Kia appoints Manny Pacquiao as Head Coach and what should KIA's nickname in the PBA

Wow! The pambansang kamao has really transformed himself from a one dimensional brawler he became a world champion then became an all-time great then he became a governor then a congressman and now a PBA coach.  The KIA franchise of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has just named him as their inaugural coach. Manny Pacquiao will be the coach of a team composed of discards and rookies next season. 

A lot of fans are not happy with the decision.  Many felt that they are more suitable than him as the head coach of Team KIA. What does KIA have to lose in hiring Pacquiao? Nothing, I guess, because next season the new teams in the PBA like KIA, Blackwater and possibly, NLEX will be getting scraps as players.  They are not expected to contend for a championship as the old PBA teams would not allow them to directly hire rookies. Not even one. Unlike when Tanduay, Red Bull or Rain or Shine joined the league, they were allowed to bring in the top non-professional basketball players. Don't expect these teams to reach the final 4 unless some freak trades happen. 

KIA who happens to have no nickname yet has everything to gain with this stunt. Pacquiao has several assistants anyway.  Who is the head coach of San Miguel Beer? Isn't the Beermen ran by a coaching consultant instead of a head coach?  Head Coach in the PBA can just be title just like a Chairman of the Board of some companies.  Pacquiao will probably look cute wearing a coat and tie or barony while shouting or cheering his KIA boys to score.  I hope he develops a temper like Yeng Guiao and start shouting some Visayan invectives to players or challenge opponents and referees to a fistfight.  I am sure no referee will try to mess around when KIA is playing. 

So if you were to name the KIA team, what should be the perfect nickname? Kings are taken by Ginebra already.  Kamao is the nickname that the Pacman is pushing for. They could be Kidlat but Meralco are the Bolts. Maybe Kangkong for they will probably spend most of the season at the cellar of kangkongan. Kalabasa? They can name it after of their brands like KIA Carnival because their team and season will be like a carnival so many interesting sites to see. They can name it after car parts like Pistons -- although they will be like that militant jeepney drivers association, Turbo -- Shell used it before, Tambutso, Radiator, Alternator or Side Mirror? If you have thought of a nice name, KIA has actually a contest to name their name.  The person behind the best 5 names will win a trip to NBA game.  Nice prize! It could attract many Filipinos who wants to be TNT to try to name the KIA team. Go, go, go before your unique name will be entered by someone else. 

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What is Barako Bull up to?

Barako Bull has a notorious reputation among die hard PBA fans. Some fans brand them as a farm team of the rich clubs like Petron and Talk 'n Text. They seem to hate their first round picks that they usually trade it to other teams even months before the draft. Gone are the days when the club was known for its fighting spirit and toughness.

I was a big fan back when Yeng Guiao was at the helm. I enjoyed the spunk of Jimwell Torion and Junthy Valenzuela. So much has changed after the franchise was taken over by the Lina Group. From being contenders, they are now pretenders. They pretend to be a PBA team. I don't what they are up to.

Before the 2013 draft, the team had a good thing going. They reached the quarterfinal round in the recent Governor's Xup, they have a good coach in Rajko Toroman, and they had three picks in the first round of the draft. What happened next would have even the most faithful fans shaking their heads. The coach was fired and all three picks were traded. Are they effing serious?

Here are some moves that could help them salvage their season:

1. Hire a fresh grad to be their team manager. Even casual fans could probably make a better team than the current management who probably have MBAs from prestigious universities.

2. Make a mini tourney over the weekend with the team playing against dleague teams and DLSU. They should show fans that they can beat those teams.

3. Just get UP alums like Woody Co, Mike Silungan, Alvin Padilla, Mark Lopez and Magi Sison. Get Ricky Dandan as coach. At least they are used to having 0 to 2 wins per season.

4. Offer a 5 million peso bonus to all players if they reach the final 4 in any conference. That could make players think about winning.

5. So that PBA will not be mad, the team will only get its revenue share if they win the game. By doing this, they can earn some credibility.

Links:

Barako Trades Draft Picks

2013 PBA Draft Results

Kraken did very well in his first PBA Finals appearance

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UAAP say hello to protectionism with the Jerie Pingoy rule

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines has approved a new rule of making players who transferred from one UAAP high school team to a rival UAAP team sit out for 2 years before playing in his new team.  The rule was rumored to be triggered by the apparent interest of two-time UAAP Juniors MVP Jerie Pingoy of FEU to play for the 6-peat seeking Ateneo de Manila University.

