
Note: Unfortunately, I haven’t seen a lot of Norman to make a proper assessment. He has a great
resume though, as he’s come out of the Basketball Ontario Provincial program and has enjoyed
success at the OBA level with the Scarborough Blues. I’ve played against him a couple times and
have made note of a solid mid-range jumper and three-point shot. Reminds me a bit of Raymond
Montaniel with his penchant to score. Has already scheduled a try-out in the Philippines with
Ateneo (UAAP) and San Beda (NCAA) in February 2009.
AJ MANDANI – 6’0”
Year: 1987
Highschool: Ascension (Peel)
Note: I haven’t seen much of AJ lately, since he’s been enrolled at South Suburban college in IL.
He averaged over 11ppg last year for the team and is a proven scorer. I’m curious to see how his
game is now and if continuing to a possible pro career in the Philippines is one of his goals.
Though this squad would have its defensive deficiencies, it would have the ingredients to
eventually do pretty well in the PI and show that Toronto has some of the Filipino ballers in North
America. No doubt that an adjustment period would be needed for them to fully adapt to the PI-style
of play, but these guys would definitely make some noise. Do you think I missed someone that
should be on my list? Get at me at mike@25forlifebasketball.com.
In other news, our year-end fundraiser with Chris Bosh went smoothly and thanks to Jo-Anne Sta.
Maria for putting it together. Not many people can say that they hung out with CB4 at a club! Of
course, it may have affected his game the next day though, as Chris Paul, David West and the
Hornets dealt with the Raps pretty handily.
Most of the 254L crew hung out at Turtle Jack’s last night for our annual Christmas party. We finally
had a chance to cash out our TJ dollars and enjoyed an appetizer feast!
December 8, 2008
Toronto got its first big snowfall last week. Too bad I hate the snow. I hate how it slows everything
down. Half-hour commutes quickly become hour-long ventures. I hate how it messes up my shoes
and denim. Salt stains everywhere. I hate how slush fills up doorways and foyers. I hate stepping
in melted snow and having wet socks for the rest of the day.
On the bright side, we’re supposed to have warmer weather tomorrow. The mild temperature
should melt away all the snow, which will be great. I’m sure all the snowboarders will hate it
though.
We had a couple games this weekend, as we beat Metro in the first round of MPAA playoffs on
Saturday and dispensed of the up-start Durham team in Fil-Act. Metro almost defaulted their game
against us, as their 5th and 6th players strolled in 10 minutes late. As a result, the first ‘half’ was
cut down to 10 minutes – which is total stupidness. MPAA as a league continues to frustrate me
due to poor competition, below-par officiating and venue (Lorne Park is too damn far!). But despite
us not wanting to play in the league, we’ll probably continue to play because it’s the ONLY league
that runs in the Fall and is a placeholder before Fil-Act and PhilCan get their seasons started.
In Fil-Act news, last week’s unofficial #1 team in the Power Rankings – UNC – lost to PNB by five
points. There’s now a log-jam up at the top of the league, with 25 for Life, Barons, UNC and PNB
with 1 loss each. Its shaping up to be an interesting season. The league is shutting down for the
Holiday Season, with no games scheduled until the New Year.
I’m glad to have watched both All-In (MPAA) and Durham play this weekend. These teams play
similar styles and seem to be on their way to building good programs. It’s good to see young guys
doing it up these days. Congrats to All-In on their win against the always-tough Angiels on
Saturday.
In boxing news, Manny Pacquiao embarrassed Oscar dela Hoya on Saturday night. Pacman’s
speed and movement was just too much for the aging Golden Boy, as Oscar refused to come out
of his corner to start the 8th round. Congrats to Manny on his momentous win and solidifying his
position as an icon to the Filipino people. Of course, I urge his people to hook him up with a
translator because he wasn’t too smooth in his post-fight interviews. I mean, if this guy is going to
get serious camera time as boxing’s pound-for-pound king, he should be able to answer Larry
Merchant’s questions properly!
Big Fundraiser at Kai Lounge this weekend with Chris Bosh and Mo Pete. Stay tuned for details!
December 1, 2008
I can’t believe that it’s the beginning of December! This year has been huge for 25forLife, as we’ve
been able to put ourselves on the National Map thanks to a number of tournament wins and the
power of the Internet. Much love to AsianBallers.net for helping us get the word out and of course
Jeremiah Sta. Maria who self-taught himself to get our website up and running.
I celebrated my birthday this week and partied way too much. I was able to stumble into the gym at
9:30am Saturday morning (after partying til 4am on Friday), coming in at half-time to play a
nonsense game against GENESIS in MPAA. Surprisingly, I was pretty productive for my 13+
minutes of playing – going 2 of 3 from the field along with a few assists, a block and decent
defence haha. I’ll be taking a serious hiatus from partying for the next few weeks, probably only
going to re-surface on the scene for New Years.
I also wanted to give a shout-out to my boy RJ Nepomuceno of the Red Barons. For those of you
who haven’t heard, RJ (Head Coach and GM of the Barons) was vacationing in Los Angeles when
he had to check himself into the hospital for what he thought were flu-like symptoms.
Unfortunately, further testing revealed a bacterial infection in his heart that needed immediate
attention. Surgery was required and fortunately it went smoothly and from the sounds of it, he’s
recovering nicely. Get well soon and we all wish you speedy recovery RJ. Come back home safe
so we can play you guys already haha.
MANNY PACQUIAO vs. OSCAR DELA HOYA – December 6, 2008
The Philippines National Hero takes on the Golden Boy this Saturday in the biggest fight of his life.
As big of a roll that the PacMan is on, I can’t see him beating Dela Hoya in this matchup. Dela Hoya
is way too big and too skilled to lose to a fighter of Manny’s diminutive size. Apart from the actual
hand-to-hand combat, I can’t wait to hear Pacquiao’s post-fight interview. I watched some of the
pre-fight promo on The Score (24/7) and just listening to hardcore Filipino accent is just way too
funny! The drama regarding Manny’s trainer Roach and the Golden Boy camp is also a great
storyline. It should be a good fight and you can bet almost all of the 90 million people in the
Philippines will be watching on…
November 24, 2008
I just got back from Cancun last night. The down there was pretty good – consistently 25-28 degree
weather every day. But the brisk blowing winds added a chilly touch to the air, which had the locals
wearing sweaters, while the tourists were scattered along the beach for every bit of sunlight. Either
way, it was a great trip and I’m so fortunate that work paid for the entire thing.
It was low-season in Cancun and it was clearly evident with the amount of people that were there.
The hotel staff told me that at this time of the year, many of the hotels work together and promote
the same club depending on the day of the week. Here’s what I ended up doing:
THURSDAY – Dady O’s (www.dadyo.com.mx)
Pretty good night to start off our trip. A lot of the clubs in Cancun incorporate performances into the
night. This night had some circus-like performances, I wasn’t much of a fan.
FRIDAY – The City & Nectar (After-Hours) (www.thecitycancun.com, www.nectarbar.com)
The City is hyped as the largest nightclub in Latin America. I would’ve been more impressed if it
wasn’t for the fact that we have Guvernment here in Toronto – which is absolutely HUGE. But The
City was pretty good and its resident Hip Hop DJ is touted as the best in the country. I spent some
time in the main room before hanging out in the lounge which was home to some serious House
beats. I ended up meeting some fellow Canadians in that room and they actually had me join them
at Nectar for an after-hours party. One of the guys is a Heart Surgeon who had spent some time in
Toronto doing part of his residency. He told me the story of meeting his wife (of two weeks – one of
which was spent in Cancun) at Brant House on King Street West. What a small world! It’s an
outdoor club and I partied there until the sun came up. Ended up getting home at 7:00am.
SATURDAY – Bulldog (www.bulldogcafe.com)
I didn’t have a chance to get much sleep from partying Friday night, but made it out to Bulldog
anyway. It was like a mix of both The City and Dady O’s – with a fake rock interior and various levels
that looked down to the dance floor. This night featured a mix of hip-hop, dance and a band that
played covers of popular rock songs. One problem there was the insane amount of tables, which
is also shared with the other popular nightclubs in the city. Too many tables, not enough dance
floor.
My Thoughts on Partying in Cancun
• $40 All You Can Drink (Mexican vodka isn’t as bad as I imagined)
• No last call
• Good music
• Great Vibe - people are there to have a good time
• Too many tables!!!
I came back to Toronto roads being covered in snow and sub-zero temperatures. Talk about a
serious downer!
Not to mention I found out this morning that a skeleton crew made it out to the Fil-Act game
yesterday and we ended up losing to the Skyhawks by a single point. No JP, No JR, No Mike, No
Jeremiah, No AJ Serjue – sounds like a lot of key players. I heard that people (the other team and
whoever else was watching) were cheering like the won a championship at the end of the game. I
even heard that members from other teams (BARONS…ahem) – were congratulating our players
on the loss. WTF is that all about? Two year winning streak down the drain blah, blah, blah. If it
wasn’t for CJ “The Bear” Reyes coming to the rescue and driving James to the game, we might
have even saved face with a forfeit. Granted 25forLife had a 13-point lead going in the second half,
but we obviously didn’t have the personnel out there to close the game properly. I’ve already sent a
message to James reprimanding him on his lacklustre performance, but we really can’t let this
happen again. But I definitely owe the winning team a Tony Akins-like “CONGRATULATIONS” and
pray that we play them again in the playoffs.
Next up in Fil-Act is a December 7th showdown against the Red Barons. It should be a good one.
All I have to say is “Hold it for one.” Hahaha
November 17, 2008
Well, the 2008/2009 Fil-Act season started last weekend, highlighted by a couple re-matches of
last year’s semi-finals. Our team was pitted against an under-manned version of PNB, as they
were missing front-court stalwarts William Marasigan and prized free agent acquisition Kenny
Lopez. We were a little short-handed as well, with JP Albano, Jerome Sta. Maria and Jeremiah Sta.
Maria not in attendance. However, the scheduling gods were kind enough to give the new Malvern
Cartel team the weekend off and Jon Semira made his lone Fil-Act appearance of the season with
us (he originally verbally committed to a 10-day contract with them).
PNB came out in a 3-2 zone, which was a little tough to solve, especially given the fact that our
outside shooting was non-existent. We didn’t really solve it until mid-way through the second half,
when our defense caused some turnovers for easy baskets and we were finding the open spots
and/or man on offense. By the end of the game, we won by double-digits and James Forrester had
two crowd-pleasing dunks (not to mention a brutal missed one-hander haha).
The game after featured the Red Barons and Uncoachables (UNC). The game featured the return
of 2006 Fil-Act MVP Russell Felipe, albeit in a slimmer, more aerodynamic version – think Darryl
Chopra at the beginning of last year. UNC sported the same solid crew from last year, with the
addition of former Baron Jon Erfe. The Barons shot out to an early lead, going up 20 points. But
UNC would not give up, chipping away at the lead…eventually tying the game with a buzzer beating
lay-up by Nate Momongan. In OT, it was Erfe that had his sweet revenge – draining a 3-pointer with
one-second left.
In MPAA action, we won by a staggering 54 points over e-Racers. Not much to chat about that
game…
Not sure what’s scheduled for next week, but I won’t be here. Work’s sending me and a couple
other co-workers to Cancun for a nice little 4-day vacation. It was top-prize for a sales contest that
spanned over two months. It’ll be my first time there and I’ll be staying at the lovely 5-star RIU
Cancun (www.riucancunresorts.com). I’ll try to have some pics to post up by next Monday.
