Kampihan na! Sol Mercado or Paul Lee
This morning, controversial sports mediaman Snow Badua was able to air the side of one Sol Mercado-- the same guy who wears number 3 for the Meralco Bolts, is injured, and recently hinted at Rain or Shine's Paul Lee maybe being a bit "over rated" over Twitter.
Now while he recanted what he said/ wrote over on Badua's program, there's no way that you can't take that as a sign of disrespect towards Lee. He claims that the media is going agog over Lee a little bit too much and should take notice of Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood's recent performances- but probably hasn't seen the RoS team actually play on the hard court with and without Lee.
Jeff Chan has always been a solid player on both sides of the floor. Can he create his own shot? Not against premium defenders. Can he lock an opposing player down? You bet your ass he can (from FEU to the PBA, he hasn't changed one bit as a player).
Gabe Norwood. If you've been paying close attention to the games, he's been spending more minutes at the bench OR simply being asked to bring the ball down (he's not really calling any set plays-- not that RoS head coach Yeng Guiao preaches any to begin with). To say that RoS would actually be better off without Norwood isn't that far off (with a combo of Lee-Chan-Ybanez and Arana coming off the bench which is a lot better defensively).
Lee has been the catalyst for this team right from the get go. It's a far cry from when Mark Caguioa took over Ginebra during his rookie year. Caguioa brought in firepower by virtue of being his team's best scorer. Lee is doing it not only as a scorer, but also as a guy who brings the ball down, calls a play and makes correct passes more than he turns it over.
Personally, people shouldn't take Mercado too seriously. Here's a guy who relies on just two moves: kamikaze drives to the basket which only works against patsy, traditionally smaller (Pinoy) PGs and jacking up a three ball. His crossovers, ink and swag are nice to look at and makes him look like a legit baller, but substance-wise, he's just another flashy Fil-Am who relies on athleticism/ speed but has yet to develop other facets of his game (think Santa Lucia's disgraced Fil-Sham Rob Parker, only heavier). That's not hate, that's the truth.
That, plus he isn't clutch. Or we haven't seen him as such even back with Rain or Shine.
On the other end, Lee has proven to be clutch since his college days with UE, has always played in control and has never been reported to cause his coaches any headaches (from Dindo Pumaren to the enigmatic Laurence Chiongson to Guiao). If there's a knock on Lee's game, it's on the defensive end where the added weight has obviously slowed him down laterally (he has never been known as an elite defender).
Is Lee getting too much love from the media? You bet your ass he is, but only because he's been working hard on the floor. That, plus we're looking for a new name to write about. You can't blame the PBA scribes for building him up over the SMART Gilas alumni-- who doesn't love a good underdog story? That, plus he's 100% GRADE A PINOY without the intense overseas exposure/ training with some highly financed squad. So shut the fuck up bitches. We love our own. From Pasay to Tondo to Cebu to Davao. Lee and the next Filipino great (maybe Jayvee Casio, Keifer Ravena or whoever) will always get MAD LOVE from this site or the next.
As for Mercado, I hope he comes back in shape and can't wait to see him try to guard Lee who has yet to be locked down (Talk N Text gave him a hard time, but he still had his 17 points and led his team which is big).
All in all, just another reason why Twitter's fun! Wonder what the Robert Jaworskis, Caloy Loyzagas, Wilmer Ongs and Cris Bolados of yesteryears would've posted had they played in today's PBA.
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| Thanks to Ballerspinas.com for the pic |
Now while he recanted what he said/ wrote over on Badua's program, there's no way that you can't take that as a sign of disrespect towards Lee. He claims that the media is going agog over Lee a little bit too much and should take notice of Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood's recent performances- but probably hasn't seen the RoS team actually play on the hard court with and without Lee.
Jeff Chan has always been a solid player on both sides of the floor. Can he create his own shot? Not against premium defenders. Can he lock an opposing player down? You bet your ass he can (from FEU to the PBA, he hasn't changed one bit as a player).
Gabe Norwood. If you've been paying close attention to the games, he's been spending more minutes at the bench OR simply being asked to bring the ball down (he's not really calling any set plays-- not that RoS head coach Yeng Guiao preaches any to begin with). To say that RoS would actually be better off without Norwood isn't that far off (with a combo of Lee-Chan-Ybanez and Arana coming off the bench which is a lot better defensively).
Lee has been the catalyst for this team right from the get go. It's a far cry from when Mark Caguioa took over Ginebra during his rookie year. Caguioa brought in firepower by virtue of being his team's best scorer. Lee is doing it not only as a scorer, but also as a guy who brings the ball down, calls a play and makes correct passes more than he turns it over.
Personally, people shouldn't take Mercado too seriously. Here's a guy who relies on just two moves: kamikaze drives to the basket which only works against patsy, traditionally smaller (Pinoy) PGs and jacking up a three ball. His crossovers, ink and swag are nice to look at and makes him look like a legit baller, but substance-wise, he's just another flashy Fil-Am who relies on athleticism/ speed but has yet to develop other facets of his game (think Santa Lucia's disgraced Fil-Sham Rob Parker, only heavier). That's not hate, that's the truth.
That, plus he isn't clutch. Or we haven't seen him as such even back with Rain or Shine.
On the other end, Lee has proven to be clutch since his college days with UE, has always played in control and has never been reported to cause his coaches any headaches (from Dindo Pumaren to the enigmatic Laurence Chiongson to Guiao). If there's a knock on Lee's game, it's on the defensive end where the added weight has obviously slowed him down laterally (he has never been known as an elite defender).
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| Bow down to the Cobra Commander/ Lee-thal Weapon/ Paul "muthafukkin OG" Lee |
As for Mercado, I hope he comes back in shape and can't wait to see him try to guard Lee who has yet to be locked down (Talk N Text gave him a hard time, but he still had his 17 points and led his team which is big).
All in all, just another reason why Twitter's fun! Wonder what the Robert Jaworskis, Caloy Loyzagas, Wilmer Ongs and Cris Bolados of yesteryears would've posted had they played in today's PBA.
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