CSS Basketball Season 4: Director’s Cup Preview

After 7 months of hiatus, Consumer Sports Committee will launch its 4^th basketball season this coming Saturday July 30, 2011 happening at Ynares Center. Five teams will be vying for the coveted championship and bragging rights as the 4th Champion Team in CSS Basketball league.

Last year’s preview: http://chris-champs.blogspot.com/2010/10/ccs-basketball-2010-preview.html

Before the opening of the tournament, there will be a special event that every Consumer engineers love; the CSS’ 2^nd All Hands Meeting. Speeches, discussions and talks will be delivered by our beloved managers; food will be served afterwards and the opening ceremony of the tournament should start afterwards.

Some league analysts say that this might be the worst and dirtiest draft ever in CSS Basketball history. Legacy was lost; teams were broken; rivalries converge and so much more. Some popular players will be banned to play due to career movements that affected their consumer basketball contract. Others departed to what they think is a Happier Place but put an end on their consumer basketball career.

Rumors have it that all these may cause a CSS Basketball lockout next year. Nonetheless, let’s keep that on hold for the mean time. This year’s league seems more promising than the last three seasons. The league is under new management; and so far they showcased what Consumer Team has to offer when it comes to events like this. Plus, from what we’ve heard; tournament such as Badminton, DOTA, etc. are on the pipeline, so watch out.

Now here are your new bands of brothers who will compete for the tournament. Forecasts were based on last season’s performance. We do apologize in advance; and no pun was intended to any CSS Teams or players. Rookies; most of you were not mention in this article, possibly our game analysts haven’t seen you play but we’re surely excited on what you can contribute to this league.

Team Color: White

Team Name: Trend Micro Basketball

Sounds like the Varsity team of Trend Micro. Who cares? These self proclaimed varsity blues have a promising line up but have yet to prove a dime. Do they have the rights? Maybe, since they have the deepest and tallest bench lineup this season. This franchise made a risky investment on this year’s draft by acquiring too many rookies. However, it seems their young talents have great potentials. Everyone is looking forward to beat this ala Miami Heat’s Super Friends fiasco.

The team is composed of former Arsenals players and a bunch of rookies. Key players either opted out of the league or drafted by other troops. Former team captain Jefferson "TTe or Tall and Terrible" Valdepena moved to ENT; while Christian “Wood Chopper” Lumanglas forced by the draft, will play with his BraviaX comrades.

Jerameel “JheBron” Baustista dons a Lebron James number “6” will take the lead for this team hopefully reassuring his gun shy MVP post last year; joining the caravan and wears his old number back, Jayson “The Tactician”/”Jays-Wade” Lim suits up number “3” and Joren “Bosh” Gonzales a surprise rookie that will deliver his inside power and will carry on to complete the Super Friends parade.

For the supporting cast, last year’s Arsenals’ captain Gerald “The Big Ticket” Bona will demonstrate his athleticism in rebounding and how good he is in playing Angry Birds, Paolo “Fun Run Boi” Mercado always provide his interior scoring presence, George “Killer Smile” Dela Victoria will continue to rock opponents world, Mark “QA Master” Gaerlan offers quality assurance support if he needed to and lastly Sir Jonathan “The Ageless” Capulong will still continue to supply needed help in scoring, but he may also need help from our Medicard once his body goes down. Under the radar are Adrian Tan and Erickzon Fajardo heard some gossip that these rookies are also making some buzz.

Team’s Challenge: Will this Super Friends a-like team get their 1^st ever championship? Or Will JheBron and company choke on big stage?

Analysts’ Prediction & Ranking:

>> Will advance to Playoffs (Twice 2 Beat): Rank 1

Team Color: Gray

Team Name: Baskills

Critics love their name. Baskills does not mean Basang-Kilili or Wet Underarms; the real meaning of Baskills is Basketbal Skills. They would like to show us how to play good basketball and learn the basics.

To set things straight, this is the dangerous team in the league. If Caloy “Former Rookie Sensation” Ocampo plays for your squadron, nothing is impossible. “MVP’ Ocampo single handedly rose to challenge against Team Arsenals on last year’s Finals; down by as much as 7 points with 105 seconds left on regulation, he delivered the goods to claim the 1^st ever championship for Team Kankunis (Team FoxRot). Caloy wowed the crowd with his ability to play excellent basketball. This guy has really BIG IQ when it comes to the game and no doubt why he was named MVP.