Jon heads back to the Philippines on Thursday. He’s been here for over a month and his peeps in
the PI have been wondering why he isn’t back yet. It’s been great having him around, but its time
for him to get back to his life on the other side of the world.
November 10, 2008
If you’ve read JP’s blog already, you’ll see that he’s hyped about the upcoming 2008/2009 Fil-Act
season. Unlike him, I’m luke-warm about the whole thing, as the venue – Willowood Gymnasium –
isn’t the greatest place to ball. However, this league is probably the most competitive league we
play in all year. It has the most teams and the talent is spread out over a number of teams. The
shoe-box type court acts as an equalizer (much like what we experienced in the Asian National
Championships in NYC last month) and confines the way our team plays.
We welcome JR “Instant Mismatch” Manlucu into the 25-for-Life fold, as he leaves Red Barons
and starts a new chapter in his Fil-Act career. Look for him to team up with James Forrester and
AJ Serjue to become our high-scoring front-court, with guys like JP Albano, Jerome Sta Maria and
Ryan Dawinan holding down the backcourt. Jeremiah Sta Maria and I are still on the mend, but we
will be there to contribute as necessary. Not to mention a good supporting cast that can put up big
numbers at any time.
The Red Barons re-tool by adding 25-for-Lifer Archie Navales to the squad, joining Rexdaler and
long-time friend Elvin Etcubanez. However, they say good-bye to the aforementioned JR, along with
Kenny Lopez and Jon Erfe who sought greener pastures elsewhere. With a projected starting line-
up of Adam & Phil Aglipay, Elvin Etcubanez, Russell Felipe (2006 Fil-Act MVP) and last year’s
Regular Season unofficial MVP Darryl “D-Real” Chopra, the Barons seemed primed for a
championship. Niko Carino and Alvin Maniquis have proven they too can be contributors.
JP’s picks of UNC and PNB are pretty solid, given that the two teams were in the Final Four last
year as well. But UNC gave the Red Barons all they could handle in the semifinals and PNB’s front
line of Kim Tigley and William Marisigan will only get stronger with the addition of Big Kenny. Don’t
count out Ali Nizam and Carlo Francisco and the SAINTS squad, as they always play tough,
especially with banger John Mandani in the paint.
Fil-Act is longest running Filipino basketball league in Toronto and there’s always a good amount
of hype surrounding it. Though I would hope that with the large amount of teams that they would
split it into a Tier 1 and Tier 2 setup, much like Phil-Can does. But the fact remains that 25-for-Life
remains the team to beat, as we seek to capture our third championship in a row and ninth since
the 2000 season. Is it time for us to give up the crown (it was on loan to the Barons in 2006 as they
had to beat us in OT while I was out of town on a business trip)? This season will be fun.
On the Fantasy NBA front, my RolePlayers continue to lead the 25 for Life league – sitting 11 points
ahead of James Forrester’s team. With a team of Chris Paul, Danny Granger, Paul Pierce, Caron
Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby, Pau Gasol, Shawn Marion, LaMarcus
Aldridge, Stephen Jackson, Samuel Dalembert and Andre Miller – I can tell you that AUTOPICK IS
KING haha.
Raps are now 4-2 going into a back-to-back suicide mission into Boston. The Celtics absolutely
destroyed the Pistons last night and I expect more of the same against the Raps tonight. There’s
only so much that Chris Bosh can do and you can bet that KG will put the clamps on him. For pride’
s sake, I hope that it’s the Big 3 that does the damage tonight and not the scrubs like Leon Powe,
Tony Allen and Glen Davis.
November 3, 2008
With almost a week’s worth of the 2008/2009 NBA season in the books, we have the Raps at 3-0
with the rest of the league’s cream of the crop like the LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Houston
Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. Do the Raptors (or the Hawks for that
matter) belong in the same breath as the squads? My quick answer is no – they’re not even close.
Besides a good road win against a decent Philly team, they had a tough time against a PG-less
Warriors team and an even tougher time against the Milwaukee Bucks that currently sit at 2-2.
Though they’ve shown more toughness this year (THANK-YOU JERMAINE O’NEAL), these Raps
still need to go through a major culture change. Bosh put up great numbers this week, Calderon is
nearly averaging 20-10 and JO is anchoring an increasingly stingy defence. Anthony Parker’s
dead-eye shooting is only out-done by teammate Jason Kapono (aka J-Killa), while Moon is giving
the team more than a steal and block per game. Ukic looks like another Calderon-in-training and
Bargnani is giving us more highs and lows than the Weather Channel (0pts -19pts -0pts) –
WTF?!?!?! But that’s about as far as it goes. This team lacks depth and Mitchell is still
apprehensive in giving guys like Kris Humphries and Joey Graham consistent minutes. Without
another guy or two helping out, I expect this team to flame out mid-season due to fatigue or injury.
Hot off the wire today, Allen Iverson seems to be on his way to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for
Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess. What seems like a good move for the Nuggets, as they
get the ‘true point guard’ they’ve been coveting to play alongside Carmelo – it seems like a
questionable move for Joe Dumars. In a pure basketball sense, it’ll be weird to see a shoot-first
PG run the show for Rip, Tayshaun and Rasheed. Especially for a team known for its defence, AI
will have to be play a lot more straight up D and play the passing lanes more conservatively.
Business-wise, it seems like a good gamble, as Iverson’s $20M salary will come off the books at
the end of the season and give Dumars cap space to spend on someone like the up-and-coming
Rodney Stuckey. With Mr. Big Shot running the show in Denver, I fully expect Melo to challenge for
the scoring title this year – probably even win it.
We had a game last weekend in MPAA against the kids from C-KATT. It was a tough game for
most of us because of the Halloween partying the night before, but we were still able to win pretty
handily. The best part is that I’m beginning to get a little of my explosiveness back for rebounding
and blocking shots. I hope that I continue to improve in time for Fil-Act later this month and Phil-
Can in January.
October 27, 2008
Less than 24 hours until the tip-off of the NBA regular season. Will the trio of the Celtics repeat or
will Kobe and the Lakers ride Andrew Bynum’s rehabilitated knee to the Championship? Is it time
for dark horses like the Houston Rockets or New Orleans Hornets shake up the Western
Conference hierarchy? Does the old guard of San Antonio and Detroit have another run left? What
will a full year of Nash, Amare and Shaq bring to Phoenix? Will the addition of Jermaine O’Neal be
enough to take my hometown Raps to the next level?
So many questions and a 100 some-odd games to get some answers. But with all the real ball
going on, the start of the regular season means the start of Fantasy Leagues! I’ve slowly gotten
into playing Fantasy NBA, first with playing just one league for a while, now playing in 3 leagues
with being a Commissioner for one of them. It’s so addicting. All the smack talk and high hopes
from draft day, to the cold-hard reality of finishing out of the playoffs at the end of the year. It’s a time
when NBA TV’s Rick Kamla and Mike Yam are my best friends and the GMs that deny my trade
proposals and veto trades become my sworn enemies.
Here’s a quick look at my teams:
PlayerHaters - WORK LEAGUE (11 TEAMS)
Dwayne Wade
Joe Johnson
Corey Maggette
Mike Miller
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Love
Marcus Camby
Andrew Bynum
TJ Ford
Jamario Moon
Louis Williams
Andres Nocioni
Rafer Alston
Lottery Bandits - NO FRILLS KEEPER LEAGUE (12 TEAMS)
TJ Ford
Vince Carter
OJ Mayo
Mike Dunleavy
Antawn Jamison
Drew Gooden
Al Jefferson
Andrew Bynum
Thaddeus Young
Grant Hill
DeShawn Stevenson
Gilbert Arenas
Wilson Chandler
Shaquille O’Neal
RolePlayers - 25forLife LEAGUE (6 TEAMS)
Chris Paul
Danny Granger
Paul Pierce
Shawn Marion
Dirk Nowitzki
Caron Butler
Pau Gasol
LaMarcus Aldridge
Stephen Jackson
Andre Miller
Marcus Camby
TJ Ford
Tracy McGrady
I can’t wait for tip-off!
October 20, 2008
Last week was pretty uneventful, with the hype of the Asian National Championships over and not
much basketball going on. Our biggest fears were realized, as AsianBallers.net released their
newest rankings came and a full write-up was done on the tournament.
We were spotlighted for our poor performance at the tournament:
“There were some surprises and disappointments in this tournament with Toronto 25 not
making the final four. They struggled all tournament to get things going.”
Of course, we weren’t the only ones that put on blast:
The most disappointing performance of the tournament was the play of Xiro. He played with
Yellow Fever and Bo Noung & Atif Sajid out of Atlanta. They were eliminated by TLC who just did
everything right from the tip. Xiro couldn't buy a basket in this game against TLC. After the
game a lot of people were criticizing him, saying, "He's Number 1? He's not that good!"
I only got to see Xiro play for a little bit, so it’s really hard to dissect his game. But from what I hear,
he’s a one-way player that can score in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard much about
his defense and to me the top-ranked player should be a fierce competitor on both sides of the
ball. But maybe Xiro isn’t asked to play D on his Asian teams, just score the ball. I’m not familiar
with the guy, so I can’t really make any judgements.
Here’s the newest Team Rankings:
1. Pac Rim – CA
2. Dreamleague All-Stars – NY/CA
3. Chosen Few – HI
4. Stockton Ballers – CA
5. Seattle Bladerunners – WA
6. Wooreelitech – CA
7. Arizona Desert Jade – AR
8. Tigers Blue – CA
9. Oklahoma Synergy – OK
10. San Jose Shootout – CA
11. NY Cruisers – NY
12. Teddy Bears – GA
13. NY Maximum Output – NY
14. Public Enemy – TX
15. Team United – VA
16. NY Top Guns – NY
17. Toronto 25 – Canada
18. Team Kaya – KS/TX
19. Team Fresno – CA
20. 808 Ballers – HI
NY Top Guns at #16?? That’s really questionable! We handed them our game (foul in the
backcourt was clearly a homer call) and they haven’t made any noise at all this year. What
happened to Chicago Rambonews and TLC? Though we did deserve a drop in the National
Rankings, I think too much weight is being put on the results of the AsianBallers.net tournament. I’
m still confident that if you put us on a real-size court with most of these teams, we’d be able to
come out on top.
Ah well, it giving us some fuel for next year.
BTW NBA 2K9 is tough…I’m like 12-10 with the Toronto Raptors and contemplating whether I
should switch them out haha.
October 14, 2008
Well we came back from NYC empty-handed and with our egos battered and bruised. We already
knew that this was going to be the toughest tournament of the year, but to come out with a record of
1-3 is downright embarrassing.
Team United used their size and the small court to their advantage against us in our first pool
game. We battled back from a big deficit and it came down to free-throws. We ended up losing by 6
points and were faced w/ a tough back-to-back against TLC.
Though we played a lot better against TLC, with JR getting a three-pointer to send the game into
OT, we still ended up losing by three points. It was a fun game – as we had a chance to match-up
with guys like Migs Noble, Leo Yagnacio, Champ Albano and the Clemente Brothers in a throw-
back Philcan vs. Sipag battle. If it wasn’t for some boneheaded plays, we would’ve come out on top.
