The Top Five #PBA2015 Point Guards Right Now

The new PBA season is upon us, and, frankly, this has been one of the most exciting starts in recent memory. Of course, a big part of that is having two new pro clubs – the Blackwater Elite and the Kia Sorento – but we also cannot look past other things that have hogged the headlines, like the superb play of some PBA playmakers. Not surprisingly, this includes veteran stars like Mark Barroca, Alex Cabagnot, and Jayson Castro, but it has actually been Fil-Am rookie Stanley Pringle who has made the biggest splash.

It's a rookie sitting atop our PBA Point Guards ladder to start the 2014-2015 season.

Without further ado, here they are – the top five point guards of the 2014-2015 PBA season as of November 7, 2014 (as always, this is based on the Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net):

The Top Five PBA Point Guards of the 2013-2014 Season

These are the very best PBA point guards this past season!

Amidst the din of the magnificent 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, several issues have popped up in the PBA: the entry of Stanley Pringle in the 2014 Rookie Draft, the perceived controversy revolving around the draft lottery, and the whole officiating hullabaloo. These nearly take away the sheer enjoyment of seeing Justin Melton sky for a sublime alley-oop dunk, seeing AZ Reid drain big shots in overtime, or seeing James Yap morph into his MVP self after repeated underwhelming performances in the eliminations.

This is why, in the middle of all this craziness, I want to shift the focus back on the players who have really made their mark this past season. For this particular piece, let’s focus on the best playmakers of the entire 2013-2014 PBA campaign.

Without further ado, here they are – the top five point guards of the entire 2013-2014 PBA season (as always, this is based on the Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net):

The Top Five PBA Point Guards Right Now (May 18, 2014)

With two-thirds of the 2013-2014 PBA season in the books, it’s time, once again, to take stock of our idols and see which ones have risen to the top like good cream and which ones have sunk to the bottom like diabetes-inducing syrup. Two great playmakers made the headlines in the recently-concluded PBA Commish Cup Finals, with Jayson Castro and the Texters falling short and Mark Barroca’s Mixers copping their third straight conference title. They’re both part of this list, but you’ll probably be a little surprised to see who the others are.

Without further ado, here they are – the top five point guards in the 2013-2014 PBA season as of the morning of May 18, 2014 (as always, this is based on the Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net):

Here are the five best playmakers in the PBA as we enter the third conference.

The Top Five PBA Point Guards Right Now (March 1, 2014)

Mark Barroca is the toast of the local basketball world right now after he led San Mig Coffee’s decisive rally in the fourth quarter of Game 6 in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, but is he the only playmaker worth his peso in these parts? As we transition into a new conference, we will look at the best the PBA has to offer at every position, and we will begin with a spot that has some of the deepest talent – point guard.

Without further ado, here they are – the top five point guards in the 2013-2014 PBA season as of March 1, 2014 (as always, this is principally based on the Player Efficiency Ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net):

The five best point guards in the PBA right now --
agree or disagree?
(composite image by Enzo Flojo/HoopNut)

5. Alex Cabagnot (GLO) – 12.4ppg, 4.3rpg, 5.7apg, 1.7 triples per game, .355 3pt%, 30.5 EFF

- Despite not being named to any Philippine national team, Cabagnot remains to play at a level that affords him the status of one of the country’s best playmakers. He hits nearly two triples per game, is among the top five in assists, and, perhaps most importantly, turns the ball over at just 1.4 per game. To put that in perspective, he has the highest assist-to-turnover ratio and lowest turnover average of anyone on this list. Looks like that Cabaggie-Mercado swap might not have been as lopsided as some people might think.

Hoop Nut Blogcast Episode 1 - Here Goes Nothing!

Finally! After about six PBA conferences, three UAAP seasons, two FIBA Asia Men’s Tournaments, and one Olympic basketball competition, Hoop Nut finally has its first proper blog (pod) cast! 

