Volume Basketball League 2010 Preview

The most anticipated game in CSS is soon to be launched once again come on October 16, 2010. Five teams will be vying for the coveted championship and bragging rights as the 3^rd Champion Team in CSS league.

Team APAC was the 1^st ever to win the championship in 2008. They swept the Online Team in the finals in their Best of 3-affair. Kristoffer Apsay led the charge for Team APAC and was adjudged also as MVP that year.

In the 2^nd Season, it was the time for Team Braviax to claim the Championship. This team was the best team on paper as they swept the elimination round and easily dismantled Team BSOD in the Final 4 or the Semifinals. But unfortunately their unblemished record was scraped by Team Online as they pushed to the limit in the Best of 3 Finals. Christian Nava led the team and was named also as the MVP and Best Defensive Player of the year.

Online Team (Rank 1) 1st runner-up last year

This is the team to beat this year. They have been the bridesmaids for the past 2 seasons and this will be a make or break for this squad. Online Team is known for its slow type of team especially at the start of the elimination round. But comes in the latter part and in semifinals they are tough to beat.

Online Team eliminated Team Arsenals twice in the semifinals even without the twice to beat privileges. Now that Christian Nava is the reigning MVP and will be donning Online Team’s uniform, they are heavily favored to be crowned this year.

This team has the best starting five this season. The main guns of this team are still intact. Christian "D' Demolition Man" Nava wiill continue to dominate the paint; Larry Favorito and Nicolo De Jesus are “the High Octane Backcourt combination” that will give lot's of troubles to other teams, Tristan "Mr. Cool" Samonte to control the tempo and Mythical Five member Paolo Mercado to control the boards, will be the usual first 5 of this team. While coming off the bench, you can always rely on shooting prowess of Sir Bennett "the Great" Reyes, Ebenizer “Mr. Health Card Trash Talker” Padua will provide some angst to the team and quality minutes from Jon Guevara and Hernan "Paolo Bediones--Wanna BE" Manalastas.

But there are questions that need to be answered: How will this team respond to the challenge? Are these players willing to sacrifice their stats for the W? Will they form the right chemistry? And lastly are they bound to win ­the championship or will just remain as Bridesmaids for 3 consecutive seasons?

Prediction:
>> Top 2 finishers after elimination round (Twice 2 Beat)


Arsenals (Rank 2) 2^nd runner-up last year

What a time for this team to reunite with their former Team Captain Christian Lumanglas... He headlined the topic last year because of the controversial three-way trade happened on the draft day. He was sent to Team Braviax and dictated the tempo of the best and most talented team that was produced last year; and they eventually claimed the championship.

The team has always been on the top of the standings after the elimination round. They were always armed with Twice to beat advantage but were knocked out twice in the semifinals by their nemesis Online Team.

Now that the core of the team has once again revitalized, there’s no turning back but only aiming for the championship. This is the best year to prove that they can get it done and gain some respect with the other teams.

The team will now be on its full strength as Christian "D' Maestro" Lumanglas will control the offensive charge with the benefits of his championship experience, new captain Gerald "The Big Ticket" Bona will continue to be athletic as he muscle-in his team for a spot in the finals, last year’s captain Jefferson "TTe or Tall and Terrible" Valdepena will try to revive his career as he will control the interior, “the tactician and all around play” of Jayson Lim, will bring his lots of energy to the team and “the high scoring and Mr. Stats-Minute-Conscious/Volume Shot Maker” Jerameel Bautista will be the usual five, plus the arrival of “Gamer Boi” Vitto Padre and “Mr. Camera Man” Lolijim Gonzales to add depth on the team. And last but not the least George Dela Victoria’s “Killer Smile” will rock opponents world.

Remember this is the first team ever to beat a PSS Team in the PSS-CSS Invitationals’ about two seasons ago. Despite having 5 Arsenals players versus 12 PSS gunners, this so called “unbelievable dramatic upset” victory marked a milestone in Trend’s Basketball history.

The only sad part this year is; Sir Bennett Reyes and Sir Jon Capulong will no longer be in the lineup as they were picked by other teams early in the draft, to mess up the Arsenals’ planned reunion.

Question for this squadron: Can this team surpassed the Final Four and reach the Finals for the first time or will end up as another big disappointment season?

Prediction:
>> Top 2 finishers after elimination round (Twice 2 Beat)

Sentinels (Rank 3) Skipped last year

This is one of the teams that have great chance of pulling an upset. Even without the services of Jefferson Valdepeña and Christian Lumanglas in the lineup, this team is still dangerous especially the athletic and last year’s Mythical Team member Glenn Suegay will be leading this team to the promise land.