We were seeded 13 out of the 15 teams in the playoffs, matched up against the undefeated 5
seed. The First Round playoff game against NY Fury was a lot more our style. We finally had a
chance to play in the real gymnasium and it gave us ample space to do play our game. Though the
game was pretty close in the first half, we pulled away in the second half with solid performances
put in by James Forrester, JP Albano and Jerome Sta. Maria. Our confidence was back up again
and hoped to play deep into Sunday.
We played the New York Top Guns in the quarterfinals. The team competes in PIBNA and the
Toronto contingent usually beats them. Unfortunately, we were in the small gym again and were in
for a tough game. Our offense was stagnant and we had to mount another furious comeback. After
a barrage of three -pointers from Phil Aglipay (2) and Jon (2), we went up one point after an And-1
play from James. Unfortunately, we were whistled for a touch foul which sent their PG to the line for
a 1-and-1. He ended up sinking both and we couldn’t get off a good shot in our final possession.
We were sent home packing with an ugly 1-3 record.
Thoughts from the weekend:
• Its damn hard to get a call from these NY refs. These guys don’t have any love for out-of-towners.
• It would’ve been a lot better if we didn’t play in the wack AUXILLARY GYM for most of the time (our
record there was 0-3).
• AsianBallers.net is a great source to get information on Asian ball from across the country, but all
team and player rankings should be taken with a grain of salt.
• Speed and skill can be neutralized by a big team on a small court.
• My ankle’s feeling around 90% now, but a left knee injury is forcing me to wear a sleeve around
my knee.
• After 36hrs of travelling and a 12hr time difference, Jon was still the best player on the court most
of the time.
• Is it time to get rid of my Hyperdunks? Record to date: 2-1 in Winnipeg / 1-1 in MPAA / 1-3 in NYC
= 4 wins and 5 losses
• Is a full-time coach necessary? Who has the commitment and the basketball IQ to take us to the
next level?
• Driving solo all the way to NYC and all the way back to Toronto is possible. Both Elvin and myself
were able to do it - 16+ hours behind the wheel!
• Are the Toronto Falcons destined to win EVERY local tournament that 25forLife isn’t involved in?
They won the Turkey Ball with Norman Penola winning MVP honours.
• Is the VOICEBOX effect going to take over hip hop and RnB? T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, TI
and Rihanna are all on the bandwagon already.
October 6, 2008
Less than a week left until the Asian National Championships in NYC. Practices have been getting
more intense for the most part and I’m working on pushing my ankle harder. Yesterday’s practice
was okay, as I was moving decently on offense, but really lacked explosiveness for rebounding
and blocking shots. I think a couple things are contributing to it, as my ankle still isn’t 100% and I’
m still being very cautious about jumping in crowds. I think most of my recovery from now on will be
mentally, as I have to rid my mind of the thoughts of injuring my ankle again. I think when we’re
matched up against the teams this weekend, I’ll be forced to not think about it and just focus on
ball.
The complete groupings, schedule and rules have been released for the tournament. We play
Team United (VA) at 9:15am and then have TLC (NY) at 10:15am with a back-to-back. Both games
should prove to be very tough as our Group E is getting the reputation of being the toughest of the
tournament. Team United is being picked by many as a Final Four team, while TLC features both
Migs Noble and Leo Yagnacio (last year’s Tournament MVP).
We’ll be playing both games in the Baruch College Auxiliary Gym which I’m not too thrilled about.
Here’s a link to what the gym looks like:
http://athletics.baruch.cuny.edu/sports/2006/1/12/ARC%20Facilities%20-%20Auxiliary%
20Gymnasium.aspx
It’s not a hardwood floor and is made of the rubber or something. I’m guessing that it must be
something similar to what U of T uses in their fieldhouse facility. But from what I hear, the other
courts in Baruch College are even smaller and won’t have the three-point line into the corner.
Kinda sucks for us, as the corner shot is pretty integral to our offense.
This will also be a busy week because I’m writing stories again for PAS (www.pasmag.com) and
have until tomorrow to complete three stories. I haven’t written in a while and worried I’ll be a little
rusty.
NBA 2K9 is being released tomorrow and I’ll be picking it up for sure. I’m going to buy it from EB
Games because they offer the insurance for $2.00. Last year, I had to return 2K8 two times to get
one that jived well with my XBOX 360.
Jon’s coming home at the end of the week and I’m pretty excited for that as well. I haven’t seen that
dude since January.
Exciting times.
September 29, 2008
Writing these blogs is getting to be pretty fun - especially when it’s recapping an eventful week like
the past seven days. Earlier this week, I had a chance to chat with Larry Chow – the man behind
the NY Maximum Output organization and the upcoming AsianBallers.net Asian National
Championships. Larry’s a passionate individual, loves basketball and most of all loves to win. We
spent some time discussing the setup of his tournament – 5 pools of 3 teams. We’re grouped with
TLC (NY/NJ) and Team United (VA) – two fellow Filipino squads.
TLC is comprised mostly of our friends from the Sipag organization. If this picture rings true to
form: they’ve got a trio of Clemente’s, Leo Yagnacio (formerly of Dabu and last year’s Tournament
MVP) and Miguel Noble (former PBAer). I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the David brothers
and that’s not to mention any of the guys we don’t know. This team has a solid group of guys. I
wouldn’t be surprised to see them go deep into the tournament.
Team United is a formidable power out of VA. Quarterbacked by 2007 FBA-NA Tournament MVP
Benny Batoon, I think that this team has a lot of the players that beat Team Houston in the FBA-NA
tournament a couple years ago (they played under the FABA of DC Metro organization). This is the
same team that called JP back in the summer about our Unity Cup tournament and asked if there
was a cash prize. When they found out that there wasn’t any money involved, they said “We only
play in tournaments of $1,000 or more”. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this team and
look forward to playing them at the tournament.
Larry’s philosophy is that basketball isn’t about having fun, building camaraderie or any of those
niceties. Winning is what he’s all about and he’s doing all he can to equip his Max Out team to win.
He said that’s very hard for a travelling team to win and has respect for teams like us that not only
travel to other places to compete, but win those tournaments as well. Sounds like he’s alluding to
the fact that some homer calls will be made for the NY/NJ teams haha.
On Saturday we had our first MPAA game. We were matched up with The Saints team that beat us
last year in our lone regular-season game. They torched us from the beginning and we were
playing catch-up the entire game. Ali Nizam made the game his own version of “The Ali (G) Show”
and Carlo Francisco lit us up for 20 points or so. The rest of their team shot around 75%, hitting Js
from every spot on the court. Despite our last minute efforts, we ended up losing by three points. It
was our second loss in a row (since Winnipeg) and it’s probably the longest winless streak I’ve
had since 1998. Basically, it was another shot to our ego that WE’RE REALLY NOT THAT NICE –
despite our success this year.
Fortunately, we had a lot of guys come out to practice yesterday. I think we’re beginning to realize
that we’re getting close to gut check time and there’s a good chance we’ll fall short. It was a good
practice though…structured like the ones we used to run in school. There were a few drills that
required a lot of sharp cuts and change of direction. They were pretty tough on my ankle and I had
to sit out. Even prolonged left-handed lay-ups caused a little bit of pain. Phil tweaked both his
ankles yesterday, while JR and Jerome were both victims of cramps. JR’s cramped two days in a
row! JP’s trying to start a rumour that Hyperdunks are the source of all our misfortunes (The
Hyperdunks have the worst winning percentage of any shoe I’ve ever worn – 2W and 2L - .500
winning pct. haha). If we can have another practice like that, we should all be on the same page
come tourney time. James is coming along well and I think he’ll have a good tournament. I’m still
operating around that 80% mark and I’ll probably get another deep tissue massage before
Thanksgiving weekend.
September 22, 2008
It’s the first day of autumn and I can’t help but have mixed feelings about the weeks coming ahead.
The AsianBallers.net National Championships are only a few weeks away (our Thanksgiving
Weekend) and though I’d like to think that the squad is ready, the truth is that we’re not – not even
close. We haven’t had a single good practice since our debacle at the FBA tournament last month
and it seems like less people are showing up for practice every week.
This week was probably the worst, as we only had a handful of guys at practice with some key
guys missed out citing hangovers and alcohol poisoning as the reason they couldn’t make it. I’m
sure you’ll see a few pics of our 25forLife fundraiser party on JP’s blog and I’m glad that we had a
great time. Much love to Jo-Anne Sta. Maria for spearheading the party with Carlos Promo – she
did an awesome job. But as much as I like to have a good time and party, we should really be
more discipline if we expect to show well and win the tournament. I can’t help but feel that we’re
getting complacent with all the press and hype we’ve been getting and it’s going to come back to
us in a bad way in this tournament. We had a similar attitude in Winnipeg and I haven’t seen any
improvement in the weeks after.
I was just doing some scouting on some of the teams we’ll be playing and came across the team
roster for NY Maximum Output. I remember seeing them last year at the AsianHoops.com ABC
Classic and they looked decent. But the Team Manager / GM Larry Chow has deep pockets and is
known to bring in talent from Hawaii to play for him. John Lane is an elite guard that’s played for
him before, but I noticed that guys like Leandro Maruoka (Brazilian / Japanese, 6’9”), Nate Brown (a
professional in Europe) and Gavin Cook (former University of Hawaii volleyball star) on the roster
as well and that makes Max Out the team to beat. San Jose Shootout, NY RL Cruisers, Dream
League East and TLC will also be very tough. We will need to be on top of our games if we plan to
come out on top. All the awards and accolades would seem pretty pointless if we flop in this
tournament.
On a sad note, we got word that Dean Labayen tore both his MCL and PCL in his knee. It was a
result of a flagrant foul in the first half of our first game against Windsor in FBA. It’s really just a sad
story, considering that Dean was making his comeback to Asian basketball and is the most
complete Filipino baller we’ve ever seen. I hope he gets well soon and the best of luck in his
rehab. He’s talking about retiring for good, but we know that there’s a lot more basketball left in
him plus he has the experience and wisdom to share with those that are still coming up.
My rehab’s going well. I picked up an ASO ankle brace last Saturday and was able to get a couple
runs in on Sunday. The brace is really good and provides support just where I need it. According to
my research, it’s the best brace out there that mimics actual athletic taping thanks to its ‘figure 8’
straps. I would suggest it to anyone that has ankle problems. I’m almost dunking again…I should
be throwing it down again by next week’s practice.
September 15, 2008
We’re officially in the middle of September and even though the loss to Winnipeg still stings, our
focus is totally on the AsianBallers.net National Championships next month. We had our first
practice yesterday but it was short-handed. I came through to shoot around and even laced up. I
ran around a bit and took a few jump shot – my guess is that my ankle’s around 70%. There’s still
significant swelling and its causing pain when I run and landing. Its easy to jump…its just the
landing that hurts. I’m currently online looking for a good ankle brace actually, I’ve got to order one
soon so it arrives in time for the tournament.
The big news is that AsianBallers.net came out with their yearly awards yesterday. Toronto 25 for
Life won a couple awards (you’ll find the same stuff on JP’s blog entry for today):
Team of the Year - Toronto 25 for Life
This team has come out of nowhere and has dominated the scene where ever they go. They have
set a record with 5 tournament championships this year! We look for more great things from this
team in the future. Great job guys!
Rookie Team of the Year - Toronto 25 for Life
They are the team of the year. They just showed up on our radar. So it was an easy choice.
