LS Banal - PBA Cup 2011

The third LS Banal Cup is slated to start this Saturday 23rd of July 12noon. PBA officials would like to invite everyone to join their opening ceremonies. There will be Filipino food available and 2 exciting games will be played. With this year's anticipated level of competition each game promises to be a hotly contested one.

Our major sponsors for this tourney are: Steel and Tube; Kiwi Roofing; Ampelite and Dimond. All these companies are related to PBA's main benefactor Lito and Sharon Banal. They are involved with a very successful company called "Kiwi Roofiing". They have been involved in huge projects particularly in the retail industry that everyday people have certainly visited.   Without their support it would be difficult to run tournaments.

Lito and Sharon recently hosted a meeting at their lovely home between team representatives and league officials. Their main intention was to ensure that in the midst of competition the spirit of fair play and camaraderie is not lost. Everyone present were certainly impressed with the couple's graciousness and devotion to the Filipino community in general. This power couple is actively involved with the Filipino Chaplaincy as well, giving not only their time but also their voices. Both are members of not only one but two choirs. They also continue to help other families in need in their own quiet way. Good karma is certainly with them.
 
In the same meeting, Phil Heremia the head of a referees' association that has been helping PBA through the years was also in attendance.  He went through the recent changes on FIBA rules that will apply when officiating games. Leo Mondajos was also confirmed as a part of the PBA officers, his role will be to support Technical Committee Head Tracy Zafra.
  
Season Forecast
There are five teams participating in this year's tournament. The caliber of games is easily the most competitive league in the Pinoy community. Some teams have begged off as they do not believe they can field in a team that can match the talent in other teams. Team official Bong Fiel explained that this must be the most balanced tournament he has seen in years. With one team slightly behind and another team regarded as a favourite. However, on any given day any team can beat the other.

LM Money Transfer - Composed of a selection  of players from another Pinoy basketball organization UFC and reinforced by some players fresh from their success in the recent Ambassador's Cup Legends Division. They will be headed by veteran Ronald Hidalgo and new PBA officer Leo Mondajos. Fresh from their success in the recent ambassador's Cup legends division Dennis Tan; PBA prexy Norman Latosa; Ross. Expect this team to give some teams a hard time, the question is can they sustain it throughout the game.

JR Panel and Paint - If the NBA has Miami's Pat Riley as executive of the year, credited for luring Lebron James and Chris Bosh then PBA has JR Panel and Paint's Jun Ablanida. He was able to lure perennial MVP contender Dennis Lorenzo to his squad. You can almost hear Lorenzo say "I am taking my talents to North Beach". Having led his previous team Dimond to an unprecedented three  championships in 4 years he has decided to play for a new team. He brought with him 7 other ex-Dimond players, among them are fellow "Bruise Brothers"  Edmond Quizon and Jumbo Tabaquero; last year's ROY contender Carlo Camus. They also acquired 3 point king Lester Latosa. Other key players are Ferdie Manuel; Darryl Burias;  the Del Rosario brothers and Lito Javier.  This team is certainly a title contender and well done to the panel beaters' management for forming a dream team in their first entry. My forecast is this team will be a finals contender.

CMR West - At the start of this forecast article we said this is a balanced competition with one team slightly ahead. Well this is the team that is ahead in terms of depth and talent. They have the explosive Eldialde brothers; along with the ever consistent Jude Evangelista and his 2 sons Jed and Alvic ; dominant centre Glen Farolan; wily veteran Romy Guevarra; 3 point specialist Eric Hansen. The key of course is last year's MVP (regular season) Kris Patriarca who played for Dimond is back with CMR.  And as if that wasn't enough Richard "McGrady" Galang is also on this squad. This is definitely the team to beat. They must be oozing with confidence after their successful stint in the Ambassador's Cup, beating all the teams they faced and that exciting finale against Wellington where they showcased all their arsenal of weapons. Coach John Selifales will certainly have fun juggling his deep bench. I would be surprise if this team does not win the championship.

New World - Last year's first runner up must have moved on from the "what if" questions they were asking themselves. Everyone must remember the fighting 7 they had in the finals that never gave up. Regulars Dondee and Ding Salvador; team organizer Titan Sioco; regular mythical five contender Mark Santos; TJ Lising; JR Book and Derrick Vivares are back. They certainly have the talent to compete with the best teams but whether they can go all the way is a bit uncertain. Consistency will be the key, as well as improving thei r offensive patterns. They lost 3 point champ Lester Latosa to JR Panel and Paint and that will be a big void in their scoring options.

Dimond/Ampelite - Three championships in four years should make this team the team to beat. After winning last year this team was expected to be intact. The exodus of 9 players in the line up however will hurt this team's chances significantly. 7 are now with JR Paint and Panel; one migrated to Australia and another is with CMR. One of the 9 was last year's season MVP; the other was the finals MVP. Ouch!   When Coach George was asked what happened he smiled and responded "Babalik naman daw sila next year (The players will be back next year) in the mean time we will still give it the good old Dimond team spirit. They still have Perry Salas; Carlo Camus; Edwin Carbungco; Mike Becker and Elliot Zhornack is also back. They have some new recruits that may be able to make a difference, prize recruit is Hebron Canlas. New tag for this team is under dog; they may not have the same skill set but they certainly have the heart. They will be lucky to make it to the finals.

So as you can see, there will be some exciting games ahead of us. See you at the games and remember bilog ang bola.