JuneMar Fajardo, Who is this guy?

"And the  Number one overall pick for the Petron Blaze Boosters and the 2012 rookie draft is.... JuneMar fajardo" 

Back then during the draft I don't know who JuneMar Fajardo is, all I know is that he came from the University of Cebu and he is 6'10 in height. while I am watching the draft the commentators said that he will be a dominant big guy in the future. well at first I don't know why he can be a dominant player (Because I seldom watch college basketball) 

At the start of the conference (which is the Philippine Cup) I don't feel the presence of Junemar Fajardo, I was like "Is this the 1st round pick? I think petron wasted the pick" but still I waited again for the "releasing of the Kraken". At the commissioners Cup he is quite improving his game, Maybe because of Confidence because this is the 2nd conference. but he is only getting limited minutes because the Conference is Bannered by unlimited height imports and he is only being used as a substitute. also at that time Petron is having a hard time on rotating the players (too many star players I think). But at that time I had this gut feeling that the Kraken is about to be released but maybe not for that conference.

and that gut feeling is likely turning into a reality when he was offered by coach chot reyes to be part of the Gilas Pool. he became part of the Gilas and they competed in the FIBA Asia Championship where they finished 2nd place. After his stint in Gilas I felt that time that he improved already because there is a lot of big men teaching him in the Gilas Program. 

Governors Cup came and Petron had a major reshuffle: Change of Coach and a lost of player like Alex Mallari and Jay Washington. now this time I'm sure that he'll get a lot of minutes because his height might be an advantage in this conference.

And I'm not mistaken, he dominated the boards the whole conference he is putting up 10+ rebounds per game for petron and at that time petron is cruising. they are the number 1 team. until they've reached the playoffs, Junemar fajardo has been BIG for Petron in the Playoff run and until now in the finals.

After watching his game during the playoffs and Game 1-5 of the finals there is one thing for sure that I regret; and that is the moment that I said that the 1st round pick has gone to waste. Right now I would like to agree to other people say that he might be one of the future of Philippine basketball and all I know that this guy is a kind hearted and humble guy which truly deserves praises from people. 

A guy who is dominant inside the basketball court, A man with a Kind heart and have a nice attitude and A product of Cebu. He is JuneMar Fajardo.

No more Petronovela?

Petron finishes the Elimination round with a 8-1 standing and this is what the fans and the people are expecting to Petron, To start strong and also finish strong. How could they not be strong enough they just have many role players in the team like Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, JuneMar Fajardo, Doug Kramer (Which they got from a trade in Barako Bull at the middle part of the conference) and bannered by their Import Elijah Millsap who is the brother of the NBA player Paul Millsap. 

At first people thought that Petron is still the same team who plays selfish basketball and only cares about the individual stats. They lost their debut game against Meralco but after the loss on Meralco they've been cruising on with a 8-win streak to end the Elimination round with a 8-1 record. After that 8-win streak, many now recognizes the deep talent of the Petron Blaze Boosters. They also don't play selfish basketball now, Maybe because of the coming of their new coach; Coach Gee Abanilla the former coach of the La Salle Green Archers. 

Coach Gee was offered by the Petron Management to leave La salle and coach for the team. By the looks of it, Petron did not regret on hiring Abanilla as their head coach. He turned things around for Petron, he let the players know their roles and he thought them on how to play team basketball. 

Chico Lanete is also one of the Petron's Revelation. Lanete was just a bench player of who is just getting little amount of minutes. But with the coming of Coach Gee, He used Lanete as a substitute of their Star point guard Alex Cabagnot and he really used that opportunity let them know that he is still the old chico lanete we knew during the red bull days. Lanete did not let down his team, he is now playing great for petron and sometimes he is one of the starting 5 of the team. 

This team is a lot of things happening around them, maybe that's why there was a Petronovela formed or called, but right now I would not say this is not the end of Petronovela but I think this is the part where the Protagonist has surpassed all of the challenges given to him by the author or Just like the movies of the great FPJ where at first he gets beaten up by his opponent but in the end he still have the last laugh.

Manila Clasico why is it a classic?

What is Manila Clasico? Do you even know what this means? well yeah if you interpret the word it means "Manila Classic". But why is it called Manila Clasico? is this a some form of event in the Philippines?

No. Manila Clasico is just a event in the PBA where the Purefoods franchise and Ginebra franchise will have their game set on the day. but what makes these games special? For me I don't know what is the root of this basketball event they call Manila Clasico. But from what I've heard, it started in the 80's or 90's where Purefoods (Now San Mig Coffee) and Anejo (Now Barangay Ginebra kings) will have their games set. and why it is called Manila Clasico because every game, they always makes the crowd go wild because of the intensity of the game. not also to forget the die hard fans inside and outside of the arena. 