The 2008 All-Asian Team
Guard - John Lane (Chosen Few, Hawaii)
Guard - Xiro Navaulath (NSFaded, Minnesota)
Forward - Mike Semira (Toronto 25 for Life, Canada)
Forward - Ryan Boado (Team Houston, Texas)
Center - Robert Reyes (Team Jacksonville, Florida)
The All-Asian Team selection was a big surprise for me. JP and I sent an email to Bo Noung (the
webmaster of AsianBallers.net) showcasing some of the players on our team that deserve some
love and I’m guessing that he selected someone based on the info we gave him. I figured that
maybe JP or James would be selected, with their recent run of MVPs and all, but I guess Bo
thought otherwise. Personally, I had decent year – earning 2 All-Tournament Team awards
(CCYAA Identify Yourself and Unity Cup) – so maybe the award isn’t a total long-shot. Either way, it’
s cool to get some recognition – even though I think there are other players on the team that
deserved it more. I just hope that we can live up to the hype in NY because a lot of eyes will be on
us.
In other news, I picked up the Blackberry Bold last Saturday and it’s pretty awesome. I really need it
for work and I’m banking that it will help with my productivity. Essentially, it’s my ‘leash’ to the office
so I can be contacted at all times. There are way too many features to talk about, but I love the
screen. It’s definitely the best screen I’ve seen on a phone (including the iPhone), it’s just a pity
that it’s small.
Our jam is set for Kai Lounge on Saturday and I hope it’ll be good. With $2.00 drinks all nite, $100
bottles and DJ P-Plus spinning, the party definitely has the potential to be really good.
September 9, 2008
Its been over a week since our loss to Winnipeg in the FBA-NA tournament and our loss in the
Finals is still a tough pill to swallow. It was hard enough that both Dean and I couldn't even finish
the first game, but to watch our team falter against a team they beat by 17 points the day before
was like cruel punishment. I guess my 18-year ironman streak had to end some time (I've been
playing organized ball since I was 10, never missing a game due to injury), but they say all good
things must come to an end. I was on crutches for about four days - I could've stayed on them but
they became such a nuisance. I'm not sure what Dean's crutch status is, but the early word is a
tear (not a complete tear) of his MCL and possible ACL damage. The 'Chosen One' is out 3 to 4
months, which will give him more bench time to help coach us and implement our new (more
organized) defensive schemes.
But as I was telling the guys in our Ab-ORIGINAL meeting after the tourney loss, we'll probably
learn more from this loss than if we actually won. We've been winning alot over the past 24
months, with less than a handful of losses on our record. Heck, we've only lost twice in 2008 and
have taken home Championships from 5 different tournaments and two league titles. Winning has
become our culture and a devastating loss like this is definitely what we need to use as a reality
check - especially for our younger guys.
The AsianBallers.net Asian National Championships (www.nymaximumoutput.com) are next
month and by the looks of it alot of competitive teams will be there. Personally, I'd like to see how
we fare against teams like Arizona Desert Jade and Maximum Output - teams that have size. Even
with me at 80-85%, I think that this will be one of the best teams we'll be fielding all year. Losing
Dean is a big blow but we may have a couple additions that can definitely help us. I'm also amped
to see teams from California, those guys play a different brand of ball and I'm sure they're
expecting to stomp on everyone. A possible JP Albano vs. John Lane (Maximum Output) match-up
would also be very interesting to see and hopefully the bracket gods will allow this to happen.
Anyway, I'm doing more rehab tonight and I should be able to do some light jogging by the end of
next week. I'll definitely need to invest in some ankle guards though...
Belated Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday season and celebrated in a safe
manner.
Contrary to my initial feelings, I gave in to the peer pressure and tried snowboarding for the first
time on New Years Day. It was the result of a drunken rant I made on NYE, but I was true to my
word, strapped in and hit the bunny hills at Snow Valley in Barrie, ON. The first test was getting off
the lift, which I understand is still tricky for everyone. Fortunately, I was able to dismount
successfully a few times without a hitch. Unfortunately, my first few runs were really tough – trying
to balance on my toe and heel sides, wiping out countless times! As I got better, my speed picked
up but my wipeouts got worse haha. By the end of my 4-hour session, I was able to do a few
transitions and was a lot more confident on my board. Unfortunately, my tailbone, knees, elbows,
triceps and quads were done. I was out of commission for 2 days.
But all I could think of over those 2 days was going snowboarding again. I was on all these sites
for hours and ordered a ton of gear. The people over at www.sourceboards.com, www.dogfunk.
com, www.valuesports.com and http://stores.ebay.com/Winter-Rules-The-Day got a lot of my
money! I was hooked to the sport with just one trip. Now, I’m just waiting on all this stuff so I can go
again. Of course, I’m going to look like a fool being draped in nice gear with my ass glued to the
slopes for most of the time.
On the topic of extreme sports, my brother had the pleasure of visiting Hong Kong and Macau over
the holidays and had the opportunity to bungee jump off the Macau tower. Here’s a link: http://www.
macautower.com.mo/eng/press/20061217.asp . He said that it was the most amazing experience
in his entire life – he was yelling the entire way down and ran out of breath before he reached the
end. Now his goal is to travel and bungee jump in different parts of the world haha.
I can’t wait to get back on the court again. I haven’t played in a couple weeks and I’ve got a lot of
rust to shake off. PhilCan is starting in a couple weeks and our roster is still being tweaked. Our
showdown with the Barons in Fil-Act is on the horizon. PHYBA is starting soon as well – I’m pretty
excited because I haven’t played at TL Kennedy in a few years. I’m sure the fans will have fun
watching James Forrester flying up and down the court.
I’m headed to Las Vegas this week for work purposes. I’m looking forward to staying at the new
Encore Hotel (www.encorelasvegas.com) which is a new luxury property of The Wynn – BALLER!
Should be a good time.
Al released his Top 25 Players for the Last 25 Years listing late last week and we’re already
getting feedback about it haha.
December 29, 2008
As we turn the page on another calendar year and with the upcoming release of the Al Geezy’s list
of the Top 25 Players of the Past 25 Years, I wanted to take this opportunity to take a look back at
some Filipino basketball history in Toronto…
For those of you who don’t remember, back in the 80s, your main source for Filipino basketball
was PhilCan and Fil-Act. Unfortunately at the time, these leagues only offered Open, Seniors and
Masters divisions – nothing for the youth. However in the Fall of 1989, PhilCan officer Wally
Landicho pioneered a plan to get the youth of the Filipino community (including his sons Jeff and
Jon) into organized basketball and started a PeeWee Division.
In its first year, the PeeWee Division was comprised of four teams – Blue Eagles, Red Lions,
Green Archers and White Knights (for those of you who don’t know the history, those are actually
the monikers of some of the top collegiate programs in the Philippines: Ateneo, San Beda, La
Salle and Letran). Comprised of kids born in 1977 and younger, this division would form the
foundation of the entire Youth League movement that would follow over the next 20+ years. A little
known fact is that as Tito Wally’s sons grew older, a new division would be made to accommodate
them – from PeeWee, Midget, Bantam to Juvenile.
I was part of the first wave of kids (born in 1979) and have been around the scene since I was 10
years old and have never taken a year off – that’s a 19-year career! I played predominantly in
PhilCan, but also played in Fil-Act, MPAA and PHYBA. I wanted to take this opportunity to shine
some light on some of the players that I grew up with and were the superstars of the youth
leagues. This list is in alphabetical order…
Shaun Adarna
Dominating post presence in his day. Led the Phil-Can league in scoring one year and his JC
Moneygram team (with Neil, Darwin and Paulo) are still talked about today.
Rami Casalan
Skyhawks and Dolce poster boy. This crafty lefty had decent size and could score from anywhere
on the court. Once scored over 50 pts in a Juvenile game in FilAct.
Jeff Cruz
This St. Mike’s star was a deadly shooter and was one of the studs of the Dolce franchise. Went on
to red-shirt one year at York University with Dean Labayen and Jerome Sta. Maria.
Ryan de Guzman
Back in the day of 5-and-5 shift changes, he and his Mississauga team found a loophole in the
system by only inviting the top 5 or 6 players on their team and having them play the entire game. It
didn’t matter to Ryan though, as fans had a chance to see more of the moves he was pulling
straight from the NBA. Outstretched Scottie Pippen lay-ups and around the back moves!
Gilbert Francisco
This Bayanihan / Vaughan product was an absolute beast underneath. Under the tutelage of Chito
Collantes, had a full bag of tricks to get any advantage. He was a well-rounded player that was a
dominant post player in Filipino leagues, but an all-star PG for his highschool team.
Marvin Lalog
Made the leap from relative obscurity to superstardom in his second year of organized ball. Took
his White Knights to the championship in Phil-Can’s second year of PeeWee play. Went on to
develop some of the sickest hops ever seen.
Jon Landicho
Absolutely dominated Youth leagues with his ball wizardry and scoring instincts. Probably has
plenty of scoring records under his belt. Combined with Jeff Pangilinan (his PF) for a legendary 1-2
punch.
Jeff Landicho
This quiet assassin could score from anywhere. NABA Best Forward in Midget (?) back in 1991.
Check out his camera work on Raptors TV now.
Martin Lim
A NABA MVP, Martin played with the vet savvy that was far beyond his years. Famous for the English
he puts on his finger-rolls around the basket.
Archie Navales
He was leaps and bounds ahead of his competition back in the day. Was a force for Mabini
Express before defecting to the Dark – oops I mean Dolce – side. After a long hiatus, he’s back
and known as the Skinniest Enforcer in the League. Spin moves and left-handed finishes in Grade
6. Enough said.
Melvin Pablo
Pure athlete with incredible hops. Good scorer with his back to the basket.
JP Patricio
One of the top guards in his highschool days. This Pickering product had a number of highlight
moves and frequently made tough baskets in the lane (ala Tony Parker).
Aaron Rafol
Help lead the West Side to prominence with this strong play with MPAA. Led the league in scoring
with his assortment of pump fakes down on the block.
Paolo Roldan
Another guy from the West Side – his size and athletic ability were unmatched. Went on to play in a
conference in the PBL.
Rey Roncesvalles
Rey played the game one step ahead of his competition. Think Steve Nash or Chris Paul of his
era. Dominated the game despite his diminutive size when he was young, then grew to be over 6ft
and became a two-sport star (volleyball) and became a solid post / shot-blocking presence.
Mitch San Pedro
A slick guard that was tough to stop. Combined with Paulo Roldan for a lethal combination.
JP Sapico
Mr. Do-it-All led his J&M Remittance team to their first PhilCan Youth League championship with
his cousin Archie Navales. The son of legendary coach Jun Sapico, JP did whatever was needed
to get his team the W.
Darryl Valera
An undersized guard with over-sized hops. He was the Allen Iverson of his era – could score at will.
Rumour was that he was Fil-Act’s first (and only?) 9ft Slam Dunk champion.
Jeff Zetazate
A do-it-all forward with an iron-man work ethic. His yeoman effort by playing almost every minute of
every game in the Windsor NABA tournament was a testament to his attitude.
