Goodbye Larry, Hello Eddie.

Hi Powerade fans, it's less than 3 weeks away from the start of the 36th season of the PBA. Are you guys excited already? Cause I sure am!

Powerade's season debut will be on October 6, 5pm,  against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Yep, the same team that has been a scourge for the Tigers this past season, eliminating Coke in a do-or-die wildcard match in both conferences.

The Powerade Tigers isn't finished retooling yet, as they engaged into yet another deal. This time sending workhorse forward Larry Rodriguez to Rain or Shine in exchange for veteran Eddie Laure and Rain or Shine's 1st round pick in next year.

Wow! This is actually the first time I've seen the Tigers acquire a 1st round pick in a trade deal! We all know that most of the time, it is us that have been giving away1st rounders to other teams. This is a nice improvement.

Well, personally, I hate to see Rodriguez go. I became a fan when I saw his performance in last season's Philippine Cup. He is a bit undersized for a power forward, but he sure knows how to pick his spots and he's got a pretty decent offensive game. He averaged about 10 points and 7 rebounds while starting for the Tigers. Unfortunately, the team rarely played him in the 2nd conference.

Eddie Laure, on the other hand, is another undersized power forward, standing at 6'3''. While L-Rod is an inside operator, Laure is more of a perimeter player. He can hit mid-range jumpers and his range extends way up to the 3 point line. There is a chance that he will be playing mainly as a small forward in Powerade, and could compete with rookie Sean Anthony for a starting spot. The only downside though, is that Laure is already 33 years old (6 years older than Larry), and he'll be joining forces with a 37 year-old Asi and a 36 year-old Espino in the frontline. Yikes!

This would've been a really bad trade if not for the 2011 1st round pick that Powerade acquired as part of the deal. Powerade now has 2 first round picks next year, including their own. This is good, since we could be seeing an influx of fil-fors and local talents in next year's draft.

So for next season, not only will I be rooting for Powerade, but I will be rooting against Rain or Shine as well, and hope that they end up in the cellar to give us a better position in next year's draft. Haha!


Roar out!

Rookie Initiation? You tell me.

I am just an ordinary fan, and I find coach Bo's ways really hard to comprehend.

Just 2 days after the Tigers acquired fil-canadian cager Sean Anthony on draft day, coach Bo is already talking about his willingness to trade Sean.

Well, the story was that the Barangay Ginebra Kings was rumored to have offered a package of players possibly including Celino Cruz, Sunday Salavacion and Junthy Valenzuela to Powerade in exchange for the 6'4'' forward Anthony. Coach Bo immediately denied that such offer was made and that he wasn't interested in any of those players offered. Good.

But..

...coach Bo made an informal counter-offer that he would be willing to give up Anthony for Ginebra's JC Intal.

Oh C'mon.

Sean Anthony hasn't even played a single game yet and here comes coach Bo saying that he's willing to trade him. Reality check, I've got nothing against Intal but Sean Anthony is younger, bigger, a better defender, and more versatile (capable of playing the 2, 3, and 4 spot while Intal is a 2-3 swingman).

Well, fortunately (for us fans), Ginebra didn't bite and Anthony is reportedly set to sign a contract with Powerade.

End of story? hell no! there's more!

Barangay Ginebra recently released 3 guys from their platoon of guards, namely Sunday Salvacion, Junthy Valenzuela, and Celino Cruz (yep! exactly the same set of guys that was reportedly offered to Powerade for Anthony. Very sneaky.. Ginebra).

Now, according to Snow Badua, a well-loved sports reporter and insider, coach Bo was interested in Celino Cruz after all, but found it unfortunate that they already signed the rookie Jai Reyes. 

WHAT THE HECK?!? (trying real hard not to curse here).

Wow. Do you really have to say that Bo? Jai probably wouldn't be happy to hear that he would have been displaced had Celino Cruz been available earlier. Coach Bo could have simply said that "We would love to have Celino, but our roster is already full". Period. No need to mention the rookie guard. Or better, he could have said "We would love to have Celino, but Paolo Mendoza is still under contract".. hah!!

So in only a week's time after acquiring his rookies, coach Bo already managed to dangle Sean Anthony's name in trade talks and then implied, albeit subtle, that he would have had Celino Cruz instead if Jai Reyes wasn't signed yet. Not really the best way to build-up your rookies' confidence is it?

Then again, could this be coach Bo's way of "initiating" his rookies into the business? How will I to know? I'm just an ordinary fan trying really hard to comprehend coach Bo's ways.




Roar Out.

Anthony's Game defined by Hard Work

"It's another step. If I've learned anything, it's that you can never settle, once you think you're at the top of your game, there's always another level to get to. A lot of it [comes down to] hard work." ~ Sean Anthony

While a lot of basketball players have become stars because of pure talent, for Powerade rookie Sean Anthony, it's all about hard work. And it was through hard work that Anthony was able to turn into a basketball star at McGill University.

Sean Anthony, 24, is actually a nephew of President Noynoy Aquino. He decided to take his talents to the Philippines after playing college basketball in Canada. During the week-long rookie camp, Anthony impressed several scouts and coaches because of his tenacity and hustle despite having to wear a mask because of a broken nose. Mock drafts had him rated to as high as the 3rd over-all pick. On draft day, the Air21 Express used their 6th over-all pick to draft Anthony. Anthony was subsequently traded to the Powerade Tigers, a team that could really use a strong and athletic forward like him. 

When the Coca-Cola Tigers won 2 championships and had 4 finals appearances during its first 2 years in the league, a vital piece in the line-up was Rudy Hatfield, a 6'4'' workhorse forward. Nicknamed "the H-Bomb", Hatfield brought toughness to the Tigers despite playing as an undersized power forward. When Hatfield left Coke, the Tigers never made it to the semis again. 

Will Sean Anthony be the new Rudy Hatfield?

In his first practice with the Powerade Tigers, coach Bo Perasol was immediately impressed by the young cager.


"Hindi naman automatic na magiging PBA star because offensively, medyo hindi pa skillful at hindi pa masyadong malayo ang range," Perasol said.

"But he is a good defender, a hard worker. What’s more, maganda ang attitude at iyun ang pinaka-importante. Kapag willing mag-trabaho, siguradong mag-i-improve talaga."

It only took one practice session for Anthony to show his ultimate weapon, hard work. And with the attitude he's showing, there's little doubt that he's got what it takes to bring the wounded Tigers back to basketball glory.






Roar Out.