(This is the first of ten
articles called What They Need. Last
year, I made a version where we called out a PBA team’s roster and pick out the
slots they need to shore up. Most of these deficiencies are addressed via the
draft.)
Last
year, B-Meg had a spectacular run.
This season? Not so much. Their locals are as solid as ever but they wasted
their season by picking up shitty reinforcements. While injuries to Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris (in the
first half of the Philippine Cup), Roger Yap (at the latter part of the
Governor’s Cup), Rafi Reavis, and Rico Maierhofer disrupted their
rotation, B-Meg had great acquisitions in Joe
Devance, Jonas Villanueva, Josh Urbiztondo, and Jerwin Gaco.
And
then there’s James Yap. Last year’s MVP was injured in the middle of the
season but he made things right and finished the season on a high note.
If
B-Meg is intact, their awesomeness is limitless. But if they have absentees...
that’s the problem.
TOP
FIVE LLAMADOS OF THE 2010-11 SEASON:
1
JAMES YAP
PHILCUP:
17.3PPG – 4.0RPG – 2.2APG – 22 GAMES
COMCUP:
19.4PPG – 4.6RPG – 1.8APG – 5 GAMES
GOVCUP:
21.0PPG – 4.8RPG – 1.0APG – 0.8SPG – 13 GAMES
2
JOE DEVANCE
PHILCUP:
(ALASKA) 19.2PPG – 8.8RPG – 3.2APG – 1.1BPG – 17 GAMES
COMCUP:
(ALASKA) 14.6PPG – 7.8RPG – 4.8APG – 1.1BPG – 12 GAMES
GOVCUP:
14.6PPG – 8.5RPG – 2.8APG – 1.2BPG – 13 GAMES
3
PETER JUNE SIMON
PHILCUP:
18.0PPG – 2.8RPG – 1.6APG – 21 GAMES
COMCUP:
17.8PPG – 4.4RPG – 1.4APG – 9 GAMES
GOVCUP:
15.0PPG – 3.6RPG – 1.7APG – 12 GAMES
4
MARC PINGRIS
PHILCUP:
6.7PPG – 7.4RPG – 1.2APG – 0.9BPG – 12 GAMES
COMCUP:
12.4PPG – 11.0RPG – 1.2APG – 1.2SPG – 0.7BPG – 9 GAMES
GOVCUP:
10.9PPG – 10.2RPG – 1.8APG – 0.8SPG – 1.1BPG – 13 GAMES
5
ROGER YAP
PHILCUP:
7.7PPG – 4.1RPG – 4.5APG – 1.2SPG – 21 GAMES
COMCUP:
6.7PPG – 3.4RPG – 3.6APG – 0.9SPG – 9 GAMES
GOVCUP:
5.8PPG – 4.2RPG – 3.3APG – 1.4SPG – 9 GAMES
WHAT
THEY NEED:
CENTERS: No question, this team has
size. They have Rafi Reavis and Don Allado to back up Joe Devance and if that’s not enough,
they still have Romel Adducul in
their reserve list. Unfortunately for the Llamados, Reavis is no offensive
option and Don Allado’s skills have deteriorated for some insane reason. Maybe
they need to get a center that can be a project for the future.
FORWARDS: There is a reason I forgot Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris, Rico
Maierhofer, and Jerwin Gaco in
the big man roll call. Like I said, B-Meg is stacked with able big men and the
only problem that they could encounter here is when they fall to injury.
Raymundo, Reavis, and Maierhofer went MIA most of the season and this is
something that Devance have kind of solved. Pingris has also exploded this
season finishing in double-doubles in consecutive conferences.
GUARDS: As for the shooting/slashing
spots James Yap and Peter June Simon gets the credit in
these positions. Yap would often move to small forward to give the Llamados
their “apostle connection”. They can get a backup slasher for these two because
Jonathan Fernandez hasn’t been
hitting his troikas yet. As for the orchestration execution, Roger Yap and Jonas Villanueva are solid producers in this area. Josh Urbiztondo is a wonderful pickup.
WHO
SHOULD THEY PICK?
Gee. I
don’t know. I just don’t know. They have no first round pick and I don’t know
if they will use whatever they can get in the second round... if they have a
pick. I don’t think B-Meg needs to trade to claim a pick because I’m guessing
they’ll just do this to destroy their frontline. Sure, Kerby Raymundo’s
contract is expiring but B-Meg is not dumb enough to not rehire their chief
big. Maybe the Llamados could get a pick to pad youth in their roster. Do they
still hold the draft rights to Pari
Llagas because it was Llagas who chose not to sign and not the other way
around? Because if they can, maybe they can send Don Allado and another player to
Shopinas for their draft pick and
maybe get a Smart-Gilas star in the
process. I think they should be lucky if they find Eric Salamat, James Martinez, and Garvo Lanete available.
Game
over.
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