NLEX Wins Despite 33 Points from Stanley Pringle

Ravena, Quinahan lead balanced scoring to go 2-0 in the Philippine Cup.

After getting Kiefer Ravena as the 2nd overall pick from this year’s draft, many people thought that the arrival of the Phenom could help the NLEX Road Warriors contend for a championship. After all, Ravena contributed in the 5-peat run of the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles in the UAAP, a run that stretched from 2008 to 2012 under Norman Black.

Fast forward to the opening conference of the 43rd season of the PBA, Kiefer Ravena has been living up the hype that was built around him as he continued his phenomenal start to his long-anticipated PBA career. On Christmas Day, the Phenom led the NLEX Road Warriors to a 115-104 victory over the GlobalPort Batang, taking advantage of the absence of 3-time scoring champion, Terrence Romeo and overcoming Stanley Pringle’s 33 points. 

Outside of Kiefer Ravena’s brilliance on the court, Yeng Guiao was able to get the most from his team like he always does. Below are the things that won the game for NLEX:

Balanced Scoring

Sure, Stanley Pringle exploded for 33 points, going 11 for 21 on the field while playing for 41 minutes but he was one of the only 2 starters of GlobalPort who scored in double figures. 

On the other side, NLEX had 5 of their starters who scored at least 8 points, led by Kiefer Ravena who had 20 points and 5 assists. JR Quinahan followed that up with his 19 points and 9 rebounds which earned him the Best Player of the Game award. Larry Fornacier had 12 points despite his shooting woes while fellow Ateneo alumnus, Juami Tiongson scored 10 points. 

25 Turnovers Hurt GlobalPort

Playing without their star, Terrence Romeo could have played a role in the Batang Pier’s defeat to open their season but they turned the ball over, 25 times- a thing that the Road Warriors took advantage of as they scored 24 points from those turnovers. In contrast, the Batang Pier only forced 16 turnovers from NLEX and only scored 15 points from those NLEX miscues. 

59 Points from NLEX’s Bench

As mentioned above, Yeng Guiao has been known as a coach who is getting the most out of his players- most especially from his bench troopers. Against the Batang Pier, the bench of NLEX exploded for 59 points- a far contrast from the 43 points of the bench players of GlobalPort. 

Conclusion

Whether or not Kiefer Ravena can keep up his phenomenal performance especially against the elite teams is something that we all have to wait and see. But given the fact that he’s playing under Yeng Guiao, we can all bet that Ravena is already the top bet for this season’s Rookie of the Year. And who knows, the dynamic duo of the Phenom and Kevin Alas might be the missing piece for Yeng Guiao to add another championship under his belt. 

The Kiefer Ravena and Terrence Romeo Battle: Who will win?

Both are proven scorers in their collegiate careers. Who will prevail on their Christmas clash?

When Kiefer Ravena first announced that he would be finally joining the draft, most basketball pundits, including this one, thought that it would be worth all those years of waiting because Kiefer Ravena has long been ready to turn pro owing to his vast experience that he acquired while trying out for the NBA D-League in the United States and also his successful stint with the Gilas Pilipinas which earned him his 4th gold medal in the South East Asian Games earlier this year.

During his first PBA game for the NLEX Road Warriors against the Kia Picanto, the Phenom led the way with 18 points and 12 assists to win on his first game, 119-115. Even Coach Yeng Guiao was impressed with Ravena’s performance, even saying that Ravena is exactly what the doctor ordered. And we all know that the usually hot-headed Yeng Guiao isn’t someone you can easily impress.

Up next for the Road Warriors?

They will be facing the GlobalPort Batang Pier of Terrene Romeo and Stanley Pringle. But let’s just focus on one particular match-up that we’ve already seen in the UAAP, the match-up featuring Kiefer Ravena going up against the Bro, Terrence Romeo.

To begin with, these two guards have already battled each other multiple times during their respective careers in the UAAP which was highlighted by a Finals slugfest which ended up in Ravena’s Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles hoisting the championship after beating the FEU Tamaraws of Romeo.

While Manong Kiefer may have the numbers against the Bro, this is the PBA.

In terms of experience, Terrence Romeo obviously has the upper hand in this battle of two explosive guards in the PBA. He is already a multi-time scoring champion and that is something we can expect Kiefer to do in his career. And Kiefer Ravena is also one of the few players who can engage in a scoring battle against Romeo.

So who will win tomorrow?

Prediction: The GlobalPort Batang Pier will win

Why? Experience is why. 

Conclusion

While Kiefer Ravena may be a rookie, Terrence Romeo may want to watch his back come tomorrow because the Phenom might make a run for the scoring championship and, the win. And we all know that Yeng Guiao always has something under his sleeves to defends guards like Romeo. Either way, this will be an exciting match-up, right? 