I know this list is rather biased because it mainly consists of guys I played against. There’s an
entire crop of players from 1978 and up that I never really saw, only heard about or caught the
ending of their games played at WA Porter. I think there’s an old-school PhilCan group on
Facebook if you want to join it: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?
gid=2259363288
December 22, 2008
Christmas is almost upon us and we just finished up the 2008 season with a couple big wins over
the weekend…
On Saturday, we avenged our lone loss in MPAA this season by dismantling the ‘juggernaut’
known as The Saints. The Saints went undefeated the entire season, reeling off eight straight wins
in the regular season and two easy wins in the playoffs. I have no doubt that Ali Nizam and
Company had their champagne ready to celebrate their first championship at our expense.
Unfortunately for them, that was not the case as we turned the defensive intensity up a notch and
handcuffed their offense the entire game. Kudos to James Forrester for blanketing Ali, holding him
to single digits after having a career game against us earlier in the year. On offense, it was like
watching a new episode of The Wayans Brothers, as Shawn (James Forrester) and Marlon (AJ
Serjue) were showcasing their skills for the crowd. Shout out to AJ Mandani (the ‘Keenan Ivory’, to
our Shawn and Marlon haha) who’s currently playing at a D2 college in Missouri. He’s home for the
holidays and came out to support his brother John – who had a strong game for the Saints.
Congrats to our court general Adam Aglipay for winning MVP honours – a testament to his strong
play throughout the season.
On Sunday, there was a serious buzz surrounding our game against Uncoachables (UNC). They
had a great OT win against the Barons a few weeks ago but were coming off a loss to Kim Tigley
and his PNB squad last week. With the mediocre play of our team lately, they were probably
thinking we were ripe for the picking. They brought their crowd as they wanted to make sure they
had plenty of support for what was supposed to be their biggest win of the year. However, things
didn’t go their way as continued our strong play from Saturday and played stifling defense. We held
their dangerous shooters in check while their inside play was kept to a bare minimum. Meanwhile,
James Forrester put on a show, torching his defenders to the tune of 31 points – not to mention a
crowd-pleasing off-the-board alley-oop from JR Manlucu (who was our Warrior of the Week as he
played with a badly strained right hamstring) that even brought UNC’s crowd to their feet. In the
end, it was a double-digit win for us and sent us into the Holiday break as the #1 team in my
unofficial Fil-Act Power Rankings. The highly-anticipated match-up against the Red Barons (who
beat Durham on Sunday) is drawing very near…
This weekend made me feel good about the state of Filipino basketball in the GTA. The
competition is fierce as ever, as we have a target on our back in every league we play. It makes
games exciting, as team’s are gunning for us in hopes of being the ones to knock us off our
pedestal. The Phil-Can league will be starting up early next year and with teams splitting up and
players moving around, it’s shaping up to be very interesting. Look for a team repping Rexdale to
make some noise, as Archie, Elvin, Jeremiah and Ryan form the core of a squad that will try to re-
ignite the past glory of the Martin Grove and Finch area.
It’s no secret that with all of our winning over the past decade, we’ve become the team that
everyone loves to hate. Like the Yankees in the 90s, the Laker three-peat teams and the New
England Patriots of this decade, people want to see us lose. We’ve grown to relish this label and
know that the ride isn’t going to last forever. But we won’t give up the crown without a fight, so come
get some haha.
Merry Christmas everyone!
PS – You won’t want to miss the unveiling of Al Gregorio’s TOP 25 PLAYERS OF ALL TIME that
should be up later this month. If you want to see where you measure up or get a taste of some of
the top Filipino ballers that have come out of the 416, this list is for you!
December 15, 2008
Its mid-December already and the year is quickly drawing to a close. It’s been a pretty eventful
week, as we had an exciting semi-final game in MPAA, had our fund-raiser with Chris Bosh (yes he
did show up!) and our 25-for-Life Christmas Party.
Saturday morning, we played Lakan in the MPAA semis, with the winner moving on to the Finals
next week to face Ali Nizam and his Saints squad. The game featured some of the top young
players in the game, James Forrester (25 for Life) and AJ Serjue (25 for Life), while Matthew
Wright suited up for Lakan. A decent-sized crowd woke up early to catch the game, as the MPAA
league is somewhat of the ‘Home’ league for the Lakan organization and hopes were high to that
their kids would knock-off the love-to-hate defending champs (us). The game was definitely one of
the most exciting we’ve played in a while, as Lakan never let us out of striking distance, extending
us to double overtime, before succumbing to a one-point loss.
Though the game itself was very exciting and had the crowd on their feet, I’m sure people were
more excited about watching these two go head-to-head. These guys didn’t disappoint, as many of
the game’s crunch time plays had them involved in one way or another. 80% of Lakan’s offense
ran through Wright, a task that would cause most 17-year-olds to crumble. But there he was,
against a group of seasoned winners like us, making the right play time after time on his way to
dropping 30ish points. James was faced with the daunting task of guarding him for most of the
game, using his length and athleticism to bother him. Needless to say, Matt and his widespread
offensive repertoire gave him trouble.
The roles were reversed on the other end of the floor, as James used his strength and speed to
get into his comfort zones against Matt, as he himself chipped in 20+ points (including the game
winner) helping us to the win. Of course, I want to mention that that Adam Aglipay had a huge
game, controlling the tempo, running the offense for us and making big baskets for us.
On the way home, my dad and I dissected James and Matthew’s games and threw around the
idea of making a 21-and-under Toronto All-Star Team to send to the Philippines. This is what I
came up with:
MY STARTING FIVE
NORBERT TORRES – 6’6”
Year: 1990
Highschool: Mother Theresa
NBA Comparison: Tim Duncan
Note: The only legit ‘big man’ ever to come out of Toronto. Currently enrolled at DLSU (UAAP) and
sat this year out as a red-shirt. Controls the paint, blocks shots and captializes on his scoring
opportunities. Played on the international level and performed well as a member of the 2008
Philippines RP Youth team.
JAMES FORRESTER – 6’2”
Year: 1989
Highschool: Thornlea (Due to graduate in early 2009)
NBA Comparison: Vince Carter
Note: One of the most gifted athletes in the Asian basketball scene. Has all the potential in the
world. Just needs the right coaching to get the most of out of his rawness. Once thought of as a
Man-Child, he’s now 19 years old and should be ready to take the next step. Has legit star power
and would be a good addition to any UAAP or NCAA program in the Philippines. YouTube him and
check out a number of his crowd-pleasing dunks.
AJ SERJUE – 6’1”
Year: 1989
Highschool: Cawthra Park (Graduated 2008)
NBA Comparison: Leandro Barbosa
Note: AJ is usually the fastest guy on the court and can score in bunches. He’s long and finds a
way to finish around the basket, a streaky shooter as well. Like James, he’s still learning the game
and needs to be part of a good program to get the most out of his potential.
MATTHEW WRIGHT – 6’2”
Year: 1991
Highschool: Martingrove (Due to graduate in June 2009)
NBA Comparison: Kevin Durant
Note: Though he’s the youngest guy on my list, his game is the most polished out of everyone –
the product of good coaching for sure. Is near the top of his highschool class and has already
played (was even one of the top scorers) of the Philippine RP Youth team last summer. Can score
in a variety of ways and is comfortable creating off the bounce. Like many 17 year olds, he needs to
get stronger, but that will come in time. Probably has a number of options after he’s done school
this spring.
JON SEMIRA – 6’0”
Year: 1987
Highschool: Mother Theresa
NBA Comparison: Chauncey Billups
Note: Of course many of you will think I’m being biased because he’s my brother, but there’s no
doubting that Jon has the tools and the drive to make it to the PBA. Currently enrolled at San
Sebastian College (NCAA), the progam’s coaching change has him exploring his options for next
year. He’s a combo guard that can pretty much score from anywhere on the court, drop a dime and
lock-down the opposing team’s best wing scorer.
ALSO…
NORMAN PENOLA – 6’0”
Year: 1991
Highschool: Notre Dame (Ajax)
Note: Unfortunately, I haven’t seen a lot of Norman to make a proper assessment. He has a great
resume though, as he’s come out of the Basketball Ontario Provincial program and has enjoyed
success at the OBA level with the Scarborough Blues. I’ve played against him a couple times and
have made note of a solid mid-range jumper and three-point shot. Reminds me a bit of Raymond
Montaniel with his penchant to score. Has already scheduled a try-out in the Philippines with
Ateneo (UAAP) and San Beda (NCAA) in February 2009.
AJ MANDANI – 6’0”
Year: 1987
Highschool: Ascension (Peel)
Note: I haven’t seen much of AJ lately, since he’s been enrolled at South Suburban college in IL.
He averaged over 11ppg last year for the team and is a proven scorer. I’m curious to see how his
game is now and if continuing to a possible pro career in the Philippines is one of his goals.
Though this squad would have its defensive deficiencies, it would have the ingredients to
eventually do pretty well in the PI and show that Toronto has some of the Filipino ballers in North
America. No doubt that an adjustment period would be needed for them to fully adapt to the PI-style
of play, but these guys would definitely make some noise. Do you think I missed someone that
should be on my list? Get at me at mike@25forlifebasketball.com.
In other news, our year-end fundraiser with Chris Bosh went smoothly and thanks to Jo-Anne Sta.
Maria for putting it together. Not many people can say that they hung out with CB4 at a club! Of
course, it may have affected his game the next day though, as Chris Paul, David West and the
Hornets dealt with the Raps pretty handily.
Most of the 254L crew hung out at Turtle Jack’s last night for our annual Christmas party. We finally
had a chance to cash out our TJ dollars and enjoyed an appetizer feast!
December 8, 2008
Toronto got its first big snowfall last week. Too bad I hate the snow. I hate how it slows everything
down. Half-hour commutes quickly become hour-long ventures. I hate how it messes up my shoes
and denim. Salt stains everywhere. I hate how slush fills up doorways and foyers. I hate stepping
in melted snow and having wet socks for the rest of the day.
On the bright side, we’re supposed to have warmer weather tomorrow. The mild temperature
should melt away all the snow, which will be great. I’m sure all the snowboarders will hate it
though.
We had a couple games this weekend, as we beat Metro in the first round of MPAA playoffs on
Saturday and dispensed of the up-start Durham team in Fil-Act. Metro almost defaulted their game
against us, as their 5th and 6th players strolled in 10 minutes late. As a result, the first ‘half’ was
cut down to 10 minutes – which is total stupidness. MPAA as a league continues to frustrate me
due to poor competition, below-par officiating and venue (Lorne Park is too damn far!). But despite
us not wanting to play in the league, we’ll probably continue to play because it’s the ONLY league
that runs in the Fall and is a placeholder before Fil-Act and PhilCan get their seasons started.
In Fil-Act news, last week’s unofficial #1 team in the Power Rankings – UNC – lost to PNB by five
points. There’s now a log-jam up at the top of the league, with 25 for Life, Barons, UNC and PNB
with 1 loss each. Its shaping up to be an interesting season. The league is shutting down for the
Holiday Season, with no games scheduled until the New Year.
I’m glad to have watched both All-In (MPAA) and Durham play this weekend. These teams play
similar styles and seem to be on their way to building good programs. It’s good to see young guys
doing it up these days. Congrats to All-In on their win against the always-tough Angiels on
Saturday.