Baskills is a combination of the last year’s champion Team Kankunis, young guns from Arsenals plus explosive rookies. Mr. MVP now has a solid supporting cast. Francis “New Found Rookie Sensation” Racosas will showcase his talents once the tournament starts. We’ve seen this guy play and he is a quite good. Valor “Steady” Calour dictates the offensive thrust, Allain “D Workhorse” Umalin is the core of their rebounding and interior defense. Jan Lear “Alcohol Lover” Leonida will offer necessary backcourt help for the team while Leo Neil “Spiderman” Castro will be the defensive stopper. James “Egg Busted” Aspillaga will present the outside shooting, and lastly Stephen “Big Baby” Fernandez, will provide some help in interior.

Team’s Challenge: Will Caloy “MVP” Ocampo duplicate his championship and continue to build his legacy on this league despite injury rumors on his team lineup?

Analysts’ Prediction & Ranking:
>> Will advance to Playoffs (Twice 2 Beat): Rank 2

Team Color: Yellow

Team Name: HotFIX

Team name comes from the fixes and patches for Trend Micro products. We can expect this group to fix all the troubles on the hard-court. Among the five contenders who will compete for this tournament, this is the comprehensive team where in all positions of their roster were filled up.

This gang is combination different players and managers from the past seasons. However, HotFix, faced an early set back as Sir Ryan “D Versatile”Alberto withdrew his participation to play due to hectic schedule; this is surely a huge blow for the squad. They will be missing his toughness and best lock down defender especially on guarding the superstars of other teams.

HotFix has the finest backcourt combination. The explosiveness of Giane “D Groom” Ira, who is dangerous on the open court and Nicolo “D Slasher” De Jesus, will give their opponents a lot of trouble once he gets his game going. Mark Aurelio “5cm Beard” Beloy will be a huge factor for this team, it will be almost impossible to stop him especially on the paint once he’s in the zone. Roie “Dhie Man” Exconde will serve as the floor general of team while Sir Benett “The Great” Reyes will offer his greatness in ringing the baskets from long distance. Fans can’t wait to witness another match up once he faces Sir Jonathan “Ageless” Capulong and co. It will surely be a pure trash talking and physical battle.

Team’s Challenge: Can this team fix all the troubles on the hard-court? Or are we going to wait for another season for their hot fixes resolve their issues?

Analysts’ Prediction & Ranking:

>> Playoffs candidate: Rank 3

Team Color: Blue

Team Name: Pawnstars

Caped in blue, they would like to be called Pawnstars, as a tribute to consumer’s former Technical Specialist Nathaniel “Pawner” De Vera, who recently moved to a different department. His passion for DOTA online game is the reason why they chose this name for their team. They want to PAWN or DEFEAT all their opponents. Others thought the name was homage to star Peter North.This also an executive team, since they are packed with managers. Drafting four managers; two TC and the rest were players from different squads. Supposedly, the team planned to regroup the Escalation players. Unfortunately, due to unusual turn of events during the draft they only managed to save a few talents.

Glenn “The Scoring Machine” Suegay will provide the usual spark for this team, as he will try to lead his team quest to the post season. Sir Nathaniel “Pawner” De Vera will give his toughness and physical to every single the game. Luckily, he was drafted before he moved to SaaS Dept; this didn’t affect his playing eligibility. Vitto “Ang Tunay na Mahina” Padre, will conceptualize the slashing attack to that will cause some early foul troubles for their opponents big men, Dexter “Furious” Lopez will be the game changer for the pawners and Lolijim “D Camera Man” Gonzales will take shots of their interior.

In addition to their department, Sir Glenn “The Tower” Esquejo ends his career time out and now on playing mode once again. He promised that he will bounce back from no show last season. Sir Jed “The Master Zen” De Leon will serve as the energy booster; Sir Monroe “No Drama Vocalist” Paulino will give his usual leadership on the backcourt and lastly Sir Julio “The Secret” Reyes will be their top secret weapon in offense, just keeping their team fingers crossed that he will play for this season.

Team’s Challenge: Will all Managers keep their oath to play for this Executive Packed team every single game?

Analysts’ Prediction & Ranking:

>> Will slug out for the last Final Four slot: Rank 4

Team Color: Red

Team Name: HitMan PRO

This is the smallest team in league; consists of eight point guards and six big men. We can only imagine that this team will be the David in the land of Goliaths, literally.