The UAAP created the new rule to protect the treasured basketball programs of many of its member schools.  Hello protectionism and goodbye choice! What is next? The PBA only allowing teams to draft players from their D-league affiliates?  The rivalries in the college-level is now so stiff that players as early as 13 should decide what college should they play for. Wow. It's amazing.

It is now like UAAP is making players sign an unwritten contract that makes players as properties of schools. Maybe next year, they will allow schools to trade rights of certain players in exchange for other players. This is the problem with the Philippine school system.  The college game is so unregulated that we do not know what are these players are getting in exchange for their services.  The UAAP is in away bigger than the PBA as teams could sign as many as 30 players in a given year. The rivalries are more heated and the team owners and sponsors rival that of PBA team owners. SM has team in the UAAP. So does the MVP group. There were even talks that there are betting in UAAP games. It is understandable the schools will protect their interests and their prized possessions. 

The rich schools can recruit as many student-athletes as they can afford.  There are players languishing in Team B's who could have starred in other UAAP schools like UP. Why can't UAAP limit the number of players that schools can protect? It's like in the NFL, teams cannot franchise all of its free agents. The new rule now also applies to lesser known players who aren't even in the college plans of their UAAP schools. Not all schools can wait for 2 years and not all players can sit for 2 years and continue to develop.

I guess the NCAA is so happy with the new rule and they could probably see an influx of UAAP Jr. talents to their ranks in the coming years. Call it karma as the UAAP has been poaching the talents of many NCAA schools (especially San Beda) for years.  If I have a son who can be the next Michael Jordan, I will probably enroll him in an NCAA or a CESAFI school so that when the time comes, he will have many options and not be hindered by the Jerie Pingoy rule. ;)

Links:

UAAP approves Jerie Pingoy Rule

Petronovela: Renaldo Balkman out of the PBA

One of the main stars of this conference's Petronovela Renaldo Balkman is "banned for life" in the PBA. His sentence was handed Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Atty. Chito Salud.  Salud not only banished him from the league but he was also fined 250,000 pesos. Wow, that's a over year's salary for an average Juan de la Cruz.

The drama at Peron continues as many die-hard fans felt that PBB's (Petron Blaze Boosters) "telenovela" is hindering the ascent of the team. Last conference, they had a coaching drama leading them to almost at the bottom of the standings after being touted to be one of the strongest teams on paper. This conference after a great start, one of their leading men chocked a fellow leading man causing the producer (commish) to implement a harsh punishment.  The show was supposed to be rated PG but what Balkman and company did rivaled the unknown stars of "face to face" or "personalan".  After seeing the video of what happened last friday, many sarcastic fans were reminded of Claudine Barretto vs. Mon  Tulfo. 

Slowly but surely the PBA is evolving into a mini-teleserye.  TV5 even interviewed Balkman a few days after the incident which was handled like Boy Abunda or Lolit Solis interviewing a movie star.  By the rate they are going, the PBA could soon dislodge Ina, Anak, Kapatid as the top telenovela in the country. 

The PBA could use the incident to evolve into like WWE.  They could probably add chairs and blood to increase the ratings further. Next would come costumes since they already have nicknames like Kracken, Ninja, Spark, Lieutenant, Captain Hook, and Extra Rice Inc.  With the incident garnering over a million hits already , the PBA somehow became viral.  Bad publicity is still publicity.  

As for Petron, they are now looking for a new leading man.  If you want to audition the requirements would be you must be over 6-8 in height, choir boy looks and manners, no tattoos, and the type who would hug teammates instead of pushing them away.  If you qualify or if you know someone you can act as his manager and make tons of money.

Links:

Balkman gets banned for life

Philippines in the 2012 World Chess Olympiad

While most Filipino sports fan are on looking for news about the Azkals and basketball, a Philippine team is currently beating the world's top teams in .... Chess. Maybe some of our officials, do not consider this as a sport but at least the team led by veteran Eugene Torre is showing that Filipinos can be world beaters.  It is funny though very few of our local media outlets write about the exploits of our chess grandmasters. Maybe, they will start writing about them tomorrow as the Philippines just beat 11th seeded England to remain the top 10 in this year's Olympiad.   The Olympiad is only held every two years and our country is seeded 35th in this year's edition.  In which sport do we have a Philippine team that is in top 40 of world rankings?  Only Chess, not basketball and definitely not football.  While pundits are happy with our 150th ranking in FIFA, nobody is even bothering to write about out top 10 placing in the Olympiad after Round 7. Many are disappointed with the 0-0 result of the Azkals against Cambodia, only few enthusiasts know that the Pinoys won 3-1 over England in the Olympiad.  Will we just bask in mediocrity? When will we start giving credit and funds to the right endeavor? ;)

Do you know Eskrima Kali Arnis?

