GlobalPort: Previews and Predictions

As the 39th season of the Philippine Basketball Association draws near, let's take a look at the changes that GlobalPort Batang Pier have underwent and try to assess our chances for the upcoming conference.

GlobalPort will miss El Granada's production.

ROSTER CHANGES:

Additions:
- Terrence Romeo
- RR Garcia
- Nico Salva
- Justin Chua*
- LA Revilla*
- Jopher Custodio*
- Enrico Villanueva
- Leo Najorda
- Eric Menk
(* - yet to be signed.)

Subtractions:
- Yousef Taha
- Gary David
- AJ Mandani
- Willie Miller
- Hans Thiele
- Bryan Faundo

Holdovers:
- Sol Mercado
- Rudy Lingganay
- Jondan Salvador
- Jay Washington
- Jaypee Belencion
- Marvin Hayes
- Mark Yee
- Chad Alonzo
- JR Buensuceso
- Kelly Nabong

Quick Analysis:
We lost our best player, Gary David, but we got a few talented youngsters through the draft. The team just got significantly younger. Miller's production is replaceable, though we'll miss Taha's tenacity and energy.  Villanueva, Menk, and Najorda are all tested veterans with multiple championships between them.  I doubt Revilla and Custodio's chances with making it to the team, given our logjam at the guard spots.

The Sol-Train looks to take on the scoring cudgels.

PROJECTED ROTATION: 

PG - Garcia / Lingganay / Buensuceso
SG - Mercado / Romeo / Belencion
SF - Salva / Najorda / Hayes
PF - Washington / Salvador / Chua
C - Villanueva / Menk / Nabong

STAT LEADER PREDICTIONS:

Leading Scorer:  Sol Mercado.

With Gary out of the picture, Sol undoubtly becomes the team's leader. He's also expected to shoulder more offensive load, resulting in an increase in field goal attempts.  Depending on Garcia's progress and Romeo's ability to play point, we may see Sol slide to the 2 spot to focus more on scoring.

Leading Rebounder: Jay Washington.

Jay Washington had a resurgence in his career last conference, and he showed that he still is a very effective player, capable of contributing in multiple areas. His 13 points per game average will likely increase as a result of Gary's departure, though it will be his rebounding prowess that will be huge for this team.  He led the team locals in that department last conference, averaging close to 10 rebounds per game.

Assists Leader:  Sol Mercado.

I wanted to go out on a limb and say that rookie RR Garcia will lead this department, but there is still uncertainty on the minutes and how big of a role RR will have in his first year. Sol is the current league-leader in assists, and even though he'll be tasked to score more, he will still be handling majority of playmaking responsibilities, at least until the rookies prove themselves to be ready.

Major Pain is ready for one last ride.

Best Post Defender:  Eric Menk.

Menk may be nearing 40, but you can never tell by the way he looks physically.  He may have lost some of his athleticism, but he's still strong enough to hold his own down the paint.

Top Bench Scorer:  Terrence Romeo.

This really depends on whoever between Terrence and RR will start, though I think it will be Garcia since his game seems to be more PBA-ready.  In that case, Romeo will serve as the sparkplug off the bench, which also means more scoring opportunities for him.

ENDNOTE:

The team is entering a new era of basketball post-Gary David, and a lot of the team's success lies on how quickly our decorated rookies develop.  While we will certainly miss David's scoring, we can expect a more balanced team with more offensive weapons.  The acquisition of veteran big men will try to assume this team's defensive identity.

This is a team that just underwent a major overhaul, so it may take some time to develop chemistry, as with integration of the rookies into the team's system and the physicality of the big league in general.   Nonetheless, it's going to be one exciting season, folks.

Roar out.