Right after the draft day, this squad already faced some dilemmas in the beginning. One of the bigs of the team, Adrian “AXE” Miranda is unsure to play due to his work schedule; while Sir Ebenizer “Lung Buster” Padua withdrew his participation to have respiratory timeout.

The PROs were composed of mostly Team Online and Team Braviax, Season 2 Champs, year 2009. Captain Christian “The DirkMAN” Nava will be the focal point for this squad as he continues to progress by adding outside shooting touch to his game and now he’s healthy, expect him to have an MVP type performance this season. The arch nemeses in backcourt position for 3 years will now join forces as Christian “Wood Chopper” Lumanglas and Tristan “Mr. Cool” Samonte will finally team up in patrolling the plays for the PROs. This will be a must see event as both ball gurus share their knowledge on crunch time.

Fyle “Terminal Break Master” Sildo will help the team a lot with his sweet shooting touch from the rainbow; while JP “The Apprentice” Conde will be the energy booster as expect him to dive for every loose ball and make some acrobatic shots. Percineth “Lover Boy” Apolonia and Joel “El Aparador” Liray will provide some muscle in the paint and control the boards, Jon Eric “Defense Minister” Guevarra will give his team a lock down defender, Sir Williand “Oh My Manager” Osabel will offer his team the much needed energy drinks like Gatorade and Mineral water to sustain his team’s energy, Timothy “Muscle Man” Tabaniag will bring his charm and last but not the least, let’s not forget Eric “Happy Man” Villaluna and Jamie “The Last Piece” Cardines who will be the official mascots / escorts of the team.

Though said to be the smallest team; these players have lots of experience to brag about. Most of the players already fought numerous battles; some even winning championship for themselves. HitMan PRO’s crew must double their effort, as they need to help each other in securing the boards if they really want to reach the Playoffs or better yet achieve the Championship.

Team’s Challenge: Would height be a disadvantage for this team? Or should we expect them to win at all?

Analysts’ Prediction & Ranking:
>> Will slug out for the last Final Four slot: Rank 5

That is all we have for now… Let us 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 Consumer Department to come out and watch all our players’ gun for this year’s CSS Basketball Season 4: Director’s Cup Championship.

Super Friends on Backstage

Who will think that the Big Names in NBA will come together and play for Miami Heat? This is what the Miami Heat franchise is enjoying right now. Their team has the most star studded players in the planet of Basketball today. Having Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the same team is like you’re in a nirvana that made you think that this trio will be unstoppable force for 5 years or more. But are they for real?

Last year’s offseason, free agents were loaded with superstars headed by the reigning MVP Lebron “The King” James. It was the best free agency that hit the market in NBA history. When NBA opened the free agency, all teams who wanted the services of Lebron James and other superstars booked themselves immediately to meet these superstars. They had their chances to woo them to play for their respective franchises by offering max contracts, giving out private jets, to be a stakeholder of their franchise and most of all to be a championship caliber team, which is music to LBJ’s ears.

Several teams were able to persuade the superstars to sign on a max contract in their team. Some superstars resigned from their mother teams. But one of the most anticipated decision in the sports world – where NBA superstar free agent LeBron James will play next season and beyond. He informed NBA that he will officially reveal his decision on “The Decision,” that was presented live on ESPN last July 8, 2010.

The entire nation was excited for this to happen. The New York Knicks who is front runner in his services and of course his mother team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Finally the time has come, the question everybody wants to know: Lebron James decided to bring his talents to South Beach and join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who already chosen Miami Heat as their destinations.

The whole world was shocked with his decision. Cleveland fans immediately burned his jerseys to show their dismay with their former home grown hero. Even Dan Gilbert the owner hasn’t controlled his emotion outburst by expressing his disappointment by writing an open letter shortly after Lebron’s statement by saying that “I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEAVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”. This was a big statement but we can’t blame the owner for his action.

The major reason in Lebron’s decision was the best opportunity for him to win and to win now and to win in the future also. Thanks to the masterful job of Pat Riley who engineered in putting these pieces altogether on one team. I am wondering what he told to these superstars and how he convinced them to play for Miami but all I know is he is the guru.