GlobalPort Chooses Youth and Speed over Veteran Experience

The Batang Pier opt to leave out Cardona et al

The GlobalPort Batang Pier has been one of the inexperienced teams in the league owing to the fact that they haven’t reached the PBA Finals yet, but that doesn’t stop them from being one of the explosive teams too. 

Why? This is owing to the fact that they have one of the best backcourt duos in Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle. However, that duo was almost broken due to the fact that Terrence Romeo’s name has been the target of the nagging trade rumors in the past weeks- stating that apparently, Terrence Romeo initially wanted out of GlobalPort.

Fortunately for the fans of the Batang Pier, team official Mikee Romero and Terrence Romeo himself have denied the rumors with Romeo assuring the fans that yes, he is sticking with GlobalPort and is more than ready to help the team become successful starting this upcoming season which kicks off on December 17, 2017.

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With Coach Pido Jarencio returning at the helm of the Batang Pier, Mikee Romero has said that his team is now on the course of assembling a much-younger core who can run on the break and score. Having said this, the GlobalPort management has opted not to renew the contracts of the following players:

• Mac Cardona
• Mike Cortez
• Billy Mamaril
• Paolo Hubalde
• Mac Baracael
• Rico Maierhofer

While the players above are already at the age of 30+ years old, the Batang Pier still have Ryan Arana who is 33, Sean Anthony at 31 and, Stanley Pringle at 30. 

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While Cardona and Cortez, two former King Archers under Franz Pumaren during their respective playing years in the UAAP, are still relatively useful players, they are no longer the same in terms of their consistency. And age-wise, GlobalPort needs to get younger players if they are to compete against the likes of the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. 

Conclusion

While Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle are relatively young, they do have the experience to lead a young team. With Coach Pido Jarencio back at it, they will be one of the teams to watch out for come the league’s 43rd season. Why? They have the youth and speed plus the explosiveness of Terrence Romeo. 

Trade Rumor or Humor: Global Port Terrence Romeo for Meralco’s Chris Newsome and Baser Amer

Meralco and Global Port could be cooking up a trade or are they really?

2 for 1 as Chris Newsome and Baser Amer could be shipped to Global Port for Superstar Terrence Romeo

Even if we have not fully recovered yet from the Kia and SMB trade that instigated one of the biggest quandaries in the PBA today, here we go again with another potential blockbuster trade that could tilt the PBA and would certainly change the landscape of both teams that are involved.

Disclosure: This is a rumor and may not be true

A sleepy YouTuber with thousands of followers uploaded a video about the impending trade that is based on a tweet. The video now has 10,000 views, a number of funny comments asking the Youtuber to go to sleep as he may be needing one.

When there is smoke, there is fire 

The rumor of Terrence Romeo being traded is not new as there had been rumors about Global Port wanting to let go of either Romeo or Stanley Pringle. While both players are exceptionally good, Terrence Romeo was the more popular of the two and would attract more suitors and better returns.

Terrence Romeo also is either the reason for Global Port’s victory and demise because of his volume shooting and ball rotation becomes minimal when Terrence is on the court because of his style of play. He is fun to watch and would be one of the reasons why you want to watch Global Port basketball.

Is this a one-sided trade?  

Terrence Romeo is 25 years old and may still be improving, a scoring champion that will definitely help any team gain more popularity while Baser Amer also at 25 years old and Chris Newsome at 28 are also in the prime of their career. Both players played exceptionally well in the season and two of the reasons why Meralco has reached the finals.

Personally, If I am Meralco, I won’t be inclined to making this trade so I am debunking this rumor unless they have plans and they really want to get their hands on Terrence Romeo.

On the other hand, Global Port would be a new team if this happens. Newsome and Amer may not score the same way as Terrence but both players can definitely complement Stanley Pringle as well as the new Rookies that they acquired (Lervin Flores) which we think will be a big part of the rotation this upcoming season.

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Terrence Romeo for Chris Newsome and Baser Amer, True or Rumor?

It’s true

I want it to happen

You guys must be smoking weed

Not true

Get some sleep

I don’t care

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Stanley Pringle and Coach Franz Pumaren in a Heated Clash, While Court Side Reporter Apple David Nervously Watched

Stanley Pringle and Coach Franz Pumaren Heated Verbal Exchange

It’s very that rare you see players answer back to their coach, especially during a game and in front of thousands of viewers.  Last night, Coach Pumaren was obviously upset as his team was trailing against Ginebra and his boys were not just going back to defense.  Stanley Pringle was one of the players on the receiving end of the tirade of the frustrated coach and unfortunately, Stanley Pringle was also snappish and was having none of the surly words of Coach and figured he would throw the towel in front of everyone and push his teammates.

Pringle was able to get back from the game after apologizing and the two professionals went on to finish the game but lost.

Here’s the heated conversation between the two. Also, notice court side reporter Apple David quietly and nervously gauging the situation. Girl, please get away from there for your own sake.

Video from Sports 5.