Danny Seigle: The Newest Tropang Texter

After months of anticipation, Danny Seigle is finally speaking up and is ready to play. The fiasco that followed the draft and trade controversy involving his former team Barako Bull resulted in The Dynamite declining a one-year contract extension offered by his former team. That left Danny Seigle, the 39-year-old veteran and former Rookie of the Year, without a team to start off the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup for the 2013-2014 season of the PBA.

A week after the tipoff of the All-Filipino conference, though, there is finally some progress in the story. Danny Seigle himself has confirmed that he has agreed in principle to play for Talk 'N Text wherein he is awaiting the finalization of his initial one-year contract deal with the Manny V. Pangilinan franchise.

According to Danny Seigle, he is "just excited to play" above anything else. After all, it can be recalled that he had one of those rare conferences last Governor's Cup wherein he played injury-free for the entire conference and averaged 11 points, making him among the scoring leaders for Barako Bull.

There were several speculations about which teams Danny Seigle and his agent were talking to with Meralco Bolts even brought up one time. But aside from the opportunity to play again in the PBA, a more interesting development here is the fact that Seigle will be donning the jersey of his former team's biggest rival. Seigle started out his PBA career playing for San Miguel Beermen which is owned by SMC. SMC and PLDT (owned by Manny V Pangilinan) are two of the biggest rival companies in the PBA dating back to his glory days of 1999-2000 season.

Danny Seigle, however, refused to talk in more detail about this rivaly but rather has set his sights on making an impact on his new team. One thing is for sure, though, Seigle is "thankful" that he is part of the TNT management, which he brought up is a championship-caliber team.

For more details on this story, please check out my source here.

The Curious Case of Barako Bull Energy

In the PBA, or in any basketball league for that matter, the first few picks at the draft is the most coveted. Being able to draft first would give your team the opportunity to get the top prospect in the draft class. But what if you have three, not one, draft pick at the first round? Sounds even better, right?

Apparently, Barako Bull and its management did not see it that way. They held the 4th, 5th, and 6th first round draft picks for the 2013-2014 PBA season. That meant they can acquire three top prospects from the 2013 draft class! And with a talent-laden draft class that everyone has been raving about, one can only think that Barako Bull hit the jackpot- even though they did not get the top pick!

Thus, my jaw dropped to the floor when I found out about the news that they traded their draft picks for Barangay Ginebra (4th pick), Petron (5th pick), and GlobalPort (6th pick). In exchange for their draft picks, Barako Bull will get Dylan Ababou, Magi Sison, Mark Isip, and Denok Miranda (from GlobalPort). It's a curious situation to say the least. All four players hardly ever get minutes on the floor from their previous teams, with Denok Miranda putting in the most minutes. And Miranda's even a third unit player for Petron, in most cases! This leaves fans to question Barako Bull's decision to trade their picks... BUT WHY?

Fans, sports analysts, and team owners alike had been irate about this recent development and most of them aren't shy about expressing their views on Twitter. Check out their tweets below, ranging from serious to funny:

It is also not coincidental that Serbian head coach Rajko Toroman has decided to leave the team. Now, not only is Barako Bull in the midst of a controversy, they are also without a head coach. Leo Austria is being raised as a potential new "head coach" but nothing has been made official yet.

For the most part, I've tried to maintain an objective standpoint in this blog, hoping to provide information and stick to a reportage kind of blogging. However, this recent development in the PBA involving one of the teams that I support has been disheartening, to say the least, for a basketball fan. I am sure that I speak on behalf of the fans' in expressing my dismay over Barako Bull's decision during the draft wherein they gave up the opportunity to acquire young and talented prospects who could strengthen the team in the future for players who, if they did not happen to be bench warmers in their previous team, were nearing the end of their playing career. There has been several suspicions over the basketball community about them potentially being a farm team but with the decision to give up 3 first round draft picks for players that can be referred to as past their heyday, there can't be a more glaring evidence than that.


Unless the Commissioner can come up with a logical and valid explanation (which I seriously doubt they could), the reputation of the league will forever be tarnished. The Commissioner has even rejected a less lopsided trade deal in the past, so it leaves one to question how this got passed by the board? It's a widely known fact that professional basketball is business, too. But when the business side of basketball has superseded the competition and sports, that is when it gets ugly. Hopefully, this isn't the start of PBA's demise.