This is something my co-writer here, Rolly Mendoza, and I have been planning for quite some time, and today we actually got around to doing it! Predictably, we fumbled through it. We don’t have any tool remotely professional-grade, and I’m not entirely sure if our intro music/effects are appropriate, but, hey, figuring things out as we go is part of the fun, right?

#WeAreAmateursHere

Check it out as we talk about the following topics:
- Yeng Guiao’s meltdown in Game 6 of the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
- Mark Barroca as 2014 PBA Philippine Cup Finals MVP.
- The OKC Thunder going 0-3 since Jet-Zero returned.
- The Best NBA PF in the West: Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki, or Blake Griffin?
- Should Gilas play in the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup?

Good Enough for Gilas: Mark Barroca

2014 is going to be a BIG year for Philippine basketball. This year will mark the first time two of our Philippine National Teams (Men’s and U17) will march onto the world stage and compete at the highest level of international hoops. Our very own Gilas Pilipinas squad will go to Spain and play in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, while the Philippine U17 Team, coached by Jamike Jarin, will troop over to Dubai for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championships. 

It’s been reported that the Gilas Pilipinas brain trust is keen on tapping more players to join the pool, with the magic number pegged at 24. That means that there are still around eleven slots open. Take note that this does not YET include the two naturalized prospects of the team — Javale McGee of the Denver Nuggets and Andray Blatche of the Brooklyn Nets. We’re still not sure if their respective naturalization processes will finish in time for Gilas to include their names in the final 24-man pool.

As of this writing, the 2014 FIBA World Cup Draw is done, and the Philippines has been grouped along with Senegal, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Greece, and Croatia. That, in my opinion, is the second-toughest group of the lot, and making it into the second round will certainly be the tallest task coach Chot Reyes has ever faced. Needless to say, he’ll need all thew support he can get.

This is the ninth piece in a series of posts detailing the players who can be part of that pool. For each named individual, we will look at the good things he can bring to the pool, his probable role should he get named to the final Gilas lineup, and the possible match-ups he will have at the Asian and world levels.

Today, we’ll talk about someone who was part of Gilas in 2011 and is currently one of the top point guards in the country. Right now he calls the shots for the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers. He is Mark Barroca.

Mark Barroca takes it strong against possible
future teammate Javale McGee.
(image from SmartGilasPilipinas.com)

The Inaugural Baller Awards: The Breakthrough PBA Player, Best PBA Newcomer, and PBA Player of the Year for 2013

In lieu of a PBA year-ender, I felt it would be better to go position-by-position and look at the best PBAers of 2013. These are the guys who did really well in the pro circuit. Perhaps they led their teams to conference titles. Perhaps they led the league in a certain statistical category. Perhaps they were part of Gilas Pilipinas and helped the team make history. Perhaps they did all of those things.

In this post, we will give Baller Awards to the Breakthrough PBA Player, Best PBA Newcomer, and PBA Player of the Year for 2013.

Where does Ranidel De Ocampo stand in the
race for the PBA's Player of the Year for 2013?
(image by Paolo Papa/AKTV)

The Inaugural Baller Awards: The Best PBA Point Guard of 2013

This is something I’ve been wanting to cook up for quite some time now. In the world we live in, there are awards for film performers, for music artists, for theater performers, for practically everything. And, yes, there also awards for athletes, including basketball players.

But these awards are a little, er, limiting, if not altogether predictable. For most leagues around the world, we have the MVP, the ROY, the COTY, etc. Here in the Philippines, we have the Mythical Teams (a fancy schmancy term for the First or Second Teams), the Best Import, the Sportsmanship Award, and even Mr. 100% (shoutout, coach Norman!). 

LA Tenorio and JV Casio are among the nominees for the Best PBA PG of 2013.
(image by KC Cruz/GMANews/PBA)

This inaugural set of Baller Awards is our attempt at looking at the best hoopsters of the year, be it in the amateurs, the pros, or even international basketball. As of now, the following citations will be given: