By Reuel Vidal

THE Alaska Aces, the Sta. Lucia Realtors, the San Miguel Beermen and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters are slugging it out in the best-of-seven semifinals of the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.

I hate to admit it, but I do love to brag so I will chew out your ears to remind you that as early as my Oct. 20, 2008 column, I already said that these very same teams will make it to the semifinals.

Go ahead. Check out your old copies of Standard Today or go back to the archives of manilastandardtoday.com and check it out.

My column read ??the Sta. Lucia Realtors have to be considered the team to beat in the ongoing Philippine Cup. I also pick the Alaska Aces, the San Miguel Beermen and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters as the teams that will join the Realtors in the semifinals.?

So who do I think will end up in the finals? Back in October, I would have said Alaska versus Sta. Lucia, but they?re playing in the semifinals already because of that insane finishing kick by TNT, which landed the Tropang Texters in second spot after the eliminations. So I will again go out on a limb and say Alaska versus Talk N Text or a repeat of the 2007 Fiesta Conference championship won by Alaska.

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Reuel,

Despite having improved its lineup this season, how come the Purefoods Giants were left eating the dust last conference? What do you think is lacking in the team?

Seeing them play, I can?t help but wonder if Ryan Gregorio really has anything which I can call ?a system.? Most of the time, the plays are so easily read by the opposing teams. Quality wins were so hard to come by. Most plays were just players doing one-on-one basketball.

I think the team is among the worst when it comes to assist. Purefoods fans see too much turnovers (especially shot clock violations) and botched defensive rotations. Heck, even Rain or Shine plays better basketball than them. I just envy less talented teams especially Red Bull and Coke. They have less talent, but they have a better system.

Another thing that befuddles me is why San Miguel Corp. is so cautious on the performance of coaches Jong Uichico and Siot Tanquingcen, but not of Ryan Gregorio? We read rumors of them being replaced when they underachieve but not Gregorio.

I have nothing personally against him. It?s just that the team needs a better coach who can maximize the talents of the team. The ?system? that he implements on the team is not enough. To make matters worse, why can?t the team get a legit point guard?

I wish the team had another Yeng Guiao who can really implement a consistent system that is based on teamwork rather than on individualistic basketball.

Just my take. Thanks and more power to your column.

eric_perua@yahoo.com

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Eric,

I have to agree that Ryan is not an Xs and Os type of coach. That is not his strength. His forte is motivating players. But he has able assistants in Koy Banal and Ronnie Magsanoc to pick up the slack in the technical aspects of the game.

The Purefoods Giants didn?t fare all that well this past conference, but when everybody is on the same page, the Giants were good enough to win multiple titles. In fact, Purefoods came within a game of winning the PBA All-Filipino championship against the Sta. Lucia Realtors just last year.

Rene Pardo still has the final say with the Purefoods franchise and he still believes in Ryan.

As to why the Giants didn?t do well this past conference, well they were riddled with injuries. Even James Yap was hobbling on one leg during the latter part of the eliminations.

Also, there seems to be a growing rift between Kerby Raymundo and James Yap which may or may not impact on how well the Giants perform. After all, I remember Crispa winning games even though it was split between the Atoy Co/Philip Cezar and Bernie Fabiosa/Abet Guidaben camps.

Thanks for the letter and keep reading Standard Today. This is really the best part of writing columns. Getting well-written and intelligent letters from my insightful readers.

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If you want to find out how I sound like, please tune in to MBC Sports Center, 6:30 to 7 p.m., Sunday, over the no. 1 radio station in the country dzRH, 666 on your AM dial. And for comments, questions and non-violent reactions, please send your e-mail to reuelvidal@yahoo.com or reuelvidal@gmail.com.