2011 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Power Rankings: As of March 6, 2011

SYDMAN'S POWER RANKINGS

2011 PBA COMMISSIONER’S CUP

AS OF MARCH 6, 2011  

Welcome to the Power Rankings! We are now in the midway point of the season and while I am hating the fact that the imports are nothing but dominant, at least we can see our stars performing more than what people expect from them.

Let’s check in on the happenings:

B-Meg, Ginebra, and Talk N Text barely had lineup changes but teams like Meralco, Air21, San Miguel, and Rain or Shine had major overhauls.

Hell, we don’t know if the third conference will have Barako Bull’s final conference or another Smart-Gilas stint or the debut of Phoenix Fuel!

We have one returnee from the Asean Basketball League by the name of Leo Avenido. Most of the players will see action in the PBA Developmental League that will start this March 13.

Anyway, if you’re living in a rock... known as the Philippines, you’ll find the names listed in the rank... familiar. If you have problems with the list, feel free to contact me. However, let me point out that this is an individual list. If you can see teams like Rain or Shine or Ginebra in the bottom half, that means the teams are talent-heavy.

At the first phase of the rankings, this list will be solely dependent on the stats.

En route to the Commissioner’s Cup finals, the list will expand on stats like win-loss slates. Basically the teams with the most games will have their players figuring in this rank prominently.

So game starts now.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN 

40 LARRY RODRIGUEZ / RAIN OR SHINE

39 GABE NORWOOD / RAIN OR SHINE

38 DORIAN PENA / AIR21

37 DONDON HONTIVEROS / AIR21

36 MAC BARACAEL / SMART-GILAS

35 RUDY HATFIELD / GINEBRA

34 MARK BARROCA / SMART-GILAS

33 WILLIE MILLER / GINEBRA

32 JOSEPH YEO / SAN MIGUEL

31 RONALD TUBID / GINEBRA

30 RYAN ARANA / RAIN OR SHINE

29 JONAS VILLANUEVA / B-MEG

28 RYAN REYES / TALK N TEXT

27 ARWIND SANTOS / SAN MIGUEL

26 JV CASIO / SMART-GILAS

25 GABBY ESPINAS / MERALCO

24 ALEX CABAGNOT / SAN MIGUEL

23 JAY-R REYES / AIR21

22 MARCIO LASSITER / SMART-GILAS

21 ASI TAULAVA / MERALCO

THE TOP 20

20 MARK CAGUIOA / GINEBRA – The shooting guard spot is a very difficult position to own in the Kings rotation and when Miller steps up his game, expect The Spark’s game to slide.

19 JOSH URBIZTONDO / AIR21 – He posted a career-high 30 points against San Miguel (and the Beermen took vengeance by robbing the Express of its youth). Expect a lot from Josh in the coming weeks.

18 MARC PINGRIS / B-MEG – After an injury-plagued Philippine Cup, Ping is back to pad his season double-doubles especially since their import is barely a post-up threat.

17 RABEH AL-HUSSAINI / SAN MIGUEL – SMC was so keen in getting his services that they released three of their most favourite and faithful stars. Hopefully he’ll mesh well with their other stars.

16 PETER JUNE SIMON / B-MEG – This is turning out to be a great PBA season for The Double Apostle. Once he gained the trust of Jorge Gallent, the next thing he wanted to own was the shots!

15 SOLOMON MERCADO / MERALCO – Sol Mercado is sharing playing time and shot selections with Macmac Cardona. Once these guys mesh, expect great things from the Bolts’ camp.

14 CYRUS BAGUIO / ALASKA – Currently overshadowed by JDV, Boss, and LA, expect Skyrus to go berserk. What’s scary about the Aces is that they have five players that they can rely on. 

13 KELLY WILLIAMS / TALK N TEXT – Machine Gun Kelly is averaging double-doubles at the start of the tourney and this should clean up his kind-of-slump during the Philippine Cup.

12 DANNY SEIGLE / AIR21 – I expect “The Dynamite” to explode especially against his former team. He hated his diminished role with the group and he is out to prove to everyone that he can still go.

11 RANIDEL DE OCAMPO / TALK N TEXT – In a team heavy in their frontline positions, Chot Reyes is contented in using Ranidel to an extent. Don’t think of this as permanent though since Ali Peek and Harvey Carey are waiting for their turns up top.

10 JAMES YAP / B-MEG – Against Ginebra, King James played like a beast to erupt with a rare double-double performance. With their import somewhat lacking, you can expect more from Boy Thunder.

9 SONNY THOSS / ALASKA – The Boss is one of three local players averaging in double-doubles. Having 6’4 imports is great for the big man because there are no big imports hogging his playing time.

8 MACMAC CARDONA / MERALCO – Captain Hook is adjusting with a new number and a new scoring partner. He is still Meralco’s top dog but he needs to be wary of Sol Train’s surge.

7 LA TENORIO / ALASKA – He is having a great conference. What he did Ginebra was such a confidence booster. Flying LA is taking charge of the moment and even if Tim Cone doesn’t approve of his decisions, Alaska lives and dies with him.

6 REYNEL HUGNATAN / MERALCO – I expect this to drop in two weeks’ time. For one, if Meralco finds a big man import, his importance will be diminished. Of the three players averaging in double-doubles... he is the most unlikely to do so. However you just can’t discount the ability of Reynel because maybe he’s just a great fit in Ryan Gregorio’s system!

5 JIMMY ALAPAG / TALK N TEXT – With Olsen Racela and Johnny Abarrientos sacrificing their careers for coaching duties, Jimmy Alapag and Jayjay Helterbrand are the league’s yardstick for point guards. With Jayjay injured though, Jimmy is the player to beat.

4 GARY DAVID / POWERADE – Russell Carter’s entry to the squad is great for Mr. Pure Energy. The sad thing though, is that despite the fact that they own a strong import, their local scoring support continues to be unsettling.

3 JOE DEVANCE / ALASKA – The guy continues his steady attempt to win the MVP plum. Aside from JDV leading his team in rebounds and blocks, he is prominently seeded in Alaska’s points, assists, and steals leaders.

2 CHRIS TIU / SMART-GILAS – For those who think that Tiu is nothing more than a glorified version of Paolo Mendoza, he is proving the critics wrong in his recent games with the Nationals. His 16ppg, 9.5rpg, and 4.5apg are great numbers although one should ask on how long his trend will continue.

1 JAY WASHINGTON / SAN MIGUEL – After winning the Best Player of the Conference, J-Wash is showing no signs of slowing down. Now he is one of the key vets of the SMB roster, Washington needs to assert himself more during games. If he can win the conference’s BPC, expect J-Wash to win the Season’s MVP trophy.  

Since the conference is barely at its adolescent stage, you can see a lot of odd names on the top of the heap. As the season progress, expect some names to drop. I believe players like Chris Tiu, Danny Seigle, and Reynel Hugnatan will experience stat drop sooner than later but again, we’ll never know especially since Seigle and Tiu are used in their respective teams and Hugnatan is getting great feedback from his coach.

This is also the reason why the list only counts down 40 and not my usual 50 – because the stats have yet to expand.

So until this list refreshes in two weeks time...

Game over!