Moving forward -- This weekend the 2011 playoffs will officially start. This is the time we’ve been waiting for, the real test for Super friends. They have locked themselves in the number 2 seed in Eastern Conference and will face the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1^st round. They owned this team in the regular season as the Miami Heat beat this team thrice. It looks like it will be an appetizer round for them, then after that they have to face the defending East Champs the Boston Celtics in semifinals, assuming the C’s will thrash the resurging New Knicks with Melo-Amare tandem in the 1^st round. This will be an acid test for them as they have to deal with the well experienced and most dangerous team in the postseason.

The Miami Heat is one of the favorite teams this postseason. But let’s face it they won’t get the title this year. Even they manhandled the league leading San Antonio Spurs in their home floor, beat twice the defending champions LA Lakers and finally figured out how to beat the Boston Celtics on their last meeting. Their chances of winning the title are not that huge. This team still needs some pieces to finally get the job done. Miami Heat was built to be a dynasty and that dynasty will not happen this year.

Here are the reasons why

1. Lack of Big Men -- Miami Heat doesn’t have the size to matchup with Boston Celtics and LA Lakers’ bigs. Chris Bosh is the only player who can man the paint for the Heat and even Udonis Haslem is uninjured, their frontline looks very fragile. What if Bosh gets into foul trouble? Who will defend the paint for them and worst case scenario what if the Heat loses him on an injury?
2. Low Block – The undersized Udonis Haslem is the only player who can play on the post for them but he got injured in the early goings of the season. So the limelight will be on Chris Bosh, but this superstar doesn’t play on the low block he is more on a face-up to the basket and pull some mid range jump shots. This team needs a real low post threat that can attract double teams and let Lebron James and Dwyane Wade attack the interior defense of their opposing teams.
3. Bench Support – After the Big Three, there’s no other player on the team they can rely on. This is the major problem when they signed the 3 Superstars to max contracts. This team doesn’t have the salary cap flexibility to sign a player in free agency. Thanks to those players who sacrificed their salary and signed with a minimum contract just to play with Super friends and hoping they will get their 1^st ever championship ring.
4. Shooting PG – Pat Riley indeed needed a PG with shooting touch. Mike Bibby became available through a buyout and the Heat’s president did not made any hesitation in signing the veteran point guard. Bibby’s arrival will bring his playoff experiences to the team. He is a great leader, proven scorer and clutch player. But the only downside on this was, Bibby is not the same player that we’ve seen when he is still donning the uniform of Sacramento Kings. Let’s just hope he will able to resurrect his career and be motivated, now that he is playing for a contender.
5. Togetherness – This will be the 1^st time for the Super friends to play together in the playoffs. No one knows who will take over on crunch time? Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tried to setup some late plays for Lebron but didn’t succeed in the regular season. There are lots of questions needed to be answered. Who will take over the game in crunch time? Who will take the last shot? Are these superstars willing to sacrifice their limelight on big stage? We will find our answer once the game comes to a close.
   

This will mark one of the exciting playoffs in NBA. All playoff teams will try to it make to the promise land and hoping to dethrone the LA Lakers. We will finally witness how the Miami Heat will showcase their talents on big stage. Will they overcome the pressure on their shoulders? Will they easily fold like what they have shown in the mid season where they caught as Crying Heat Babies? Or stand and live up to their talents? I am not a Super Friends fan but I do follow them because they are one of the favorites. I’m looking forward on the Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup where they will face my Boston Celtics. It will be a showdown guaranteed…

Here’s the familiar chant of Miami Heat.

Let’s Let’s Let’s Go HEAT!!!

Celtics Fall?

It’s been a year since I last wrote an article with regard to Boston Celtics. Now that the playoff is getting closer, we will be talking a lot how the Celts would fair this year. We all know the Celtics made a huge run in the playoffs last year and they are 1 win away from getting their 18^th championship. But the LA Lakers went in their way and pushed them back to earth in one of the historic NBA Finals 7 game series.

The Boston Celtics lost some key players on the offseason. Rasheed Wallace the ever reliable frontcourt defender announced his retirement and Tony Allen their wing defender signed with Memphis Grizzlies to get more playing time. But with these developments, the Celts made a counter upgrade by boosting up their roster by adding the 2 O’Neals (Shaq and Jermaine) in the middle to compete with Lakers' big, plus Delonte West for Rajon’s backup in the point guard position. Because of these adjustments, the Celtics made themselves once again one of the favorites to win the title this year.