In boxing news, Manny Pacquiao embarrassed Oscar dela Hoya on Saturday night. Pacman’s
speed and movement was just too much for the aging Golden Boy, as Oscar refused to come out
of his corner to start the 8th round. Congrats to Manny on his momentous win and solidifying his
position as an icon to the Filipino people. Of course, I urge his people to hook him up with a
translator because he wasn’t too smooth in his post-fight interviews. I mean, if this guy is going to
get serious camera time as boxing’s pound-for-pound king, he should be able to answer Larry
Merchant’s questions properly!
Big Fundraiser at Kai Lounge this weekend with Chris Bosh and Mo Pete. Stay tuned for details!
December 1, 2008
I can’t believe that it’s the beginning of December! This year has been huge for 25forLife, as we’ve
been able to put ourselves on the National Map thanks to a number of tournament wins and the
power of the Internet. Much love to AsianBallers.net for helping us get the word out and of course
Jeremiah Sta. Maria who self-taught himself to get our website up and running.
I celebrated my birthday this week and partied way too much. I was able to stumble into the gym at
9:30am Saturday morning (after partying til 4am on Friday), coming in at half-time to play a
nonsense game against GENESIS in MPAA. Surprisingly, I was pretty productive for my 13+
minutes of playing – going 2 of 3 from the field along with a few assists, a block and decent
defence haha. I’ll be taking a serious hiatus from partying for the next few weeks, probably only
going to re-surface on the scene for New Years.
I also wanted to give a shout-out to my boy RJ Nepomuceno of the Red Barons. For those of you
who haven’t heard, RJ (Head Coach and GM of the Barons) was vacationing in Los Angeles when
he had to check himself into the hospital for what he thought were flu-like symptoms.
Unfortunately, further testing revealed a bacterial infection in his heart that needed immediate
attention. Surgery was required and fortunately it went smoothly and from the sounds of it, he’s
recovering nicely. Get well soon and we all wish you speedy recovery RJ. Come back home safe
so we can play you guys already haha.
MANNY PACQUIAO vs. OSCAR DELA HOYA – December 6, 2008
The Philippines National Hero takes on the Golden Boy this Saturday in the biggest fight of his life.
As big of a roll that the PacMan is on, I can’t see him beating Dela Hoya in this matchup. Dela Hoya
is way too big and too skilled to lose to a fighter of Manny’s diminutive size. Apart from the actual
hand-to-hand combat, I can’t wait to hear Pacquiao’s post-fight interview. I watched some of the
pre-fight promo on The Score (24/7) and just listening to hardcore Filipino accent is just way too
funny! The drama regarding Manny’s trainer Roach and the Golden Boy camp is also a great
storyline. It should be a good fight and you can bet almost all of the 90 million people in the
Philippines will be watching on…
November 24, 2008
I just got back from Cancun last night. The down there was pretty good – consistently 25-28 degree
weather every day. But the brisk blowing winds added a chilly touch to the air, which had the locals
wearing sweaters, while the tourists were scattered along the beach for every bit of sunlight. Either
way, it was a great trip and I’m so fortunate that work paid for the entire thing.
It was low-season in Cancun and it was clearly evident with the amount of people that were there.
The hotel staff told me that at this time of the year, many of the hotels work together and promote
the same club depending on the day of the week. Here’s what I ended up doing:
THURSDAY – Dady O’s (www.dadyo.com.mx)
Pretty good night to start off our trip. A lot of the clubs in Cancun incorporate performances into the
night. This night had some circus-like performances, I wasn’t much of a fan.
FRIDAY – The City & Nectar (After-Hours) (www.thecitycancun.com, www.nectarbar.com)
The City is hyped as the largest nightclub in Latin America. I would’ve been more impressed if it
wasn’t for the fact that we have Guvernment here in Toronto – which is absolutely HUGE. But The
City was pretty good and its resident Hip Hop DJ is touted as the best in the country. I spent some
time in the main room before hanging out in the lounge which was home to some serious House
beats. I ended up meeting some fellow Canadians in that room and they actually had me join them
at Nectar for an after-hours party. One of the guys is a Heart Surgeon who had spent some time in
Toronto doing part of his residency. He told me the story of meeting his wife (of two weeks – one of
which was spent in Cancun) at Brant House on King Street West. What a small world! It’s an
outdoor club and I partied there until the sun came up. Ended up getting home at 7:00am.
SATURDAY – Bulldog (www.bulldogcafe.com)
I didn’t have a chance to get much sleep from partying Friday night, but made it out to Bulldog
anyway. It was like a mix of both The City and Dady O’s – with a fake rock interior and various levels
that looked down to the dance floor. This night featured a mix of hip-hop, dance and a band that
played covers of popular rock songs. One problem there was the insane amount of tables, which
is also shared with the other popular nightclubs in the city. Too many tables, not enough dance
floor.
My Thoughts on Partying in Cancun
• $40 All You Can Drink (Mexican vodka isn’t as bad as I imagined)
• No last call
• Good music
• Great Vibe - people are there to have a good time
• Too many tables!!!
I came back to Toronto roads being covered in snow and sub-zero temperatures. Talk about a
serious downer!
Not to mention I found out this morning that a skeleton crew made it out to the Fil-Act game
yesterday and we ended up losing to the Skyhawks by a single point. No JP, No JR, No Mike, No
Jeremiah, No AJ Serjue – sounds like a lot of key players. I heard that people (the other team and
whoever else was watching) were cheering like the won a championship at the end of the game. I
even heard that members from other teams (BARONS…ahem) – were congratulating our players
on the loss. WTF is that all about? Two year winning streak down the drain blah, blah, blah. If it
wasn’t for CJ “The Bear” Reyes coming to the rescue and driving James to the game, we might
have even saved face with a forfeit. Granted 25forLife had a 13-point lead going in the second half,
but we obviously didn’t have the personnel out there to close the game properly. I’ve already sent a
message to James reprimanding him on his lacklustre performance, but we really can’t let this
happen again. But I definitely owe the winning team a Tony Akins-like “CONGRATULATIONS” and
pray that we play them again in the playoffs.
Next up in Fil-Act is a December 7th showdown against the Red Barons. It should be a good one.
All I have to say is “Hold it for one.” Hahaha
November 17, 2008
Well, the 2008/2009 Fil-Act season started last weekend, highlighted by a couple re-matches of
last year’s semi-finals. Our team was pitted against an under-manned version of PNB, as they
were missing front-court stalwarts William Marasigan and prized free agent acquisition Kenny
Lopez. We were a little short-handed as well, with JP Albano, Jerome Sta. Maria and Jeremiah Sta.
Maria not in attendance. However, the scheduling gods were kind enough to give the new Malvern
Cartel team the weekend off and Jon Semira made his lone Fil-Act appearance of the season with
us (he originally verbally committed to a 10-day contract with them).
PNB came out in a 3-2 zone, which was a little tough to solve, especially given the fact that our
outside shooting was non-existent. We didn’t really solve it until mid-way through the second half,
when our defense caused some turnovers for easy baskets and we were finding the open spots
and/or man on offense. By the end of the game, we won by double-digits and James Forrester had
two crowd-pleasing dunks (not to mention a brutal missed one-hander haha).
The game after featured the Red Barons and Uncoachables (UNC). The game featured the return
of 2006 Fil-Act MVP Russell Felipe, albeit in a slimmer, more aerodynamic version – think Darryl
Chopra at the beginning of last year. UNC sported the same solid crew from last year, with the
addition of former Baron Jon Erfe. The Barons shot out to an early lead, going up 20 points. But
UNC would not give up, chipping away at the lead…eventually tying the game with a buzzer beating
lay-up by Nate Momongan. In OT, it was Erfe that had his sweet revenge – draining a 3-pointer with
one-second left.
In MPAA action, we won by a staggering 54 points over e-Racers. Not much to chat about that
game…
Not sure what’s scheduled for next week, but I won’t be here. Work’s sending me and a couple
other co-workers to Cancun for a nice little 4-day vacation. It was top-prize for a sales contest that
spanned over two months. It’ll be my first time there and I’ll be staying at the lovely 5-star RIU
Cancun (www.riucancunresorts.com). I’ll try to have some pics to post up by next Monday.
Jon heads back to the Philippines on Thursday. He’s been here for over a month and his peeps in
the PI have been wondering why he isn’t back yet. It’s been great having him around, but its time
for him to get back to his life on the other side of the world.
November 10, 2008
If you’ve read JP’s blog already, you’ll see that he’s hyped about the upcoming 2008/2009 Fil-Act
season. Unlike him, I’m luke-warm about the whole thing, as the venue – Willowood Gymnasium –
isn’t the greatest place to ball. However, this league is probably the most competitive league we
play in all year. It has the most teams and the talent is spread out over a number of teams. The
shoe-box type court acts as an equalizer (much like what we experienced in the Asian National
Championships in NYC last month) and confines the way our team plays.
We welcome JR “Instant Mismatch” Manlucu into the 25-for-Life fold, as he leaves Red Barons
and starts a new chapter in his Fil-Act career. Look for him to team up with James Forrester and
AJ Serjue to become our high-scoring front-court, with guys like JP Albano, Jerome Sta Maria and
Ryan Dawinan holding down the backcourt. Jeremiah Sta Maria and I are still on the mend, but we
will be there to contribute as necessary. Not to mention a good supporting cast that can put up big
numbers at any time.
The Red Barons re-tool by adding 25-for-Lifer Archie Navales to the squad, joining Rexdaler and
long-time friend Elvin Etcubanez. However, they say good-bye to the aforementioned JR, along with
Kenny Lopez and Jon Erfe who sought greener pastures elsewhere. With a projected starting line-
up of Adam & Phil Aglipay, Elvin Etcubanez, Russell Felipe (2006 Fil-Act MVP) and last year’s
Regular Season unofficial MVP Darryl “D-Real” Chopra, the Barons seemed primed for a
championship. Niko Carino and Alvin Maniquis have proven they too can be contributors.
JP’s picks of UNC and PNB are pretty solid, given that the two teams were in the Final Four last
year as well. But UNC gave the Red Barons all they could handle in the semifinals and PNB’s front
line of Kim Tigley and William Marisigan will only get stronger with the addition of Big Kenny. Don’t
count out Ali Nizam and Carlo Francisco and the SAINTS squad, as they always play tough,
especially with banger John Mandani in the paint.
Fil-Act is longest running Filipino basketball league in Toronto and there’s always a good amount
of hype surrounding it. Though I would hope that with the large amount of teams that they would
split it into a Tier 1 and Tier 2 setup, much like Phil-Can does. But the fact remains that 25-for-Life
remains the team to beat, as we seek to capture our third championship in a row and ninth since
the 2000 season. Is it time for us to give up the crown (it was on loan to the Barons in 2006 as they
had to beat us in OT while I was out of town on a business trip)? This season will be fun.
On the Fantasy NBA front, my RolePlayers continue to lead the 25 for Life league – sitting 11 points
ahead of James Forrester’s team. With a team of Chris Paul, Danny Granger, Paul Pierce, Caron
Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby, Pau Gasol, Shawn Marion, LaMarcus
Aldridge, Stephen Jackson, Samuel Dalembert and Andre Miller – I can tell you that AUTOPICK IS
KING haha.
Raps are now 4-2 going into a back-to-back suicide mission into Boston. The Celtics absolutely
destroyed the Pistons last night and I expect more of the same against the Raps tonight. There’s
only so much that Chris Bosh can do and you can bet that KG will put the clamps on him. For pride’
s sake, I hope that it’s the Big 3 that does the damage tonight and not the scrubs like Leon Powe,
Tony Allen and Glen Davis.
