2014 PBA Dispersal Draft Impressions: Kia Kamao

When the 2014-2015 PBA regular season opens later this year, we will see three new teams take to the floor: the NLEX Road Warriors, Blackwater Sports, and Kia Motors.

Of these three, only NLEX has a relatively intact lineup after it bought the existing franchise of the Air 21 Express. Blackwater and Kia, on the other hand, had to go through a dispersal draft to fill up its roster spots. 

In this second of two parts, I will take a look at the dispersal draft picks of Kia and give my general impression.

Mike Burtscher and Reil Cervantes will carry heavy burdens for Kia
this coming season.

First off, however, let’s be realistic. In the absence of the opportunity to directly hire from the PBA D-League, our expectations for both Blackwater and Kia this season are not exactly sky high. Still, there is something to say about choosing the right building blocks for the future.

2014 PBA Dispersal Draft Impressions: Blackwater Sports

When the 2014-2015 PBA regular season opens later this year, we will see three new teams take to the floor: the NLEX Road Warriors, Blackwater Sports, and Kia Motors.

Of these three, only NLEX has a relatively intact lineup after it bought the existing franchise of the Air 21 Express. Blackwater and Kia, on the other hand, had to go through a dispersal draft to fill up its roster spots. 

In this first of two parts, I will take a look at the dispersal draft picks of Blackwater and give my general impression.

First off, however, let’s be realistic. In the absence of the opportunity to directly hire from the PBA D-League, our expectations for both Blackwater and Kia this season are not exactly sky high. Still, there is something to say about choosing the right building blocks for the future.

Alex Nuyles and Danny Ildefonso will spearhead this dangerously
shallow Blackwater lineup.

Hoop Nut Podcast Episode 5 - We Guarantee KD the MVP and Critique the PBA Expansion Process!

This is Episode 5 of the Hoop Nut podcast! Rolly and I guarantee (GUARANTEE) that Kevin Durant will edge out LeBron in the MVP race, while also naming our picks for the other end-of-season awards. We also have some sound bytes from the 2014 US NCAA Champion UConn Huskies, and we give our take on how the three newest PBA clubs should be given a better shot at being competitive.

Episode 5 of the Hoop Nut Podcast is out!

Join us two basketball-loving blabbermouths as we continue to spew crazy comments and irrational ideas about the game we love. 

PBA Expansion: Opportunity or Threat?

Let me get one thing straight – I am all for expansion and, in fact, I believe it’s a little overdue. The benefits of having a bigger PBA are not lost on any observer or fan of Asia’s first play-for-pay cage league. On the surface, it means more jobs for players, coaches, managers, and pretty much every person involved in the daily running of a professional sports franchise (e.g. the guys who do the “dirty work” during practice or the guys in the backend who take care of the paperwork). It’s easy to say expansion is a no-brainer, and it will bring the league to unprecedented heights of awesomeness.

For a moment, however, let’s look at the other possibility – that expansion might do the exact opposite of what is intended and what we all hope.

It’s possible, of course, and there are more than a few cautionary tales of leagues expanding too fast for their own good.

But, hey, wait a minute, this is the PBA – a league that has stood the test of time. It’s the world’s first pro basketball league outside of the NBA. It’s definitely the most well-run pro hoops league in this side of the world (take it from a FIBA Asia geek, folks). It has seen the rise and fall of more than a handful of presidential administrations. It survived the challenge of a rival league (the MBA) more than a decade ago. It survived a slew of scandals (e.g. the Fil-Sham controversy, game-fixing rumors, and allegedly “rigged” transactions come to mind).

Will we see three new PBA franchises in the very near future?
(composite image by Enzo Flojo/Hoop Nut)