As The League enters Week 6, there were many things that we need to look back and learn from in the last weekend’s games.
This also might be the first week where many of the leagues stars will not be playing on Week 6’s games due to a two-day tournament that takes place on October 28th.
As they say, the show must go on. Week 6 will be the time for the bench players to shine and play the game of their lives.
The Good
After 5 weeks of play, Kambing Inc looked very impressive as they let Team Pogi “bites the dust” in their Week 5 matchup. As usual, the Jeffrey and Ronnie show was on full steam with Ronnie being more of a facilitator on the Kambing’s roaring offense. Andrei Malacapay turned up into his best game of the season grabbing 4 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals. Do not get deceive by the number of points but marvel at the mere presence of Andrei in the paint makes the Gwapings had second thoughts driving into the lane for scoring opportunities.
Kuya Cats, just like the Kambing, were roaring like Lions in their drubbing of the Barakos who were on a two game losing streak. Led by CJ Luna’s shooting and Frankie Mesa occupying the paint, the ‘Cats showed that they are still the team to beat in this league at par with the Kambings. Gil Mandabon added a solid game along with young studs Matea Mandabon and Devan Mesa. Can the streak continue as they face the Senior Citizens on Week 6?
Since the Astig Boys changed their starting lineup with Cris Dapon at the PG position, the team had been unstoppable. Rommel Calaguas started the game while Aldrin Acuna came off the bench giving them a solid 1-2 punch in their big man rotation. Aldrin Acuna also had another solid game leading the Astigs with 16points while stopping Juan Gutierrez in their win over the Senior Citizens. Noel Bagalso, Aldrich Acuna, Phoenix Galing, and Ads Acuna all shined in their win on Week 5. Will they have enough in their tank as they face Team Pogi on Week 6?
Even with a 0-5 record, you have to applaud what the Balut All Stars had done so far. Even with the lack of manpower, they were always in a striking distance to win the game. High IQ basketball is what this team is showing and it was very evident in their loses. They were able to execute and keep the game close. Eric Pranivong had been a rebounding machine while Cyrel Legaspi had full command to launch their offensive attack. Jingson Morales and CK Arcilla were supporting both in offense and defense. Nervin Metrillo and Loven Villanueva makes the big baskets when needed. The best part of it all, Richard Osay, was showing no signs of slowing down. He had been on fire the last few games. Will they finally get their first W of the season on Week 6?
The Underdogs rebounded from their OT loss to the Senior Citizens in Week 4 and won their matchup vs the Balut All Stars in their OT win in Week 5. Rodfil Camacho, Aldwin Brotonel, Al Bae, and Kyle Aguirre were sensational right at the gates and were able to stave off the Balut All Stars flirtation for their own first win of the season. Rodje and JR were providing the much needed young legs on offense while Philip, Dennis, and Aris were the OGs of the team guiding them and keeping them composed throughout the game. Will they be able to win over the depleted Kambing Inc in Week 6?
The Bad
Barakos had been reeling since their Week 1 win over Team Pogi. They cannot seem to find their rhythm and it shows. The lack of movement of the basketball had been nagging the Barakos. On Week 1, they seem unstoppable as they hit shot after shot over Team Pogi. Neil Bagalso had been silent the past few games while Mico Mercado’s production was getting invincible as the season dragged on. The only shining light so far was Yoneo Gamalinda who had been looking like peak YMG hitting 3 pointers after 3 pointers to get the Barakos in the game. Additionally, Yuhenyo Giron had been balling and was showing more facets of his game. Will they be able to bounce back on Week 6 given that most of their starters will be playing in the weekend tournament in Dallas?
Team Pogi is another team that was hard to pinpoint. Right now, they are a middle-of-the-pack team and worst if they play without Michael Humphrey and Joseph Brimon. The team did not have a very dynamic offense and can fall into stagnation as the game progressed. They always fall behind early in the game and trying to climb back out of the quicksand that they put themselves into. Will they be able to find their stride against the Astig Boys on Week 6 without Humph and Joseph? Will CJ Pineda’s knees be right again? Will GJ and Gerald be running like mad dogs for the win?
The Ugly
It is really hard to make a writeup for the Senior Citizens in this category. But in Week 6, being put in this category may be well-deserved. Juan Gutierrez carried the team with 33 points and gotten brutally mugged by Rommel and Aldrin every time he tried to score a basket. Orlando Glory was able to contribute 10 points and Ahwin has 7 points but not much production from the other players after that. They were sorely missing Lito Matildo’s fastbreak and 3 point shooting as well as his rebounding prowess. Those were just “warm ups” with regards to the on-court incident that happened late in the game when Juan lose his cool and passed the ball to the referee who took offense from it and called in a technical.
As I’ve been saying the past couple of weeks, the referees were really spotty. They seem unable to adjust to the way the group plays basketball. It is not a “No Blood No Foul” kind of game but it sure looked like it the past couple of weeks.
The league wanted to ensure that nobody gets hurt and that tempers were controlled by briefing the referees each game. However, this was not the case and there were no corrective measures were done on the officiating crew’s side. Will they improve their game calling on Week 6?
The DUB League Week 6 will be shown live in the Dallas United Ballers facebook page starting at 915am on October 28th, 2023.