Tag: playoffs

KAMBING INC., KUYACATS, SENIOR CITIZENS, ASTIG BOYS WILLING TO RISK IT ALL

As fate would have it, the Final Four Teams in The DUB League Volume 3.0 Playoffs had the same core as the ones who had been in the Championship Round the past 2 seasons.

Kambing Inc is currently led by Jeffrey Duria and his BFF, Ronnie Tallud. Jeffrey Duria and Von Pagdanganan won the championship together in Volume 1.0 back in 2022 – under the team name SEMIPRO – a tribute to Will Ferrell’s movie of basketball misfits and old dudes. Jeff won the championship along with the Filomeno’s (Bhon, Brian, Raffy) who are now currently in the Senior Citizens. Another piece of that championship team was Devan Mesa, who has grown his game quietly this season and a spark plug for the Kuya Cats. Paolo Olea played for The Barakos team in Volume 2.0 where they lost to the eventual champion Kuya Cats. James Bandolon, Mike Apaga, and Neil Cristobal provide the scrappy and physical game that benefits the Kambing very well. Andrei Malacapay and Robin Tallud also provide solid contributions complimenting Jeffrey and Ronnie. The biggest surprise for the team is Bombi Toves – who had been balling like there is no tomorrow this season giving the Kambings a dynamic attack offensively.

Kuya Cats, last season’s champions, is looking to prove that they can win it all without Juan Gutierrez who is now playing for the Grumpy Old Men. Gil Mandabon and CJ Luna assembled a cast of athletic guards in Renz Villanueva, Cy Real, and Dillon Pineda who are solid either off the bench or as starters. The ‘Cats also boasts a young core with Devan Mesa and Matea Mandabon who are both standouts in their school teams. Do not count Frank Mesa and Mohammed Karim who are beasts in the paint and provide the physical presence for the ‘Cats. The last but not the least is Frankie Mesa. The 6’5″ behemoth stands over any big man in the league. He is also out to prove that he can help the team win again this season.

Meanwhile, the Senior Citizens, are currently on a spicy hot streak with Juan Gutierrez leading the team. Orlando Glory, the Pinoy Black Mamba, got picked in the offseason to shore up the Senior Citizens rotation. Sharpshooter Aaron Cua who was separated from his Splash Brother – Aldrich Acuna will soon found himself facing him in their Semifinals Game. Ever reliable Lito Matildo, Bhon Filomeno, Arvin Dela Cruz provides the Seniors the much needed veteran presence while Raffy, Brian, and Ahwin provide the youthful support. The biggest surprise, however, is Angelo Dela Cruz who was very spicy off the 3 point line hitting clutch 3 point shots in their last 3 games including last week’s playoffs against the Underdogs. This may come as a surprise but I believe that Juan Gutierrez is also out to show that he can win it all with the current team and hoping to face off the ‘Cats in the Championship game to settle once and for all who were the Top G in this league.

Among the teams, the Astig Boys, has the biggest chip on their shoulders. They were in the Championship Game against the Semi Pros in Volume 1.0 where they were dominated. They fell short in the Final Four in Volume 2.0 and consequently lose Aaron Cua in the offseason shuffle. The Astigs were able to reload with Rommel Calaguas, Noel Bagalso, and Chris B addition complimenting Aldrin and Aldrich Acuna. Father and Son, Tito and Phoenix, are also solid additions to the team who are currently having a revival of games from Mitchell Salas who has been very nimble and quick footed this season. Jesse Roque as always provides the veteral presense needed by the team to compete. Perhaps, the biggest addition for the team was the former #1 overall pick of Volume 2.0, Cris Dapon, who had a shaky first couple of games before finding his stride in this team. Ads Acuna also picked up a couple of tips from Aldrich with regards to shooting from the 3 point area as he had been scorching hot the last few games.

Perhaps the biggest questions for The DUB League Volume 3.0 Championship Weekend are:

Will this Championship validates Jeffrey Duria and the Kambings domination over the other teams this season?

Will the ‘Cats be able to repeat as Champions without the dynamic Juan Gutierrez?

Can the Senior Citizens win it all with the current cast led by Juan Gutierrez and perhaps, stop being Grumpy Old Men?

Is the window closing for Aldrin Acuna, Aldrich Acuna and the Astigs for basketball immortality?

