PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup Games Schedule: April 3-7, 2013

With the Holy Week break over and the Easter Sunday games schedule seeing both Air 21 and Barako Bull snapping their respective losing skids, it is a brand new week in the PBA for the ongoing 2013 Commissioner's Cup. If you want to stay tuned to the exciting action at the PBA games, make sure to take note of the schedule for this coming week so you won't miss a single game from your favorite team.

Image credit: www.pba.ph

PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup: The Week That Was

Double Lane Violation Fiasco in Aces-Coffee Mixers Game

The PBA officiating team has been in the spotlight yet again after a double lane violation call was protested during the match between Alaska Aces and San Mig Coffee Mixers last Saturday, March 23. Aces coach Luigi Trillo protested the violation call noting how it cost them a shot at winning the game.

An official statement was made by the PBA via Media Bureau Chief Willie Marcial saying, "Whether the shot is made or not, once there's a lane violation, a jump ball will be called and the shot will be waved off."

The incident took place during Aces' Calvin Abueva's stint at the free throw line with 12.1 seconds left in the game. He had the opportunity to tie up the game if he converted the second free throw, but since Jazul and Baguio of the Aces and Simon and Barroca of the Mixers came into the lane before the shot was released, the free throw was nullified.

Coach Luigi Trillo claimed that "[that] call took it from us."

Due to his protest, however, the PBA fined Aces head coach Luigi Trillo P40,000 due to his complaints. According to the PBA's statement, the first P20,000 fine was for "repeatedly issuing statements to the press that tend to undermine the public confidence in the game's outcome...and confuse the public as to the correctness of the call made by the game officials." The other P20,000 fine was supposedly for "violating the rule prohibiting any member of a team from approaching or confronting the game officials before, during or after a game."

Barako Bull Continues Its Losing Woes

The Barako Bull Energy Cola had a promising start in the PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup after winning their first two outings. But since clinching their third win, it has been a downward spiral for them. Last Sunday, they eventually lost their sixth game in a row against a Caguiao-less Barangay Ginebra squad.

This has prompted consultant Rajko Toroman to look at other possibilities in order to restore the franchise's performance in the conference. The team's current standing of 3-7 puts them second to last in the league standings. Hence, the coach and management staff at Barako Bull is sensing some desperation with news that there might be a possibility of replacing their import Evan Brock. When asked to comment regarding this bit of news, Toroman said, "All things are being considered."

Rain or Shine Ends Losing Streak vs TNT

Since Rain or Shine was swept by the Talk N Text Tropang Texters during the PBA Philippine Cup, they had not been able to get one against their opponent. So when these two teams met last Sunday, March 24, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, all eyes were on coach Yeng Guiao's squad if they would be able to end their losing skid against Talk N Text.

And they were able to finally snap that losing streak, and at a very convincing manner at that, with a 31-point lead against the Texters via a 116-85 rout. The Elasto Painters had a strong start to the game, which eventually carried on for the remainder of the game.

Talk N Text forward Ranidel de Ocampo cited how the Elasto Painters played an inspired ball game. Meanwhile, the loss brings Talk N Text down to number four in the team standings, which means they are now in a tie with San Mig Coffee Mixers, Barangay Ginebra and Air 21 at 5-5.

PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup Game Schedule: March 18 to 31, 2013

The action at the ongoing PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup is nearing the close of its first stage. Hence, every game is pivotal from here on out as teams are battling for position on the team standings. If you're a big fan, you don't want to miss the remaining games. To keep tab on your favorite team's next schedule of games, you can check out the game schedules in the PBA for this week:

Take note of these dates and never miss a single action in the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup!

PBA Commissioner: Lifetime Ban on Balkman, Fined 250K

Renaldo Balkman met with the Commissioner at the PBA Office following his meltdown that involved teammate Arwind Santos, among other players, during a match against the Alaska Aces last Friday, March 8. The league commissioner has decided to impose a lifetime ban on Balkman, which will keep him from playing in the league in the future, on top of a PhP 250,000 fine. 

The announcement was made Monday afternoon and was published on the league's official Twitter account, with several media personnel in tow to hear the commissioner's announcement. 

The decision came after an untoward incident that took place in the midst of Balkman's worst game in the league so far. He has played tremendous for the Petron Blaze Boosters giving them five straight wins before the night of March 8. But with only six points under his name and a looming loss against the Aces for solo leadership position, Balkman lost it and started shoving his teammates and choked Petron's team captain, Arwind Santos, who were only trying to pacify him as he complained to the referees. 

Balkman has issued a public apology following the incident. In today's meeting with the commissioner, all players and coaches of the Petron Blaze Boosters joined him to show their support. However, PBA commissioner Salud issued the following statement behind their decision to impose the lifetime ban on the import:

You can read the rest of the PBA Commissioner's statement here. What did you think of the verdict?

Utah will REGRET not making a Trade

Utah seems satisfied with their current line up and refuses to make a big trade during Trade deadline. Despite of left and right trade rumors which circles around Jefferson and Millsap. But the management decide to keep both of them since their front court players are the reason why they are now contending in the west. Unlike other teams, after their superstar leaves the team, the Jazz quickly recovers from being out of the playoffs in the season when Deron Williams was traded. The very next season, they sneak in to the top 8th against Rockets and Suns. After that, they are able to carry the momentum.

