I was
about to blog about the ineligibility of Marcio
Lassiter and Chris Lutz to play in
the 2011 FIBA-Asia Championship.
But
then the Bahrain versus China
shocked me.
BADER MALABES!
For
those who live in a rock and have no idea on how popular basketball is in the
Philippines, Bader Malabes is a former DLSU
Green Archers that was with the squad when Macmac Cardona and Joseph
Yeo were still playing for the school. Born in Bahrain to Filipino parents,
Malabes was left undrafted in the PBA Draft
(This was stated by the broadcast panel comprised of Ronnie Magsanoc and Mico Halili although as I searched the net, I
can’t seem to find any article supporting this statement. I'm guessing his papers are just problematic.) so he returned to
Bahrain and apparently made a name for himself.
So why
the hell am I hailing his name?
In the
2011 FIBA-Asia Championships, Bader
Malabes scored 15 points in the first quarter against China.
China
the host team...
China the
team where Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi, Liu
Wei, and Sun Yue is playing...
China...
the F’N Asian powerhouse!
Sure
China regained form to wallop the Bahraini ballers, 101 to 49 but they did
enough to give the host team hell.
And
like I said... Bader Malabes.
Why
wasn’t he like that when he was still playing for La Salle?
Seeing
him perform makes me wonder about those other players that used to call their
Philippines their home.
Maybe
I’ll get to see Ferdinand playing
for his team in Indonesia!
LOL!
Anyway,
if the reports are true, then as a Fil-Am, Bader Malabes is entitled to play in
the PBA. Thing is, with the way he played against a powerhouse team like China,
maybe he can do the same in the PBA. Bear witness to the fact that as a ROOKIE
FREE AGENT, he is entitled to entertain various offer sheets and sign with
whatever PBA team he can play for.
I am
guessing Franz Pumaren would like to
use Malabes in some extent. The Shopinas.com
Clickers have in some ways La Salle-ize its lineup and Bader can be the
shooting guards he yearns right now. Playing in front of the Bahraini crowd, he
is reminiscent to James Yap or Macmac Cardona in terms of fanfare.
This
means he is now used to being the go-to-guy and can be trusted to do great
things in dire situations.
But
maybe he is contented as a top star in Bahrain.
Certainly,
seeing him play again is such a wonderful sight.
I
wonder how he’ll fare playing against ex-teammate JV Casio?
Game
over!
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