Too many questions to answer and too little time to go.

Will The “Asong Ulol” Bite The “Grumpy Old Men”?

Aris suggested calling The Underdogs as “Asong Ulol” today. I thought it was hilarious. This is kind of ironic because, apart from Team Pogi, The Underdogs are your guys next door basketball team, your friendly neighbor, or the neighborhood jogger. I guess appearance can be deceiving as many friendly neighbors were somewhat of a sociopath behind the upbeat and non-threatening facade.

Are The Underdogs sociopaths? As of this writing, I don’t see any sign of it. Maybe they are not yet activated or the virus that made them tick is still lying dormant. It may not be the same as the zombie virus which automatically manifest itself once the victim is bitten. However, this may be a more dangerous phenomenon. Maybe, could it be that the vaccine zombievax will activate just in time for the playoffs?

On the other hand, Senior Citizens may be Grumpy Old Men. A couple weeks back their star Juan was so mad at the official that he passed the ball to him. Arvin Dela Cruz is usually a fun baller until you don’t record his stats or you pass the ball to a different person when he is wide open and ready to jolenz. Angelo Dela Cruz isn’t that old and yet he acts like one and often showing off his collection in Facebook while shooting at imaginary targets. You don’t wanna mess with this guy. The Filomenos are a bunch not to be mess with. If they go Dr Hyde on you, you better cover the 3 point territory or you will regret it.

Lito Matildo, Ahwin, and Orlando Glory are another pair of veterans in the team that just wanna have fun, and give high fives. I haven’t seen them blew their top off yet and hopefully, not in this lifetime.

Aaron is also not that old to be in this category but he can make you grumpy and old by letting you chase him around the court.

The last time The Underdogs played the Senior Citizens, they went into Overtime and almost won the game.

The Underdogs or Asong Ulols are like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. You kind don’t know when they have their explosive game or a bad one. With Kyle Aguirre, Rodfil, and Al Bae playing together, the team is unstoppable in the open court. But without one of them, it will be difficult for them to run the break.

The team got physical presence with Oliver Poblete, Jun Centeno and Aris Aguirre while having the youth of Aldwin and Jr Sunga making plays for them.

Don’t leave Philip Autencio out. The last playoff game he played in the Sunday league he hit 6 3-point shots because the other team left him.

This matchup will have so much fireworks and I hope you will stay long enough to watch the teams play.

Will The Real Baluts Show Up?; Kambing “Heavily Favored?”

It had been an ongoing debate or non-debate at The DUB League Volume 3.0 to just give Jeffrey, Ronnie and the Kambing Inc team the Championship as they are the most stacked both in paper and in the games. Kambing is currently the number one overall seed in this seasons playoffs! They were merciless this season at almost every game and beating their opponents badly.

On the other hand, many of the the Balut All Stars players had been missing in action in the first 7 weeks while leaving Cyrel, Richard, Jingson, Eric, and CK playing against the other teams each week. The team is ripe with talent and can beat any team on paper. But, they haven’t been playing together this entire team. Guaranteeing that everything will click once the team all comes together this weekend will be like the Chicago Bulls hoping for a big playoff push when Michael Jordan first came back from retirement in 1995!

Kambing Inc are blessed to have a well-oiled, good chemistry, and offensively capable team with a solid bench. Andrei Malacapay had been manning the middle along with James Bandolon and Neil Cristobal to provide that physical presence and big boy pants in the lane. Meanwhile, their guards Bombi Toves and Robin Tallud had been hitting from beyond the arc along with Michael Apaga. It would also be a big mistake to just forget about pass-first point guard in Paolo Olea who had been somewhat trying to figure out his role in this team along with Von Pagdanganan who won Volume 1.0 Championship with Jeffrey Duria.

Meanwhile, the Balut All Stars has a lot to prove – whether or not talent will elevate the team when it matters the most or chemistry and being able to play together will win the game. Blessed with big men Chester Timbol and Patrick Corpuz, the team had not been able to see both guys together in the court. Nervin Metrillo and Loven Villanueva provides high IQ veteral presence for the team as they try to give the Kambings the surprise of their life.

Will The Real Baluts Show Up? Or will the “Heavily Flavored” Kambing Inc cruise to the Semifinals next week?