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Baguio heads for Air21, TnT?
Updated December 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Cyrus Baguio is reportedly also on the way out of Red Bull and is heading for either Air21 or Talk n Text.

According to reports, the Red Bull management has committed Baguio plus point guard Celino Cruz in a trade deal to be formalized before the league trading deadline on the last play date of the elimination round either tomorrow or Sunday.

“I would be very happy if that report is true. I will not deny that I have approached Red Bull, looking to acquire Baguio, Cruz and Larry Rodriguez,” said Air21 governor and team manager Lito Alvarez.

Red Bull governor Tony Chua denied knowledge of the trade.

However, league sources confirmed the deal, including those from the teams which had tried to work out a deal for Baguio.

The former UST mainstay soared to stardom following the departure of several prominent players from Red Bull including Rico Villanueva, Willie Miller, Lordy Tugade, Mick Pennisi, Larry Fonacier, Junthy Valenzuela and Rich Alvarez. – Nelson Beltran

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It's almost the end of eliminations but teams are still determined in reshaping their rosters in preparation for a tight battle for the all Filipino Cup finals. Talk n Text, a team that certainly needs a reliable inside operator lets go with Don Carlos Allado for Ranidel de Ocampo. Ranidel will be reunited with his brother Yancy. TnT also gave their first-round pick in 2012 to the Express. Don Allado originally drafted by Alaska is now with Air21.

Here are their conference stats:

This move is definitely in favor of Talk n Text, which makes me wonder why the Express agreed to such one-sided deal. Pound for pound, Ranidel is way better than Don Allado in all aspect of the game. What's more mind buggling is that Air21 actually lacks big players to man the 4 and 5 spots. They only have JR Quinahan and Homer Se. Let's see how this trade works out for both teams.

I was able to watch the Final 4 games and also the Finals of the prestigious 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship(PCC). The final 4 matches were both nail-biting games. ADMU escaped the relentless Knights by a single point while the San Beda failed to keep the lead against scrappy DLSU.

I would have preferred a finals showdown between San Beda and Ateneo in the finals because I wanted to see the Ekwe-Al Hussaini match-up. Anyways, the finals featured a rematch of the this year's UAAP finals, DLSU versus ADMU. The Blue Eagles played without ace guard Cris Tiu (entire PCC) and rookie sensation Ryan Buenafe (finals match).

The Eagles struggled with the pressure defense of DLSU. The team committed a lot of turnovers which translated to tons of turnover points. ADMU's main man Rabeh Al-Hussaini also played a poor game. He picked up two early fouls in the 1st quarter and never got back on track since then.

De La Salle University bounced back from its disappointing loss in the UAAP by defeating Ateneo de Manila University, 71-62, to capture the 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship at the Araneta Coliseum.

JV Casio sizzled for 17 of his 20 points in the second half while adding six rebounds, six assists and three steals to be named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

It was a fitting end to Casio’s collegiate career, two months after the Archers got swept aside by the Blue Eagles in the UAAP finals.

And for head coach Franz Pumaren, he was glad to steered the Taft-based squad to the national championship.

“Well at least we won a big one,” said Pumaren. “I thought we would be zero this ‘08 but at least based on this tournament, we are the number one collegiate team in the country.”

Trailing 29-28 entering the second half, the Archers erected a telling 17-4 capped off by a teardrop shot by Casio at the 5:19 mark for a 45-33 advantage.

From there, it was all La Salle as Ateneo’s closest threat came at 51-46 at the end of the third before Casio uncorked 10 points in the pivotal period that sealed the title.

DLSU also received the Manny V. Pangilinan Perpetual Trophy and 1,000,000 pesos cash prize, half of it going to the winning squad. They will also represent the country in the 2009 Universiade in Serbia.

“Probably wanting to redeem themselves and wanting to be the top team in the country was their motivation,” said Pumaren. “That’s why it is so satisfying for us because everybody wanted to participate and they were really serious about this tournament.”

Peejay Barua was the other double-digit scorer with 10 points while Bader Malabes and Ferdinand added eight and seven, respectively.

Jai Reyes led all scorers with 22 points and shot 6-of-12 threes in the game while Rabeh Al-Hussaini added 10 points and four boards but shot a poor 2-of-10 clip from the field. The Blue Eagles claimed 500,000 pesos for their bridesmaid finish.

Despite the height disadvantage, the Archers managed to dominate the Eagles, 53-39, in the rebounding department while allowing Ateneo to shot just 25 percent from the floor.

Ateneo played minus UAAP rookie of the year Ryan Buenafe, who was sick, Jobe Nkemakolam and Chris Tiu, who watched Manny Pacquiao‘s victory over Oscar dela Hoya in Las Vegas.

“This is not the same team that played in the UAAP so what can we do,” said Black. “But congratulations to La Salle, they deserved the win.”

Meanwhile, Colegio de San Juan de Letran managed to beat NCAA champion San Beda, 75-67, to take home third place plus 200,000 pesos.

The Knights leaned on RJ Jazul’s 17 points and six rebounds and Dino Daa’s 16 points and nine rebounds as they pull away from the Red Lions in the final canto.

Sam Ekwe, playing his last match as a Red Lion, scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots in a losing cause. JR Tecson and Ogie Menor added 11 and 10 markers each.

Casio, Al-Hussaini, Jazul, Nonoy Baclao and Rico Maierhofer were all named to the tournament’s Mythical Five selection.

The scores:

First Game

LETRAN 75 - Jazul 17, Daa 16, Guevarra 9, Melegrito 9, Ranises 8, Cabonce 6, Belencion 5, Cortes 2, Gutilban 2, Del Rosario 1, Dangcal 0.

SAN BEDA 68 - Ekwe 21, Tecson 11, Menor 10, Pascual 7, Taganas 6, Villanueva 4, Gamalinda 4, Marcelo 2, Lanete 2, Taupa 0, Soliman 0, Tirona 0.

Quarters: 15-15; 35-32; 50-53; 75-67

Second Game

LA SALLE 71 - Casio 20, Barua 10, Malabes 8, Ferdinand 7, Mangahas 5, Bagatsing 5, Maierhofer 5, Webb 5, Mendoza 2, Lee 0.

ATENEO 62 - Reyes 22, Al-Hussaini 10, Gonzaga 6, Salva 5, Baclao 4, Baldos 4, Salamat 2, Escueta 2, Long 2, Sumalinog 0.

Quarters: 9-13; 28-29; 51-46; 71-62.

Written by jonas_terrado
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 1:45:00 AM

Congratulations to the winners. KUDOS de La Salle.