Eskrima? Kali Arnis? Have you ever heard about this? Arnis is actually the national sport in the country. It is not basketball, football, boxing or billiards. Did you know that there is such a thing as the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF)? The WEKAF recently held a world championship for this martial arts discipline in Cebu. The over-all champion is the Philippines but only very few people were able to witness the event.

While students were sometimes required to watch their college teams in collegiate basketball tournaments, I never saw any students required to at least support the Philippine team in their quest for a "world championship". The sport should be propagated to the local level. Philip Juico even mentioned that the sport is gaining more popularity abroad than locally.  It is hard to fathom that only a few filipinos know how to use those sticks.

With the implementation of the K+12 program, I think Arnis could be a good required subject for PE classes. It is time for the government to create more awareness about this sport.  Here some other good ideas to promote the sport:

1. Sponsor a telenovela that will have a protagonist who is proficient in Arnis. Just imagine Coco Martin with double sticks giving some punishment to some villains.

2. In the May 2013, a senatorial candidate could make a commercial that he is going to destroy corruption and other social evils using an Arnis stick. Imagine Migz Zubiri showing his stick fighting skills in a campaign commercial.

3. Have a new reality show about arnis where the winner gets 1 million pesos.  People earn more by just staying at a house for 100 days or an island in 40 days. Why not make a show that has  a better cultural relevance like an arnis show. Calling channel 5!

4. Look for a handsome Fil-Am to be the next arnis star athlete and spokesperson. Football have the Younghusbands.   Rugby has some cute "Volcanoes". Time to seek a new sports hero. 

5. Invite actors to take on the sport. Derek Ramsey has frisbee. Goma had rowing and fencing. A few are taking on running and triathlon. Imagine the image reinvention if Piolo Pascual will represent the Philippines in the 2014 World Championships in Hungary.

How about you? Do you have any smart ideas on promoting the sport?

Links:

Zuburi vows to promote Arnis

2012 WEKAF: Philippines bags overall crown

Arnis is Philippines National sport

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• We Filipinos can claim 'arnis' as our own
• What is Arnis?

Philippines and the 2012 Olympics

Here are this year's Philippine Olympic team:

Athlete	Gender	Sport	Event
Mark Javier	M	Archery	Men's Individual
Rachel Cabral	W	Archery	Women's Individual
Rene Herrrera	M	Athletics	3000 m Steeplechase
Marestella Torres	W	Athletics	Long Jump
Mark Barriga	M	Boxing	LIghtflyweight
Daniel Caluag	M	Cycling	Men's BMX
Tomohiko Hoshina	M	Judo	Men's +100 kg.
Brian Rosario	M	Shooting	Skeet
Jessie Khing Lacuna	M	Swimming	200 m freestyle
Jasmine Alkhaldi	W	Swimming	100 m freestyle
Hidilyn Diaz	W	Weightlifting	Women's -58 kg

The Olympic hopes of the Philippines are in the shoulders of the 11 who luckily made it to the 2012 Olympics. Well, the Philippines have been shut out in the last 3 Olympics. The last medal that we earned was Onyok Velasco's silver in 1996.  That has been 16 years already. 

The new generation knows Onyok as Manny Pacquiao's sidekick in GMA 7 shows.  They would probably never believe when I will say that he is an olympic silver medallist. What are our chances this year? Probably very low just like the last 3 editions. 

In the past our best sports were boxing and taekwondo.  Do you know, how many boxers and jins that made it to London. Only one. Mark Barriga qualified to the Olympics not by winning the World Championship but as a lucky loser. He was lucky that the one who eliminated him won the Gold. 

What has happened to our sports program? Did we sink so low that nobody even cares about the Olympics. Are we too star struck with our newly football stars that we forgot other sports? Are we still dreaming an Olympic basketball gold?  We have 95 million Filipinos and we cannot even win one Olympic gold medal. Times are tough, gone are the days that we send a real contingent to the Olympics. Now we are just sending a very small squad. Lean and mean...more of really lean.

Hopefully, these 11 Filipino Olympians will prove me wrong and win some medals.  I want them surprise us in London so that the Olympic spirit will be rekindled in the country.  I would be embarrassed though if I see more junketeers going to London than the 11 athletes. I do not mind to see referees and sports officials but if our taxes are made to be for people who are just their for a "free" ride then I'd rather see them at least compete their or shout their hearts out for our athletes and not those stars from other countries.

Go Pinas!! Surprise us....please.