AIESEC UP Diliman Presents: M-150

Video and Voice-Over by The Voice Behind the Microphone
Photos from AIESEC UP Diliman's Team M-150... and various online sources


Special thanks to the people who made "Lakas-Uhaw (The Filipino version of Powerthirst)" for the concept and idea.


YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6cpQpifw6A

Bruce Bowen: More Than Just A "Dirty Player"

If there's one team I have always hated (other than the Lakers), it would be the Spurs.

I hate how they were always so boring to watch. I hate how they always seem to find a way for make their opponents to make a mistake. I hate how organized and disciplined they've always been. I hate how they appear to be a cut above every other team.

The Spurs were the perfect villains. I hated seeing them win. And I loved seeing them lose. 

I'd always respected Tim Duncan for his greatness, Manu Ginobili for his willingness to go all the way for the littlest things, and Tony Parker for constantly elevating his game every year. But the one Spur who had always been there since I started watching the NBA, my one constant target of ire as an NBA fan, was Bruce Bowen.

Bowen was no All-Star. He wasn't defended by the best defender on the opposing team. Opposing coaches didn't draw up defensive schemes to stop this guy. But he always found ways to bother opponents, and most times, he didn't do it by putting up big numbers.

Bruce Bowen was the guy who took the assignment of stopping the best players on opposing squads. He spent his best years forcing mistakes out of guys like Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and LeBron James. On offense, Bowen never averaged more than 8.2 points per game, but he remained a valuable asset on the floor because of his skill in hitting that corner 3-pointer.

Most of my memories of the NBA Playoffs involve the San Antonio Spurs. And when the Spurs enter the picture, the memory is often grim, gloomy, and downright frustrating. Well, except for that 0.4-second shot that Derek Fisher hit over Manu. That one was a classic! Did you see the look on TD and Bowen's faces? I hate the Lakers, but I wanted them to kick Spur ass that year.

Anyway, as a fan who grew up watching Bruce Bowen get in the way of the teams I rooted for, I can actually breathe a sigh of relief now that he's gone. He can no longer terrorize the league. He can no longer dish out those flying kicks (most famously those involving Ray Allen and a $10,000 fine in 2006 and another one involving Wally Szczerbiak). He can no longer kick guys in the groin when they pull up for jumpers (see Steve Nash). No more corner 3-pointers that stick it to you like a dagger just when your team's trying to stage a comeback over the Spurs.

But when I think about it, Bruce Bowen was more than just the perfect villain on the court.

He was a teacher of sorts.

While he never even got drafted and had to wait four years after his draft season to make an NBA roster, he showed that patience and hard work can get you very, very far.

While he was notorious among NBA fans and players, the community his team played for loved him because of his loyal service to the people around him.

While he never made a single All-Star game, he proved to us that by knowing your role and by doing it well, you can still make a hell of a difference on the team you play for.

While he never averaged double digits in scoring per game, he showed that there's always a chance to step up when your number is called.

While he never had the type of fan loyalty that superstars like CP3, LBJ or The Black Mamba have, he proved that the more important accolades are the ones that say that you actually won it all, the ones that you win as a team.

Bowen's NBA journey was not a typical one. It is a path not all men are willing to take. It is something that not everyone can appreciate.

But that's what made him special. And in the end, that's what I will always remember him for. Well, that and this awesome flying kick.

Photos from:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/06/13/spurs.bowen/

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2007/03/are_kobe_and_br.html

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=14990.0

On Japeth Aguilar and his Career Suicide

Looks like the Philippine Basketball Association also has its own issues regarding top draft picks and getting them to actually play for the teams that drafted them.

Much like how the Minnesota Timberwolves are involved in a complicated situation regarding the number five pick, Ricky Rubio, and his buyout with his Spanish Team, Joventut, the PBA's Burger King Whoppers (formerly known as the Burger King Titans, and formerly formerly known as the Air 21 Express) will most likely start the 2009-2010 PBA season without their top pick from the 2009 PBA Draft.

Number one overall pick Japeth Aguilar submitted a letter to PBA Chair and Burger King team manager Lito Alvarez seeking his release from the Whoppers so that he could play for the Philippine team being assembled by Smart Telecommunications and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), known as the Smart-Gilas Philippine Team.