Their line up is pretty solid and was secured in 7th spot. The team has solid front court which lead them in top 8th in west. They have low post treat in Al Jefferson, A versatile Power forward in Millsap, Full of potential big men from the bench of Favors and Kanter. No other team in the league has this kind of front court force.

 Contract issue is the main reason why the trade speculates on their starting big men, which is not a bad idea while having problem in the back court. With the emerging back court bench, it makes a lot more sense to pull the trigger on the trade and avoid losing one of this player to walk away without getting something back.

 Looking at Utah's roster, the dominance of the front court is overwhelming, which makes the back court looks like a none factor on the leam With Mo out of the line up. Currently they Got 4 solid big men. And the rest of the position from SF to SG, they don't have a solid player except Gordon Hayward moving between SF and SG.

 The problem is they can't use those 4 big men at the same time and they are battling from each other for a playing time while the back court seems none threat at all. In order to be a dominant team, Jazz should have force in all of the position and that trade could have been the answer. If Lakers completely outrun this team, it will surely something to regret about.

Renaldo Balkman and the Choking Incident

Image credit: Spin.ph

The Petron Blaze Boosters entered into their game yesterday, March 8, versus the Alaska Aces with a 5-1 standing. Both teams are tied for first place and the winner of this match would gain solo lead in the ongoing 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup. Hence, fans came in droves at the Smart Araneta Coliseum expecting a tough match between the top two teams of the conference. And that is certainly what the fans got... and then some.

Prior to this game, Renaldo Balkman has shown great performance while suiting up for the Petron Blaze Boosters managing to get five straight wins and shooting to the top of the team standings. But when a series of calls did not turn his way and with his team on the verge of losing the competition for solo leadership, Balkman went from solid baller to a complete madman. To give you an idea as to how quickly the situation went from bad to worse, he ended up shoving and choking his own teammate. Yes, his own teammate. And the teammate in question is no less than team captain Arwind Santos, who is also one of Petron's franchise players.

Watch this clip from InterAKTV to watch the series of actions leading up to the choking incident involving his teammate Arwind Santos:

Right now, fans are enraged at social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Many have even campaigned for getting rid of Balkman, citing the player's unacceptable attitude during yesterday's game as tipping point. As a former NBA player, fans expected more out of Balkman given that he has had his stint at the world's most prestigious basketball league. But I guess you can't teach class.

Since that incident, however, Balkman took to his Twitter account to express his apologies to his teammates, the fans, and most especially to Arwind Santos. Balkman was also summoned to the Commissioner's Office on Monday wherein the penalties to his actions were to be determined.

San Mig Coffee Mixers Stain Aces' Record

Image: interaksyon.com

San Mig Coffee Mixers has done what five other teams were unable to do at the ongoing 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup - defeat Alaska Aces. When these two teams met during the main game yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, coach Tim Cone's crew ended up victorious over Luigi Trillo's Alaska Aces via a 75-68 game.

In doing so, San Mig Coffee Mixers improved its standing to 3-3 after winning three consecutive since dropping the same amount of ball games to kick off the conference. Despite the loss, Alaska Aces remains at the top of the standing but they now share the lead with Petron Blaze Boosters, also with a 5-1 standing.

The San Mig Coffee Mixers had a slow start in the game but they get to work during the second quarter wherein they eventually established a 12-point lead over the Aces during halftime. During the third quarter, they continued on their rampage and eventually blew up their lead to 24, limiting Alaska Aces to only 36 points.

Alaska, however, did not give up and made a run but time wasn't in their favor at that point. Robert Dozier led Alaska Aces with a 16-point, 18-rebounds performance. But Cyrus Baguio and Calvin Abueva were both not as fiery as they normally are, only combining for 13 points for the entire game. Meanwhile, five San Mig Coffee Mixers players scored in double figures with Denzel Bowles scoring another double-double.

Meanwhile, check out the image below to see the rest of the schedule for this week:

Make sure to visit us again for more updates and news on the league.

Aces vs Coffee Mixers: Which Winning Streak Will End?

Robert Dozier of the Alaska Aces

Alaska Aces is the league-leader in the PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup with a 5-0 record. Meanwhile, the San Mig Coffee Mixers has had a slow start but since replacing their original import with the returning Denzel Bowles, wherein they attempt to improve their standing to 3-3. The two teams are scheduled to face off against each other in the 7:30PM match on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Coaches of both teams anticipate that it will be quite the battle. Tim Cone of the San Mig Coffee Mixers revealed, "It's going to be tough. Alaska is playing at a very high level with great confidence, and we're still trying to get our feet under us after a poor start."

He noted, however, that the game will be a battle of execution. The team that can execute the ball better is going to end up with the win, Cone predicts.

While coach Tim Cone is hopeful that his team will execute better than the Aces during their match today, he has one thing working in his favor: his current record against Alaska, his former team, is 6-0. Thus, coach Luigi Trillo of the Aces is not going to take this game lightly. He even went as far as to say that the current 2-3 standing of the Coffee Mixers is not indicative of the true potential of this team.

According to Trillo, "Denzel Bowles really changes that team and so does Joe Devance... they always find a way to play together and share the load."

Trillo, therefore, is hoping to take away any match-up problems that the San Mig Coffee Mixers might exploit during the game. But there is one important thing he'd like to point out to his boys as they step into the court tonight - San Mig Coffee Mixers is still the reigning champions of this conference.

Since Denzel Bowles replaced Matt Rodgers on the Mixers' lineup, they had won two consecutive games after three losses to kick off the conference.