November 3, 2008
With almost a week’s worth of the 2008/2009 NBA season in the books, we have the Raps at 3-0
with the rest of the league’s cream of the crop like the LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Houston
Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. Do the Raptors (or the Hawks for that
matter) belong in the same breath as the squads? My quick answer is no – they’re not even close.
Besides a good road win against a decent Philly team, they had a tough time against a PG-less
Warriors team and an even tougher time against the Milwaukee Bucks that currently sit at 2-2.
Though they’ve shown more toughness this year (THANK-YOU JERMAINE O’NEAL), these Raps
still need to go through a major culture change. Bosh put up great numbers this week, Calderon is
nearly averaging 20-10 and JO is anchoring an increasingly stingy defence. Anthony Parker’s
dead-eye shooting is only out-done by teammate Jason Kapono (aka J-Killa), while Moon is giving
the team more than a steal and block per game. Ukic looks like another Calderon-in-training and
Bargnani is giving us more highs and lows than the Weather Channel (0pts -19pts -0pts) –
WTF?!?!?! But that’s about as far as it goes. This team lacks depth and Mitchell is still
apprehensive in giving guys like Kris Humphries and Joey Graham consistent minutes. Without
another guy or two helping out, I expect this team to flame out mid-season due to fatigue or injury.
Hot off the wire today, Allen Iverson seems to be on his way to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for
Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess. What seems like a good move for the Nuggets, as they
get the ‘true point guard’ they’ve been coveting to play alongside Carmelo – it seems like a
questionable move for Joe Dumars. In a pure basketball sense, it’ll be weird to see a shoot-first
PG run the show for Rip, Tayshaun and Rasheed. Especially for a team known for its defence, AI
will have to be play a lot more straight up D and play the passing lanes more conservatively.
Business-wise, it seems like a good gamble, as Iverson’s $20M salary will come off the books at
the end of the season and give Dumars cap space to spend on someone like the up-and-coming
Rodney Stuckey. With Mr. Big Shot running the show in Denver, I fully expect Melo to challenge for
the scoring title this year – probably even win it.
We had a game last weekend in MPAA against the kids from C-KATT. It was a tough game for
most of us because of the Halloween partying the night before, but we were still able to win pretty
handily. The best part is that I’m beginning to get a little of my explosiveness back for rebounding
and blocking shots. I hope that I continue to improve in time for Fil-Act later this month and Phil-
Can in January.
October 27, 2008
Less than 24 hours until the tip-off of the NBA regular season. Will the trio of the Celtics repeat or
will Kobe and the Lakers ride Andrew Bynum’s rehabilitated knee to the Championship? Is it time
for dark horses like the Houston Rockets or New Orleans Hornets shake up the Western
Conference hierarchy? Does the old guard of San Antonio and Detroit have another run left? What
will a full year of Nash, Amare and Shaq bring to Phoenix? Will the addition of Jermaine O’Neal be
enough to take my hometown Raps to the next level?
So many questions and a 100 some-odd games to get some answers. But with all the real ball
going on, the start of the regular season means the start of Fantasy Leagues! I’ve slowly gotten
into playing Fantasy NBA, first with playing just one league for a while, now playing in 3 leagues
with being a Commissioner for one of them. It’s so addicting. All the smack talk and high hopes
from draft day, to the cold-hard reality of finishing out of the playoffs at the end of the year. It’s a time
when NBA TV’s Rick Kamla and Mike Yam are my best friends and the GMs that deny my trade
proposals and veto trades become my sworn enemies.
Here’s a quick look at my teams:
PlayerHaters - WORK LEAGUE (11 TEAMS)
Dwayne Wade
Joe Johnson
Corey Maggette
Mike Miller
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Love
Marcus Camby
Andrew Bynum
TJ Ford
Jamario Moon
Louis Williams
Andres Nocioni
Rafer Alston
Lottery Bandits - NO FRILLS KEEPER LEAGUE (12 TEAMS)
TJ Ford
Vince Carter
OJ Mayo
Mike Dunleavy
Antawn Jamison
Drew Gooden
Al Jefferson
Andrew Bynum
Thaddeus Young
Grant Hill
DeShawn Stevenson
Gilbert Arenas
Wilson Chandler
Shaquille O’Neal
RolePlayers - 25forLife LEAGUE (6 TEAMS)
Chris Paul
Danny Granger
Paul Pierce
Shawn Marion
Dirk Nowitzki
Caron Butler
Pau Gasol
LaMarcus Aldridge
Stephen Jackson
Andre Miller
Marcus Camby
TJ Ford
Tracy McGrady
I can’t wait for tip-off!
October 20, 2008
Last week was pretty uneventful, with the hype of the Asian National Championships over and not
much basketball going on. Our biggest fears were realized, as AsianBallers.net released their
newest rankings came and a full write-up was done on the tournament.
We were spotlighted for our poor performance at the tournament:
“There were some surprises and disappointments in this tournament with Toronto 25 not
making the final four. They struggled all tournament to get things going.”
Of course, we weren’t the only ones that put on blast:
The most disappointing performance of the tournament was the play of Xiro. He played with
Yellow Fever and Bo Noung & Atif Sajid out of Atlanta. They were eliminated by TLC who just did
everything right from the tip. Xiro couldn't buy a basket in this game against TLC. After the
game a lot of people were criticizing him, saying, "He's Number 1? He's not that good!"
I only got to see Xiro play for a little bit, so it’s really hard to dissect his game. But from what I hear,
he’s a one-way player that can score in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard much about
his defense and to me the top-ranked player should be a fierce competitor on both sides of the
ball. But maybe Xiro isn’t asked to play D on his Asian teams, just score the ball. I’m not familiar
with the guy, so I can’t really make any judgements.
Here’s the newest Team Rankings:
1. Pac Rim – CA
2. Dreamleague All-Stars – NY/CA
3. Chosen Few – HI
4. Stockton Ballers – CA
5. Seattle Bladerunners – WA
6. Wooreelitech – CA
7. Arizona Desert Jade – AR
8. Tigers Blue – CA
9. Oklahoma Synergy – OK
10. San Jose Shootout – CA
11. NY Cruisers – NY
12. Teddy Bears – GA
13. NY Maximum Output – NY
14. Public Enemy – TX
15. Team United – VA
16. NY Top Guns – NY
17. Toronto 25 – Canada
18. Team Kaya – KS/TX
19. Team Fresno – CA
20. 808 Ballers – HI
NY Top Guns at #16?? That’s really questionable! We handed them our game (foul in the
backcourt was clearly a homer call) and they haven’t made any noise at all this year. What
happened to Chicago Rambonews and TLC? Though we did deserve a drop in the National
Rankings, I think too much weight is being put on the results of the AsianBallers.net tournament. I’
m still confident that if you put us on a real-size court with most of these teams, we’d be able to
come out on top.
Ah well, it giving us some fuel for next year.
BTW NBA 2K9 is tough…I’m like 12-10 with the Toronto Raptors and contemplating whether I
should switch them out haha.
October 14, 2008
Well we came back from NYC empty-handed and with our egos battered and bruised. We already
knew that this was going to be the toughest tournament of the year, but to come out with a record of
1-3 is downright embarrassing.
Team United used their size and the small court to their advantage against us in our first pool
game. We battled back from a big deficit and it came down to free-throws. We ended up losing by 6
points and were faced w/ a tough back-to-back against TLC.
Though we played a lot better against TLC, with JR getting a three-pointer to send the game into
OT, we still ended up losing by three points. It was a fun game – as we had a chance to match-up
with guys like Migs Noble, Leo Yagnacio, Champ Albano and the Clemente Brothers in a throw-
back Philcan vs. Sipag battle. If it wasn’t for some boneheaded plays, we would’ve come out on top.
We were seeded 13 out of the 15 teams in the playoffs, matched up against the undefeated 5
seed. The First Round playoff game against NY Fury was a lot more our style. We finally had a
chance to play in the real gymnasium and it gave us ample space to do play our game. Though the
game was pretty close in the first half, we pulled away in the second half with solid performances
put in by James Forrester, JP Albano and Jerome Sta. Maria. Our confidence was back up again
and hoped to play deep into Sunday.
We played the New York Top Guns in the quarterfinals. The team competes in PIBNA and the
Toronto contingent usually beats them. Unfortunately, we were in the small gym again and were in
for a tough game. Our offense was stagnant and we had to mount another furious comeback. After
a barrage of three -pointers from Phil Aglipay (2) and Jon (2), we went up one point after an And-1
play from James. Unfortunately, we were whistled for a touch foul which sent their PG to the line for
a 1-and-1. He ended up sinking both and we couldn’t get off a good shot in our final possession.
We were sent home packing with an ugly 1-3 record.
Thoughts from the weekend:
• Its damn hard to get a call from these NY refs. These guys don’t have any love for out-of-towners.
• It would’ve been a lot better if we didn’t play in the wack AUXILLARY GYM for most of the time (our
record there was 0-3).
• AsianBallers.net is a great source to get information on Asian ball from across the country, but all
team and player rankings should be taken with a grain of salt.
• Speed and skill can be neutralized by a big team on a small court.
• My ankle’s feeling around 90% now, but a left knee injury is forcing me to wear a sleeve around
my knee.
• After 36hrs of travelling and a 12hr time difference, Jon was still the best player on the court most
of the time.
• Is it time to get rid of my Hyperdunks? Record to date: 2-1 in Winnipeg / 1-1 in MPAA / 1-3 in NYC
= 4 wins and 5 losses
• Is a full-time coach necessary? Who has the commitment and the basketball IQ to take us to the
next level?
• Driving solo all the way to NYC and all the way back to Toronto is possible. Both Elvin and myself
were able to do it - 16+ hours behind the wheel!
• Are the Toronto Falcons destined to win EVERY local tournament that 25forLife isn’t involved in?
They won the Turkey Ball with Norman Penola winning MVP honours.
• Is the VOICEBOX effect going to take over hip hop and RnB? T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, TI
and Rihanna are all on the bandwagon already.
October 6, 2008
Less than a week left until the Asian National Championships in NYC. Practices have been getting
more intense for the most part and I’m working on pushing my ankle harder. Yesterday’s practice
was okay, as I was moving decently on offense, but really lacked explosiveness for rebounding
and blocking shots. I think a couple things are contributing to it, as my ankle still isn’t 100% and I’
m still being very cautious about jumping in crowds. I think most of my recovery from now on will be
mentally, as I have to rid my mind of the thoughts of injuring my ankle again. I think when we’re
matched up against the teams this weekend, I’ll be forced to not think about it and just focus on
ball.
The complete groupings, schedule and rules have been released for the tournament. We play
Team United (VA) at 9:15am and then have TLC (NY) at 10:15am with a back-to-back. Both games
should prove to be very tough as our Group E is getting the reputation of being the toughest of the
tournament. Team United is being picked by many as a Final Four team, while TLC features both
Migs Noble and Leo Yagnacio (last year’s Tournament MVP).
We’ll be playing both games in the Baruch College Auxiliary Gym which I’m not too thrilled about.
Here’s a link to what the gym looks like:
http://athletics.baruch.cuny.edu/sports/2006/1/12/ARC%20Facilities%20-%20Auxiliary%
20Gymnasium.aspx
It’s not a hardwood floor and is made of the rubber or something. I’m guessing that it must be
something similar to what U of T uses in their fieldhouse facility. But from what I hear, the other
courts in Baruch College are even smaller and won’t have the three-point line into the corner.