PBA 2013 Trade Updates

Image: iamjammed.com

A new trade has been approved by the PBA Board Directors early this week, which is a three-team trade deal involving Barako Bull Energy Cola, Talk N Text Tropang Texters, and Meralco Bolts. There are also five players involved in the said trade deal involving the aforemention teams namely Don Allado, Sean Anthony, Jared Dillinger, Ronjay Buenafe, and Gilbert Bulawan.

The final result of this three-way trade is as follows:

Barako Bull acquires Ronjay Buenafe and Gilbert Bulawan;
Meralco Bolts acquire Don Allado and Jared Dillinger;
Talk N Text acquires Sean Anthony

In another news, Jay Washington has gotten his wish to be traded from the Petron Blaze Boosters lineup. In the trade deal that has been approved by the PBA, the two-time Best Player of the Conference awardee will soon be suiting up for the GlobalPort Batang Pier. His request for a trade has been on hold for a long while now and was sparked by the lack of playing time, along with the dismal performance by his team during the past few conferences in the PBA (despite having a talent-laden lineup).

The team's dismal performance and his limited minutes has contributed to Jay Washington posting his lowest season average (8.2 points) since entering the league. Washington isn't one to be shy about venting his frustration about his position in the team and has since requested for a trade. In exchange for releasing Jay Washington to GlobalPort, Petron acquires the rights to their second round draft picks for 2016 and 2017, as well as rookie Jason Deutchman.

GlobalPort head coach Junel Baculi is positive about the acquisition of Jay Washington because they needed the boost inside the paint, something of which Jay Wash has been unable to do since the Petron lineup is filled with other big men in the likes of Arwind Santos and Jun Mar Fajardo.

PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup Game Schedule: April 8-17, 2013

During Sunday night's games at the ongoing PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup, both the Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel and Petron Blaze Boosters had sealed their fate for the next round of competition after beating Meralco Bolts and Barako Bull Energy Cola, respectively. At the first match of Sunday Superball at the PBA, the Blaze Boosters spoiled former NBA player DJ Mbenga's debut as they beat the Barako Bull via an 88-77 match. The game was close for the first three quarters until Petron pulled away during the early goings of the fourth quarter until Barako Bull could not recover any longer. Mbenga's lack of conditioning also played a key factor as he was looking rusty and slow at times, leaving the more agile Henry Sims opportunity to exploit the paint.

Meanwhile, the Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel team barely clinched the win with a shot by their import Vernon Macklin with 12.9 seconds left in the game. Previous to Macklin's heroic shot that ended up sealing the win for Brgy. Ginebra, Sunday Salvacion sunk a three-point shot from the corner despite Mac Baracael's contention, which pushed Meralco Bolts to the lead at 89-88. But with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game, Eric Dawson could not sink his high-looping shot against Vernon Macklin, thus giving Brgy. Ginebra their 7th win and guaranteeing that they move to the next round. Meanwhile, Meralco Bolts drop to 6-6 and is on a three-way tie with Talk N Text and San Mig Coffee Mixers.

To continue watching the action at the PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup, make sure to take note of the schedule for the succeeding games. Here is the list of games for the coming week:

Disclaimer: Image courtesy of pba.inquirer.net

Barako Bull Energy Cola Acquires Former Laker DJ Mbenga

Image: Spin.ph

Last Sunday, the Barako Bull Energy Cola snapped their six game losing skid by beating San Mig Coffee Mixers via a 105-100 match, just barely escaping a late rally from Tim Cone's troops. Despite the win, though, the Barako Bull management finally made a move that a lot were speculating they would've made earlier, if they were to improve their bid at making the playoffs round.

The Barako Bull management had to let go of Evan Brock and acquired former Lakers center DJ Mbenga in the process. The 7-foot Congonese-Belgian player was much talked about prior to the start of the PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup because a few teams, including Brgy. Ginebra Kings, were hoping to sign him. However, it wasn't until Tuesday that the Barako Bull management has confirmed that they have signed Mbenga as the team's new import.

The size and height of Mbenga was the critical factor in their decision to tap him to reinforce their current lineup. According to team consultant Rajko Toroman, "we're the worst rebounding team, that's what we need in him. We don't care if he doesn't have an offense or what. We need his defense and hustle more."

Coach Bong Ramos also seconded saying that he is confident that DJ Mbenga will be the missing part of the formula to helping Barako Bull get the most wins out of their remaining games in their bid to escape an early break this conference.

