Last weekend, I sent emails to three distinguished gentlemen, whom were all widely considered as the pioneers and institutions in the National Basketball Association (NBA) sportswriting industry in the Philippines. These were the persons who greatly influenced my addiction to the NBA. The men that I’ve grew up with following their much-read columns and articles, from my teen years to the present. These well-respected and honorable pinoy NBA scribes were no other than Quinito “The Dean” Henson, Atty. Ed Tolentino and Bert Ramirez.
A lot had already been said about “The Dean” in earlier write-ups in this blogsite and he will be the main topic in the second part of this two-part series.
Atty. Tolentino’s articles and sports columns can be seen and read at the Manila Times, Manila Sports Digest and NBA Tower Magazine (the only locally-produced NBA magazine), respectively. Besides the NBA, Tolentino also regularly writes about boxing, wrestling, tennis and the other US major league sports.
Together with Mr. Henson, Mr. Ramirez is one NBA writer I religiously followed in the 1980s (when internet was still an alien word). I regularly read his NBA column in the now-defunct Champ magazine. He is also one of the founder and pioneer of the popular internet social group “Celtic Philippines”. A devout Celtic follower, Ramirez still regularly contributes for NBA Tower Magazine.
I sent them five interesting NBA questions touching on current issues and one non-NBA question and as expected, their answers left me in awe and in total amazement.
My hats off to both Atty. Tolentino and Mr. Ramirez for lending their precious time with me.
BOYET’S NBA CORNER: Will Allen Iverson makes a difference in his second tour of duty with the Philadelphia 76ers?
ED TOLENTINO: Allen Iverson? AI is not OK. Point guards like Iverson who are in their dog years are already dispensable. The fact that Philadelphia offered him a non-guaranteed deal shows that Iverson has as much market value as those real estates in the debt-ridden Dubai. Give it a few more games and AI will act up again.
BERT RAMIREZ: Yes, Allen Iverson will make a difference in his second tour of duty with the Sixers, but only to the extent that the Sixers will allow him to. He's definitely going to provide another scoring option for them even if he doesn't start (he will, however), but will they allow him to significantly cut into the number of shots guys like Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young take? It will really depend on how AI will be used by coach Eddie Jordan, who certainly knows something about good offensive play. How much Iverson has left in the tank will also dictate how big a difference he will make.
BNC: Do you think LA Laker Ron Artest should be punished by the NBA for his admission of drinking alcohol during halftime of some of his games during his early years with the Chicago Bulls?
ET: The offense apparently happen years back. It's not like Artest took steroids during halftime. A lot of players who didn't drink actually end up playing like drunk sailors as early as the first quarter. Artest said he admitted it to set an example. I can only guess what the Lakers will do: assign a personnel who will make sure Artest remains sober at halftime.
BR: No, I don't think Ron Artest will be punished by the NBA for admitting he used to drink at halftime. That was so long ago and besides, the NBA favors the Lakers like a fair-haired boy is by his godfather.
BNC: What particular teams are you impress with during this early part of the 2009-10 NBA season?
ET: I like the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat. The Hawks are gaining confidence each season and with a young roster, they should continue to soar towards cloud nine. The Suns are in a financial distress but they are back scorching the opposition on offense. However, the guess is that the players are still up for trades to the highest bidder. Amare may not even stay for the remainder of the season.. The Heat are getting some good games from Michael Beasley, who was suspect after that wild summer he had. Wade is still a spade for the team.
BR: I'm impressed with the Lakers and Magic, of course, with the way they have lived up to their billing, but it remains to be seen if they can keep it up given the fact that the Lakers have had a very easy schedule (the Suns, for one, were clobbered at the Staples Center, part of the 17 home games-in-the-first 21 sked of LA) and the Magic themselves have not had an extended road trip thus far.
BNC: Are the Atlanta Hawks for real? How about Erik Spoelstra and his Miami Heat?
ET: The Hawks are for real. They have been earning their spurs in recent years. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson provide the young players veteran leadership. If Josh Smith can remain consistent with his blend of offense and defense (particularly blocking shots), they remain "playoff" potential. I think Wade still needs more help in Miami. He can't do it alone.
BR: The Hawks have grown somehow and should not be taken for granted, but I don't think they have arrived as a bonafide contender for the championship. They'll get into the second round and then eliminated, depending on their matchup. Erik Spoelstra and the Heat, meanwhile, will suffer a similar fate, maybe even fizzle out in the opening round, because they simply lack the depth that other contenders have. The Heat have yet to add around Dwyane Wade, that is, if they can keep him in Miami uniform after this season.
BNC: What do you think of NBA rookie phenom Brandon Jennings?
ET: Jennings, right now, is hands-down the rookie of the year. He is showing Milwaukee that he is truly worth the buck! He shoots, he drives, slices the middle, can even play both guard spots. Never hesitant to take the big shot.BJ's A-OK!
BR: Well, Brandon Jennings have been impressive, all right, particularly in his ability to play at the NBA level as a rookie, but he strikes me as a volume shooter the way Allen Iverson was during his younger years, which is not actually bad. But if you ask me if the Bucks can build around him and contend for a title, then they have a long way to go to be able to do that. Jennings has to learn how to involve his teammates more in the offense, which is the primary responsibility of a point guard, so the key here is for him to strike a balance between his shotmaking and his playmaking.
BNC (non-NBA question): Will the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) survive in the future?
ET: The ABL? Will it survive? I mean, how many basketball leagues are there already? The ABL has as much chance surviving as the Titanic rising again from the depths of the Atlantic.
BR: I have serious doubts if the ASEAN Basketball League will survive in the future if the league's prime movers do not look into its marketing aspects better. Right now, the league is surviving on the money being infused by its team owners, but how far can they sustain that if they don't get a consistent source of income for their teams? One can see the sparse attendance in games, which is not really encouraging, so a lot of marketing has to be done. The league's top brass, after all, has to realize that there's a limited market out there at this point given the tenuous economy that affects ASEAN countries in general, and what available pie there is still has to be divided among many other entertainment fares, including the different basketball leagues that exist in the sponsoring countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment