Thiele hits the big time

As a footnote on Nelson Beltran’s report on last night’s PBA games, Barako Bulls’ rookie gem Hans Thiele is reportedly on his way to Meralco for beefy-yet-undersized forward Dennis Daa. Why the Bulls allowed such a trade is beyond me, since he’s the only guy on the roster who looks interested in competing night in and night out. Sucks to be Sunday Salvacion right now really, he finally gets to be “the man” only to find out he’s losing whatever passes of as “solid teammates” left and right.

Here are the numbers with an obvious advantage going Thiele’s way in terms of minutes:

Dennis Daa
16.80 mpg 3.60 ppg 2.20 rpg 0.20 bpg 0.20 topg 1 fpg

Hans Thiele
28.17 mpg 7.67ppg 8.83 rpg 0.67 bpg 0.67 topg 2.17 fpg

But from what I’ve seen of the two, Daa is a better player on the offensive end, while Thiele gets-around with his relentless hustle and athleticism. If this were the PBL, Daa would’ve been a clear-cut MVP frontrunner while Thiele would be another center. But since this is the pros where the onus is placed on players with size and speed, then it’s easy to see why Thiele is seen as a “better” prospect.

On defense, Thiele uses his natural gifts to the hilt much like a Marc Pingris or Bitoy Omolon, which can’t be said about Daa. At best, Daa is a bruiser, but only against shorter players. He often finds himself on the wrong side of a mismatch against the league’s top forwards.

If anything, this scenario works for both players. Daa can easily jump in and take Chad Alonzo’s spot as starter Mark Isip’s sub, while Thiele could be the anti-Gabby Espinas (a guy who has all the gifts, but doesn’t seem to put his mind into the game 100%). Espinas is a better all-around player and does his best work at PF, but Thiele’s energy on the boards and defense would best suit Meralco’s aging frontline.

Why Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio refuses to go with Beau Belga at the 5, a position he played in college as a perfect complement to Gabby Espinas, is still beyond me. It’s not like other teams have 6”9 centers now. Plus, Belga has proven time and again that height isn’t everything in the paint (just ask Japeth Aguilar—remember him?)

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