Soon after arriving in the Philippines, DJ Mbenga joined a close door training with the rest of the team, coach Bong Ramos, and team consultant Rajko Toroman. The new recruit went through usual drills for post-up plays, free throw shooting, and rebounding. The team's goal is to maximize his size in order to establish a stronger presence on the inside, something of which the hard working Evan Brock lacked during his stint with the Barako Bull team.

Right now, the team's goal is to avoid being stuck in the 9 or 10 position in the league standings or else they could be taking an early vacation this conference. DJ Mbenga will be able to strut his wares in the PBA as he debuts against Petron Blaze Boosters this Sunday, April 7. Petron is also sporting a new import in Henry Sims, so it will be interesting to see which of the new imports will prevail although Sims will have his debut this Friday.

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.

Barako Bull on an Energized Start for PBA 2012-13 Commissioner's Cup

Image: PBA on AKTV Official Facebook Fan Page

The PBA 2012-13 Commissioner's Cup has kicked off last Friday, February 8, 2013, and in a span of three game days, fans were treated to a lot of surprises. The commissioner recently indicated that the new multi-player trades that transpired before the onset of the new conference signaled a more competitive league with most teams now having an equal fighting chance at the crown.

Barako Bull Energy Cola is one of those teams that had surprised fans, to the delight of the loyal Barako Brigade. Even before the conference started, the new acquisitions and a new head coaching staff had provided Seigle with a positive outlook about his team. The PBA veteran believes that the team is a serious contender at the Commissioner's Cup. According to the 9-time All Star, "We have a very good system now. It's very active and I always get good looks (at the basket)."

Seigle also notes that the addition of coach Rajko Toroman as part of the team's coaching staff gave a major boost to the team. "It's great that we have him now in the team. We got to learn a lot of things, new ideas and better approach," says Seigle.

If it were any proof of that, Barako Bull currently leads the league in standings with a 2-0 start to the Commisssioner's Cup. As of February 12, 2013, they are at the top of the pack. Meanwhile, Alaska, Air21 and Meralco are tied for number two with a 1-0 standing. GlobalPort Batang Pier is third at 1-1 after Barako Bull defeated them 98-88 at overtime last Sunday, February 10, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Mark Macapagal hit the crucial three point shot from the corner that sent the game into overtime, wherein GlobalPort scored only 2 points to Barako Bull's 12.

For a complete list of the game results since the opening day, check them below:

February 8, Friday

Global Port def. Petron Blaze - 94-92
Barako Bull def. San Mig Coffee Mixers - 79-75

February 9, Saturday

Alaska Aces def. Rain or Shine - 83-81
Meralco Bolts def. Talk N Text - 99-92

February 10, Sunday

Barako Bull def. GlobalPort - 98-88 (OT)
Air21 def. Brgy. Ginebra - 74-70

To see the rest of the schedule for February, you can check it here.

PBA News: Trade Updates for 2012-13 Commissioner's Cup

The opening of the PBA Commissioner's Cup conference is right around the corner. Hence, players must be excited to see how well the preparations are going for their favorite teams. There were quite a lot of trades that happened off-season, involving several players and teams (in fact, some teams got involved in a multi-player trade) so that will hopefully shake up the action this upcoming conference.

Image: pinoyexchange.com

Barako Bull - Younger, Better Lineup?

During last year's PBA Commissioner's Cup, and in an intensely competitive import-laden conference, Barako Bull made it to as far as the semi-finals series after they trounced the Alaska Aces in the quarterfinals series only to be defeated by the Talk N Text Tropang Texters. This year, they are hoping to replicate their success and improve it, if possible. To make that happen, the team got involved in a big trade involving a few other teams to acquire younger players into their lineup.

Hence, the team moniker "Manong Brigade" might no longer suit the team as they have unloaded veterans to acquire younger guys. The addition of head coach Rajko Toroman will also complete the revamping of this team. New players include JC Intal, Jonas Villanueva, Allein Maliksi, Emman Monfort, and Jojo Duncil. In addition, formerly suspended player Don Allado has re-signed with the team. In exchange, they released Leo Najorda and Lester Alvarez, along with Alex Mallari who they acquired from Petron for Ronald Tubid.

Alaska Aces Releases Baracael

Mac Baracael is one of those players that were involved in the multi-player trade in the PBA during the off-season. According to coach Luigi Trillo, it was a difficult decision to let go of the forward off of his lineup, but he had to do so for the betterment of the team as Baracael is no longer happy with his playing time with the Alaska Aces.

By giving up Baracael to the Kings, the Aces acquired Aldrech Ramos that also got little playing minutes with the San Mig Coffee Mixers. The Aces coaching staff believes that acquiring Ramos would benefit their inside play now that Sonny Thoss will have another big man to help him out.