Not to mention that Purefoods and Ginebra has so many fans (Which adds the intensity of the event). But there is this feeling when you watch their games, as my own experience as a Ginebra fan, this Manila Clasico games just brings the chills in my bones and whenever I'm watching these two teams play the intensity is very very different. Funny to think that these two teams are sister team but they are making one hell of a rival match together. 

Manila Clasico would not be called "Clasico" or Classic just because of the two teams. but also with the players involved in the teams. Back then there was a Alvin patrimonio-Jaworski rivalry which ignited the fans to watch the games back then. even though it is the moonlight years of Jaworski, fans really do enjoyed watching them go against each other. today we have Caguioa-Yap rivalry which really gained a huge amount of interest not just to the fans but also to the people watching the PBA. These two are one of the Huge names in the PBA at present. fans are always arguing with their counterparts that their "Star" player is the most skillful player in the PBA right now. No wonder it's always the talk of the town before the game starts. 

"Mas Magaling si Caguioa no! walang wala yan kay James Yap!", "Sus Mas magaling at mas Pogi naman si James Yap kaysa kay Caguioa!" "Mas marami kaming fans kaysa sa inyo" "Mas marami naman kaming mga poging players kaysa sa inyo". These are some of the lines that fans are always saying before the game, I think the fans also brings the intensity or the life of this event. without them I think this match-up between the two sister team will just be a ordinary game. 

So yeah I think there are many reasons why this event is called "Manila Clasico". As a avid basketball fan especially the PBA I really can't explain the feeling during watching their games. but for sure these games are called classic because they are different from other games. these are the games when winning is the most sweetest thing happened and losing is the most painful one. I have been a witness on how to be the "happiest" fan and the most "devastated" fan during this event. that's why I would say that every game of Manila Clasico, is sure to be a Classic!

10 teams is not enough

Maierhofer sitting down the bench, Yeo not even getting a taste of a minute in Petron and etc. these players are not just ordinary players who were just drafted in the PBA. They are college superstars back in their days, Maierhofer brought La Salle a title in the UAAP alongside Yeo which is their go-to-guy when they needed a score. 

Today, where can you see these guys? are they playing Huge minutes like they did in college or their prime years in the PBA? Is their talents being used and exposed properly? 

They can't get the minutes they are getting during their prime years in the PBA or during their college years. The problem is that their are so many talents in every team but their is also a lack of team to let this talents be exposed.

I suggest that PBA should add 3 or 5 more teams to the league. Because there are so many talents in the Philippines and they are just waiting to be exposed, but how can you expose the talents when the opportunity is little? So I guess adding teams in the PBA would be a beneficial factor not just in the league but also for Philippine basketball as well. 
Yes when PBA will approve this idea they will think for a new schedule, events etc. but think of it when you add teams in the PBA this would be a big opportunity for other players for them to expose this talent. Draftees will now have bigger opportunity to enter a PBA team and the Benchwarmers in other PBA teams will also have a chance to play more minutes. Also if this happens our national team pool will now have a broader choice of players. 

See this is a win-win situation not just to the PBA or to the National team but also to those aspiring players who can make a change in the Philippine Basketball. for the likes of Yeo and Maierhofer, this would be a bright light at the end of the tunnel because this would a opportunity for them to shine again and show the other people that they still got it.

As we enter the era of change, why don't we also change some things in the PBA that we are used to? I see no negative things about this change in fact this is a big plus for us. so my stand here is to add more teams to the PBA so that there would be a opportunity to other aspirants to make a change in the Philippine basketball. Remember stars are born or reborn when there are opportunity.

FIBA: Iran Crushed Malaysia

The FIBA Asia Championships opened with Iran vs. Malaysia. Game started at 11 am in the MOA Arena and Iran Finished the game on a 115-25 Winning note.

At the start of the quarter Hadadi Unleashed a quick 5-0 run on the Malaysia squad and the Iranian squad continued the run and held Malaysia in just 3 points in the 1st Quarter. The Huge run continues at the 2nd Quarter and Iran has established a 58-13 lead.

But the nightmare for Malaysia did not stop, Iran still continued it's hot start in the 2nd half and Malaysia wasn't able to establish its ground and the Iranian Squad crushed them in a Commanding 115 - 25 score. 

Leading scorers for Iran are: Hadadi with 21, Kardoust: 18, Bahrami and Veisi with 17 each. 

Leading scorers for Malaysia are: Gan with 11, Tong and Wong 3 each

(Source: Basketball TV's twitter: @BTVHoops)