9 New Stars of the PBA!

9 New Stars of the PBA!
WORDS BY B.A. BORLEO
May 18, 2012

Everyone grows old in the PBA—well, maybe except Jaworski. The Yaps, Santoses, and Davids will eventually be limited by their bodies and wilt into the sunshine. Younger legs will find more success.

Top of mind, there's already Paul Lee, arguably the best young locally-honed (he grew up in Tondo, for crying out loud) all-around talent. He can break ankles, is a streak shooter, and is madiskarte and maangas—all of which we love/love to hate from players. Expect him to carry the torch for the PBA for the next few years.
And then there's Ronald Tubid who isn't that young at 31, yes but who, with his unique skill set will have a prolonged PBA career. He’s fucking annoying—as in will-block-your-path-with-his-body-then-fall-to-the-ground-in-an-OA-manner to-catch-the-referee’s-attention kind of annoying. Right, Jimmy Alapag?

We reckon that if Pope Benedict XVI plays ball at the PBA, Tubid (who incidentally, and ultra-ironically, is nicknamed “The Saint”) can and will find a way to get the Pontiff’s ire and destroy his game. Such is the beauty of Tubid’s skills.

And then there's the following seven younger, fresher players. We believe they'll headline everyone’s PBA fix in the foreseeable future. Palagay niyo?

ALEX CABAGNOT

What makes him so damn good: If Jojo Lastimosa was the ’90s Mr. Fourth Quarter, then we dub the long-haired, newscaster-dating—we won’t say who, given that we’re not exactly privy to their relationship, but we’ll give you her initials: GC—Petron Blaze Boosters guard as today’s Mr. Two Minutes, or Mr. Ten Seconds, all because of his propensity for making crucial baskets at the most suitable of times. Watch this and this prettier one.When not breaking opponent’s hearts he’s known to throw nifty passes and create scoring opportunities for his teammates—hence his place as the PBA’s second best assist man at 6.75 assists per game.





MARCIO LASSITER (photo above) AND CHRIS LUTZ (bottom photo)

What makes them so damn good: Petron’s shooting guard/small forward combo possess all the basic wingman abilities: they are excellent perimeter defenders, has decent shooting range, can penetrate to the inside lane, and runs at every opportunity possible. It also helps that they are both products of the Smart Gilas national team, which gave them incomparable basketball experience. And although we would have wanted to see them gnawing on each other, it could be a treat seeing them wreaking havoc against the other teams’ top guards.




JVEE CASIO

What makes him so damn good: If you loved Johnny “Flying A” Abarrientos and/or any other “small” player who’s able to dominate a game, then you’ll like Casio. He doesn’t jump that high and isn’t particularly quick but what he can do, he can do very well. Young JVee can flat-out shoot from literally anywhere. And we’re not talking about open shots here, mind. He can have someone running at him/ chasing him/sticking to him and he’ll drain that shot. Watch here




DYLAN ABABOU

What makes him so damn good: With Mark Caguioa and JayJay Helterbrand nearing the end of their careers (don’t tell them that though), Ababou is now Brgy. Ginebra’s
best bet at being fan-friendly and respectably good for the next few years. At present, he’s still a bit rough around the edges. His wily play resulting in either highlight reel-worthy stuff or totally head-scratching results. Let’s just all hope it takes a considerably shorter time for him to get really good.




SONNY THOSS

What makes him so damn good: Thoss is the best Filipino big man (Okay, arguably it’s Marcus Douthit. But Congress made him Pinoy. Thoss was made by a Pinay egg cell). And with our lack of talented big guys, he’s most likely going to be the best for quite a while.




JASON CASTRO

What makes him so damn good: He’s freakishly quick, tough, isn’t afraid to get hit, will respond with a hit of his own, is never-say-die, and has an array of moves that makes you go, “What?” Truth be told, without Castro’s brilliant play, Talk N’ Text wouldn’t be worth shit. It’s Castro that drives everything (How did Talk N’ Text lost that Game 7 to B-Meg? Castro played poorly). Consistency, being injury-free, developing a better outside game, and maybe growing a few more inches (he’s just 5’11”): if Castro does all this, he just might become one the best players we’ve ever seen.

Source: FHM.com.ph