In the inaugural season, Sentinels or also known as Escalation Team has finished dead last in the standings as they were winless that season then skipped last year’s tournament as the players were divided into 2 teams. (BSOD and Braviax)

This year will be best the time to resurrect their pride. Let us see how the Escalation Team will transfer their technical knowledge and expertise onto the hard court.

This dangerous team will be composed of Glen Suegay who will be the main focal point of their offense, Nathaniel “Pawner and the Groom to be” De Vera will bring his leadership to this team, Phillip Bautista will be there to crash the boards, Fyle “SueGay’s Twins”Sildo to provide good outside shooting touch and Gianne “Mr. Lover Boi” Ira will supply the dirty works to complete the starting cast. Sir Glenn Esquejo and Sir Jed De Leon “the Master ZEN” of Team Escalation will control the strategy of the team, Sir Richard Mayores and Sir Willand Osabel to serve as “the sparkplugs” of team, Kristoffer Jocson to provide perimeter shooting, Dann Veridiano will be “the official MASCOT” and lastly Vinzon Villaroman will be “the X-Factor” as he will try to energize his teammates by hitting on their asses (Nice Ass).

Question for the team: Can this “Manager-packed Team” finally step into the WIN column? Will they be able to compete with tall and talented teams? And lastly, is Vinzon’s “Nardong Putik” charm will bring this team to the promise land or to the MUD LAND? (Plak!)

Prediction:
>> Will enter Final Four

Kankunis (Rank 4) Did not qualify in Final Four last year

Team Kankunis will be one of the teams who will try to chase to enter the Final Four cast. They will be parading their new recruit, the versatile player who made some noise in PSS-CSS Invitational, no other than their Rookie Team Captain Ramon Ocampo.

This ever so popular male group; Team Butterflies wasn’t able to enter the Final Four in the past 2 seasons. Now would be the best time to fulfill that dream now that they have the go to go guy.

One movement that caught my attention of this team was, when Big Man Mark Beloy wasn’t part of their protected picks. Everyone was caught by surprised by this team’s major major overhaul. As a result, Beloy was forced to form a team and to his dismay he intentionally picked his ever reliable sidekick Carl Vega to team-up with him.

Ramon “the rookie sensation” Ocampo will be the main target of their offense, Sir Ryan "D' Versatile" Alberto to provide hustle for the team, Peterson "The Beast" Perez to hit big shots come in crunch time, Randy "D Director" Francisco to manage the offensive pace, and Franklin "Hunk" Zapata to control the paint and to complete the best five of the squad. Coming off the bench are Sir Monroe Paulino who will provide instant offense, Sir Reximo “EOQ: No Show” Ignacio will be there to dive for the loose ball, Rudolf Chua to provide quality minutes and finally Rolfe “El Aparador” Garcia will serve as the energizer of the team.

Question for the team: Will this team survive the competition without Mark Beloy and Carl Vega on their fold? Is the rookie sensation for real? Are they a Final Four bound team or will they just remain at the bottom of the standings?

Prediction:
>> Will Slugout for the last Final Four Slot

Titanium Elite (Rank 5) (Expansion Team)

If there were a team that is young and talented, it is Titanium Elite. The team has the guns and ammo, with the Twin Tower Combination of “BebeLoy” Mark Beloy and Bernabe Bebe Regacho who will dominate the paint and protect the rim, Carl Vega’s court awareness plus bunch of young and promising rookies.

The most awaited game for this squad is when they will finally meet face to face with Team Kankunis/Fox in the elimination round. Mark Beloy will be highly motivated to prove to his former team that they will regret of not choosing him as one of their protected picks. This will be a WAR.

Mark “El Presidente” Beloy will be carrying the offensive load of the team, Carl “TaeYang” Vega to be the usual court general, Bernabe “The Pasa-Load Master” Regacho to handle the interior, Dexter Lopez to control the fastbreak and the rookie captain Roie Exconde to do the dirty job and to complete the magnificent(fabulous) 5. Coming off the bench, the team can rely on Sir Jonathan “The Ageless” Capulong who can score and create for others depending on his health issues, while Sir Julio “The Secret” Reyes will be their top secret comes in offense.

Question for this team: Will this young team be able to handle the pressure? Who will be willing to take the shots in crunch time? And lastly will El Presidente put a big statement now that he’ll be suiting up for this season’s MVP.

Prediction:
>> Will slugout for last Final Four berth

No offense meant to all Volume Team players, this is “only my” (editor’s) opinion and analysis. I ranked all the teams based on the roster we have today. I apologize to the newbies and rookies whom I didn’t mention in this article, maybe because I haven’t seen how you play and what impact you’ll bring to this league.

Let’s all give our best performance in every game. Let’s make Love not WAR and more importantly have FUN!

This article is meant to entice, tempt, attract and invite all our fans from Volume Team to come out and watch all our players’ gun for this year’s Volume Basketball League 2010 championship.