Aguilar cited wanting to play for the country as the main reason for him seeking his release from the BK Whoppers.

“We also wish to express our regrets to the management of Burger King, as well as the PBA itself for this decision even as we ask for your understanding because to us, the privilege to play for our country overrides everything else,”

But is this really the reason?

Aguilar has been granted a hefty contract by the Whoppers, in fact, they gave him the maximum-level guaranteed contract for a rookie in the PBA, which is exactly what the number one overall pick deserves. He will get paid P150,000 a month for the first year of his contract, P225,000 a month for the second year, and P350,000 a month for the third year of his contract.

Apart from this, Alvarez already played the role of good samaritan and allowed Aguilar to play for the Smart-Gilas Philippine team despite being under contract for the Whoppers. To add to that, they allowed Japeth Aguilar to get paid by Manuel V. Pangilinan, who is sponsoring the team, as remuneration for his services.

The Whoppers used their first-round picks on the 6-foot-9 Aguilar, triple-double machine Chris Ross, and heady forward Ronnie Matias. Ross was subsequently traded since the Whoppers' backcourt would then be too crowded with veteran starting guards Gary David and Wynne Arboleda, and backup guards Egay Billones and Ronjay Buenafe getting valuable rotation time over Ross. Burger King also traded star versatile forward Arwind Santos to the San Miguel Beermen for draft picks in the coming seasons.

These were just some of the moves that Alvarez made in order to accommodate Aguilar and build the team around him. If you take a look at the circumstances Aguilar is in, you'd have to say that this guy's got a silver spoon in his mouth. For a player who barely played for Western Kentucky University (best known for being Orlando Magic guard Courtney Lee's alma mater), he's got a professional basketball team putting all of its hopes and aspirations for the coming season on the shoulders of pure "potential".

Aguilar's stats during his final season are in no way spectacular. He played a total of 71 minutes in 14 games. He averaged 1.5 points and 0.9 rebounds per contest. We're talking about a guy who only played garbage minutes for an NCAA team. He's virtually unproven material and the last time he's really been observed by Philippine basketball junkies was during his time with the Ateneo Blue Eagles. And even then, he played garbage minutes!

Insiders speculate that the reason for Aguilar turning his back on the Whoppers is because he does not want to have to endure three years of coach Yeng Guiao screaming and cursing the hell out of him in a Whoppers uniform. Aguilar spent time playing for Guiao for the Powerade-Team Pilipinas in both the Jones Cup and the FIBA World Championship qualifiers earlier this month.

For Japeth, who hasn't even proven himself yet on any stage, save for his height, this is a very risky career move. PBA Commissioner Sonny Barrios said in a statement that Aguilar could face a "lifetime ban" from the league as a consequence of his actions. The current situation is similar to that of Coca-Cola Tigers guard Alex Cabagnot who also sought release from his contract with the team that drafted him, the Sta. Lucia Realtors. After Cabagnot heard that he could face a lifetime suspension from the PBA, he subsequently flew back from Hawaii and suited up for the Realtors.

However, the PBA has not been known to be very convincing when it comes to dealing sanctions to its players. Earlier this decade, Realtors guard Joseph Yeo and Purefoods TJ Giants forward Enrico Villanueva were part of a physical altercation in an exhibition match sponsored by the PBA between alumni of the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers. Yeo, who had not applied for the PBA Draft at the time, was caught punching Villanueva during the incident.

Then-PBA Commissioner Noli Eala meted out a punishment for the De La Salle and Xavier School alumnus saying that "Joseph Yeo will not be allowed to play for the PBA". One year later, Yeo was reinstated and was a first-round pick for the Sta. Lucia Realtors and he has been one of their key players ever since.

Aguilar's case is neither new nor something totally unheard of. It is just something that is simply frustrating on the part of the BK Whoppers. And in the future, it will undoubtedly cause frustration on Japeth Aguilar's end.

For now, it remains to be seen how Sonny Barrios will deal with the incident.

Looks like the Whoppers will be remaining at the cellar of the league this season.

With information gathered from http://sports.inquirer.net/professional/professional/view/20090829-222543/Japeth-wants-out-of-Burger-King and http://mwu132002.multiply.com/journal/item/90/Rookie_Retrospective