Kinda sucks for us, as the corner shot is pretty integral to our offense.
This will also be a busy week because I’m writing stories again for PAS (www.pasmag.com) and
have until tomorrow to complete three stories. I haven’t written in a while and worried I’ll be a little
rusty.
NBA 2K9 is being released tomorrow and I’ll be picking it up for sure. I’m going to buy it from EB
Games because they offer the insurance for $2.00. Last year, I had to return 2K8 two times to get
one that jived well with my XBOX 360.
Jon’s coming home at the end of the week and I’m pretty excited for that as well. I haven’t seen that
dude since January.
Exciting times.
September 29, 2008
Writing these blogs is getting to be pretty fun - especially when it’s recapping an eventful week like
the past seven days. Earlier this week, I had a chance to chat with Larry Chow – the man behind
the NY Maximum Output organization and the upcoming AsianBallers.net Asian National
Championships. Larry’s a passionate individual, loves basketball and most of all loves to win. We
spent some time discussing the setup of his tournament – 5 pools of 3 teams. We’re grouped with
TLC (NY/NJ) and Team United (VA) – two fellow Filipino squads.
TLC is comprised mostly of our friends from the Sipag organization. If this picture rings true to
form: they’ve got a trio of Clemente’s, Leo Yagnacio (formerly of Dabu and last year’s Tournament
MVP) and Miguel Noble (former PBAer). I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the David brothers
and that’s not to mention any of the guys we don’t know. This team has a solid group of guys. I
wouldn’t be surprised to see them go deep into the tournament.
Team United is a formidable power out of VA. Quarterbacked by 2007 FBA-NA Tournament MVP
Benny Batoon, I think that this team has a lot of the players that beat Team Houston in the FBA-NA
tournament a couple years ago (they played under the FABA of DC Metro organization). This is the
same team that called JP back in the summer about our Unity Cup tournament and asked if there
was a cash prize. When they found out that there wasn’t any money involved, they said “We only
play in tournaments of $1,000 or more”. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this team and
look forward to playing them at the tournament.
Larry’s philosophy is that basketball isn’t about having fun, building camaraderie or any of those
niceties. Winning is what he’s all about and he’s doing all he can to equip his Max Out team to win.
He said that’s very hard for a travelling team to win and has respect for teams like us that not only
travel to other places to compete, but win those tournaments as well. Sounds like he’s alluding to
the fact that some homer calls will be made for the NY/NJ teams haha.
On Saturday we had our first MPAA game. We were matched up with The Saints team that beat us
last year in our lone regular-season game. They torched us from the beginning and we were
playing catch-up the entire game. Ali Nizam made the game his own version of “The Ali (G) Show”
and Carlo Francisco lit us up for 20 points or so. The rest of their team shot around 75%, hitting Js
from every spot on the court. Despite our last minute efforts, we ended up losing by three points. It
was our second loss in a row (since Winnipeg) and it’s probably the longest winless streak I’ve
had since 1998. Basically, it was another shot to our ego that WE’RE REALLY NOT THAT NICE –
despite our success this year.
Fortunately, we had a lot of guys come out to practice yesterday. I think we’re beginning to realize
that we’re getting close to gut check time and there’s a good chance we’ll fall short. It was a good
practice though…structured like the ones we used to run in school. There were a few drills that
required a lot of sharp cuts and change of direction. They were pretty tough on my ankle and I had
to sit out. Even prolonged left-handed lay-ups caused a little bit of pain. Phil tweaked both his
ankles yesterday, while JR and Jerome were both victims of cramps. JR’s cramped two days in a
row! JP’s trying to start a rumour that Hyperdunks are the source of all our misfortunes (The
Hyperdunks have the worst winning percentage of any shoe I’ve ever worn – 2W and 2L - .500
winning pct. haha). If we can have another practice like that, we should all be on the same page
come tourney time. James is coming along well and I think he’ll have a good tournament. I’m still
operating around that 80% mark and I’ll probably get another deep tissue massage before
Thanksgiving weekend.
September 22, 2008
It’s the first day of autumn and I can’t help but have mixed feelings about the weeks coming ahead.
The AsianBallers.net National Championships are only a few weeks away (our Thanksgiving
Weekend) and though I’d like to think that the squad is ready, the truth is that we’re not – not even
close. We haven’t had a single good practice since our debacle at the FBA tournament last month
and it seems like less people are showing up for practice every week.
This week was probably the worst, as we only had a handful of guys at practice with some key
guys missed out citing hangovers and alcohol poisoning as the reason they couldn’t make it. I’m
sure you’ll see a few pics of our 25forLife fundraiser party on JP’s blog and I’m glad that we had a
great time. Much love to Jo-Anne Sta. Maria for spearheading the party with Carlos Promo – she
did an awesome job. But as much as I like to have a good time and party, we should really be
more discipline if we expect to show well and win the tournament. I can’t help but feel that we’re
getting complacent with all the press and hype we’ve been getting and it’s going to come back to
us in a bad way in this tournament. We had a similar attitude in Winnipeg and I haven’t seen any
improvement in the weeks after.
I was just doing some scouting on some of the teams we’ll be playing and came across the team
roster for NY Maximum Output. I remember seeing them last year at the AsianHoops.com ABC
Classic and they looked decent. But the Team Manager / GM Larry Chow has deep pockets and is
known to bring in talent from Hawaii to play for him. John Lane is an elite guard that’s played for
him before, but I noticed that guys like Leandro Maruoka (Brazilian / Japanese, 6’9”), Nate Brown (a
professional in Europe) and Gavin Cook (former University of Hawaii volleyball star) on the roster
as well and that makes Max Out the team to beat. San Jose Shootout, NY RL Cruisers, Dream
League East and TLC will also be very tough. We will need to be on top of our games if we plan to
come out on top. All the awards and accolades would seem pretty pointless if we flop in this
tournament.
On a sad note, we got word that Dean Labayen tore both his MCL and PCL in his knee. It was a
result of a flagrant foul in the first half of our first game against Windsor in FBA. It’s really just a sad
story, considering that Dean was making his comeback to Asian basketball and is the most
complete Filipino baller we’ve ever seen. I hope he gets well soon and the best of luck in his
rehab. He’s talking about retiring for good, but we know that there’s a lot more basketball left in
him plus he has the experience and wisdom to share with those that are still coming up.
My rehab’s going well. I picked up an ASO ankle brace last Saturday and was able to get a couple
runs in on Sunday. The brace is really good and provides support just where I need it. According to
my research, it’s the best brace out there that mimics actual athletic taping thanks to its ‘figure 8’
straps. I would suggest it to anyone that has ankle problems. I’m almost dunking again…I should
be throwing it down again by next week’s practice.
September 15, 2008
We’re officially in the middle of September and even though the loss to Winnipeg still stings, our
focus is totally on the AsianBallers.net National Championships next month. We had our first
practice yesterday but it was short-handed. I came through to shoot around and even laced up. I
ran around a bit and took a few jump shot – my guess is that my ankle’s around 70%. There’s still
significant swelling and its causing pain when I run and landing. Its easy to jump…its just the
landing that hurts. I’m currently online looking for a good ankle brace actually, I’ve got to order one
soon so it arrives in time for the tournament.
The big news is that AsianBallers.net came out with their yearly awards yesterday. Toronto 25 for
Life won a couple awards (you’ll find the same stuff on JP’s blog entry for today):
Team of the Year - Toronto 25 for Life
This team has come out of nowhere and has dominated the scene where ever they go. They have
set a record with 5 tournament championships this year! We look for more great things from this
team in the future. Great job guys!
Rookie Team of the Year - Toronto 25 for Life
They are the team of the year. They just showed up on our radar. So it was an easy choice.
The 2008 All-Asian Team
Guard - John Lane (Chosen Few, Hawaii)
Guard - Xiro Navaulath (NSFaded, Minnesota)
Forward - Mike Semira (Toronto 25 for Life, Canada)
Forward - Ryan Boado (Team Houston, Texas)
Center - Robert Reyes (Team Jacksonville, Florida)
The All-Asian Team selection was a big surprise for me. JP and I sent an email to Bo Noung (the
webmaster of AsianBallers.net) showcasing some of the players on our team that deserve some
love and I’m guessing that he selected someone based on the info we gave him. I figured that
maybe JP or James would be selected, with their recent run of MVPs and all, but I guess Bo
thought otherwise. Personally, I had decent year – earning 2 All-Tournament Team awards
(CCYAA Identify Yourself and Unity Cup) – so maybe the award isn’t a total long-shot. Either way, it’
s cool to get some recognition – even though I think there are other players on the team that
deserved it more. I just hope that we can live up to the hype in NY because a lot of eyes will be on
us.
In other news, I picked up the Blackberry Bold last Saturday and it’s pretty awesome. I really need it
for work and I’m banking that it will help with my productivity. Essentially, it’s my ‘leash’ to the office
so I can be contacted at all times. There are way too many features to talk about, but I love the
screen. It’s definitely the best screen I’ve seen on a phone (including the iPhone), it’s just a pity
that it’s small.
Our jam is set for Kai Lounge on Saturday and I hope it’ll be good. With $2.00 drinks all nite, $100
bottles and DJ P-Plus spinning, the party definitely has the potential to be really good.
September 9, 2008
Its been over a week since our loss to Winnipeg in the FBA-NA tournament and our loss in the
Finals is still a tough pill to swallow. It was hard enough that both Dean and I couldn't even finish
the first game, but to watch our team falter against a team they beat by 17 points the day before
was like cruel punishment. I guess my 18-year ironman streak had to end some time (I've been
playing organized ball since I was 10, never missing a game due to injury), but they say all good
things must come to an end. I was on crutches for about four days - I could've stayed on them but
they became such a nuisance. I'm not sure what Dean's crutch status is, but the early word is a
tear (not a complete tear) of his MCL and possible ACL damage. The 'Chosen One' is out 3 to 4
months, which will give him more bench time to help coach us and implement our new (more
organized) defensive schemes.
But as I was telling the guys in our Ab-ORIGINAL meeting after the tourney loss, we'll probably
learn more from this loss than if we actually won. We've been winning alot over the past 24
months, with less than a handful of losses on our record. Heck, we've only lost twice in 2008 and
have taken home Championships from 5 different tournaments and two league titles. Winning has
become our culture and a devastating loss like this is definitely what we need to use as a reality
check - especially for our younger guys.
The AsianBallers.net Asian National Championships (www.nymaximumoutput.com) are next
month and by the looks of it alot of competitive teams will be there. Personally, I'd like to see how
we fare against teams like Arizona Desert Jade and Maximum Output - teams that have size. Even
with me at 80-85%, I think that this will be one of the best teams we'll be fielding all year. Losing
Dean is a big blow but we may have a couple additions that can definitely help us. I'm also amped
to see teams from California, those guys play a different brand of ball and I'm sure they're
expecting to stomp on everyone. A possible JP Albano vs. John Lane (Maximum Output) match-up
would also be very interesting to see and hopefully the bracket gods will allow this to happen.
Anyway, I'm doing more rehab tonight and I should be able to do some light jogging by the end of
next week. I'll definitely need to invest in some ankle guards though...
Mike Semira's Blog