The Boston Celtics surprised the league by their quick jelling with the system. They are one of the hottest teams from the very start. By the way, Kendrick Perkins was still sidelined due to knee injury that he suffered in the finals last year plus the in and outs of the O’Neal’s, West and never ending Rajon Rondo ankle injury. It’s very clear that the Celtics did not have a chance to play with a complete/healthy roster, but they still managed to compete with power house teams and remain on top of the standings.

Come February trade deadline, Celtics shocked the entire league by sending Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinsons to Oklahoma Thunder in exchange for Jeff Green and Nenad Krystic. This put a lot of questions to NBA fanatics, why Danny Ainge pull the trigger? Many NBA analysts said that this trade is a no brainer, no brainer because you just made your team an ORDINARY ONE. Boston Celtics lose their size advantage of Perk plus the energy of Nate that he can bring from the bench.

Lately, the Celtics is struggling to win games. From number 1 spot in the East, they are now down in 3rd spot and needs to win their remaining games of the season to secure home court advantage come in second round of the playoffs, and a possible showdown with Super Friends in the South Beach. Celts are 13-9 since the Perkins trade. It does not sound not so good for Boston, right? Is it because of Perkins is no longer donning Celtics uniform? My answer is a BIG NO NO NO!!!

NBA analysts and many people criticized Danny Ainge decision why he pushed the Perkins Trade. They are saying that Celtics recent struggles are due to that trade. This is totally not true. Personally, I am already fed up with these kinds of comments that were getting from our NBA analysts. I don’t know why they reacted so negatively with Perks trade. He is not the main reason why the Celts are on the slide.

Here’s my analysis with Celtics recent fall

1. Perkins is not the main reason why Celtics is not doing well lately. The spectacular playmaker Rajon Rondo is not the same player that we’ve seen in the early games of the season. He is the major reason why the Celtics are very finesse with their plays. His assists per game dropped significantly, because of his injuries throughout the season. His effectiveness in the Point Guard position suffered his team a lot.
2. Celtics Trade, the arrival of Jeff Green and Nenad Krystic made this team more promising. But unfortunately, these guys are not yet 100% fully learned the system of Doc Rivers. They don’t know yet how will they contribute to the big 4 of the Celts.
3. The injuries of the Big MAN. The 2 O’Neal’s are in and out of the season due to injuries. The Big news now is, the recent calf injury suffered by Shaq in his return from injury against the Pistons yesterday. This is a major blow for the Boston team. This will take a big hit on them come on the playoff time, because his return is uncertain. By the way, Nenand Krystic is also out due to injury.

Here’s my analysis with Perks Trade.

1. Danny Ainge pushed the trade because Boston already offered Kendrick Perkins an extension but he just ignored it. He told them that he wants to test the free agency market. It sounds that there is no guarantee that the Perks will be with the same team come next season.
2. We all know what happened with Lebron James and the Cavs. The Cavaliers waited for so long for Lebron to resign with them, but with his “The Decision” he made in New York, he opted to bring his talent in the South Beach which is the Miami Heat. Boston already learned that lesson, they traded away Perkins because they are unsure if Perk will resign with them. Instead of losing him in the free agency, they pulled the trade and get the services of Nenand Krystic and Jeff Green in return.
3. Jeff Green is a versatile player. He can play 3 or 4 position. He reminds me of Antawn Jamison who is a scorer, decent rebounder, good defender, has great shooting touch and can dribble the ball. While Nenand Krystic is a decent defender, rebounder, has perimeter shooting and can shoot Free Throws. This is a nice swap for Doc Rivers. Jeff Green and Nenand Krystic can spread the floor with their ability to shoot from the outside, and it will make a lot easier for Rajon and Pierce to penetrate and slash the middle.
   

Boston Celtics still remain the team to beat in the East. They just need their 4 stars to be healthy and ready come playoff time. This is the same team that shocked the whole world that nobody thought that they would reach the Finals and almost get their 18^th Championship.

Yes! Celts will be missing the toughness of Kendrick Perkins in the middle especially now that Shaq is uncertain for his return. But with their new recruits, Jeff Green and Nenad Krystic will provide instant offense and frontcourt stability for them.

I still believe the Celtics will return in the NBA Finals come in June. I am hoping that they will remain healthy all throughout the playoffs, and be ready to battle the All-Star Studded teams in Eastern Conference plus one more dance against the defending champs the LA Lakers. This will be one a hell playoffs that we will be witnessing. I can’t wait for this to happen.

Let’s Go Celtics!!!