Image: pinoyexchange.com

Air 21 Trade Proposal Turned Down by TNT

With Japeth Aguilar exploring more options for his basketball career abroad, Air21 is expressing their interest to obtain a trade deal with Talk N Text in order to get the rights for Japeth Aguilar should he decide to return in the PBA. However, the trade proposal is not working out well as the Texters feel that the proposal is not appealing enough for them.

The 3-time consecutive All Filipino Cup champion Talk N Text Tropang Texters received an offer from Air 21 for Ogie Menor and Noy Baclao for Japeth Aguilar. The proposal came after this local agent has expressed Aguilar's desire to be traded from the Talk N Text team. One factor that might be causing Talk N Text to hold off on the deal is the ongoing negotations with GlobalPort involving Rabeh Al-Hussaini.

Winners and Losers of the Tenorio Trade

I call the latest PBA blockbuster trade a Tenorio's trade for one obvious reason – Tenorio is the biggest name from that 4-team deal. Fresh from his heroics and MVPship in William Jones Cup 2012, the Alaska’s star player’s trade value went crazy high. And the blockbuster trade deal is its obvious proof. 

Let’s see who got the deal right and who made a bad move in this deal:

Winners:

Alaska Aces

ALASKA ACES

I’ve been crying in Alaska’s Facebook fan page not to trade Tenorio, because I think, he and the rookie Calvin “The Beast” Abueva will give Alaska the best chance for a playoff contention next season. But Mr. Uytengsu knows more than that, as he did not waste any time luring teams in the trading block. As a result, they’ve got two solid players, JV Casio who will likely get the starting PG spot, and Dondon Hontiveros, a test-and-proven veteran. That’s youth and experience right there, which will easily rejuvenate Alaska’s backcourt. 

BRGY. GINEBRA SAN MIGUEL 

Bryg. Ginebra San Miguel

What more can I say, they got LA. A natural PG, a killer in the clutch, Tenorio can go to any point inside the court anytime he wants without killing his dribble, and he showed that in Jones Cup finals where he scored both inside and outside the perimeter. With that, he will fit perfectly in Ginebra’s system. As I’ve said earlier, he’s the biggest name on this deal. Not to mention Ginebra has got new blood that will only excite the fans for a more dynamic and high-flying run-and-gun game of their 2012 draft 6th pick Chris Ellis. 

PETRON BlAZE BOOSTERS

Petron Blaza Boosters

Well, they may not get the boost on their roster from acquiring Wesley Gonzales and Hans Thiele, and I don’t think they expect on it either. Petron simply just wants to unload Hontiveros to ease their team’s rotation problems. I don’t also think they’ll use these two new players on the court. 

The SF position, which Gonzales plays, is already jam-packed by a solid rookie Mallari, sophomore with vast experience Lassiter, and Santos, who's arguably the best blocker in the position. Also, the Center position is occupied by their number-one  pick in the recent draft – June Mar Fajardo, which is expected to be dominant, a trusted veteran Ildefonso (PF/C), Pena, and Sison. I expect Gonzales and Thiele to be headed down to the ABL. Well, maybe, just maybe, if Lassiter, Lutz, and Pena stay on the injury list for long, they have a slight chance to play, in garbage time.

Losers

GLOBAL PORT

Global Port Batang Poer

Well, it may seem like they got the deal right by getting a 2-Time MVP Willie Miller. However, my point is, they just traded their number 1 pick for an ageing guy. Don’t get me wrong, I love Miller way back from his afro-days in Red Bull. I can still remember how he beat Asi in a one-on-one game (yes, PBA has a one-on-one game before). However, I don’t think Miller is taking care of his body well. 

Yes he can hit a dagger trey anytime he wants and post-up smaller PGs with the likes of Castro and Alapag from TNT. But on a regular basis, he can’t chase and defend younger guards anymore. Miller has to share minutes with the team's leading scorer - Gary David. Also, Global Port’s style is run-and-gun play, and I don’t think Miller likes to run.

Barako Bull Energy

BARAKO BULL

I can’t see clearly where this “rebuilding process” is going. Well, they got rid of Miller, but they could’ve done better than just acquiring Enrico Villanueva. The Barako Bull needs to rebuild, that’s why they brought a lot of jackets in the recent draft for the rookies. But they have 21 names on their roster now, so I expect more movements from this team, if not before the start of the season, maybe during the season.