UP Fighting Maroons - Season 72, Game 1

UP sucks and I paid to watch it. Maroons lost their opening game against a young NU team trailing by as much as 26 points at a particular stretch. They made it a bit respectable at the end but there are no silver linings in a loss (specially in a supposedly tight race this season). Had some hope in finally making it to the final four since most teams are rebuilding and the UP guys should have mature games by now since they have a core of juniors and seniors, but hell no! I hope we are not looking at another 0-14 season.

Im no basketball expert but im free to give my opinion in my own blog. Here's my analysis:
- Center Magi Sison has no low post moves, hates to bang bodies in the paint and loves the outside shot, which he is not very good at. I mean after maybe taking 3 or 4 outside shots and nothings going in, maybe you can take it in a little closer since you are 6'6" and being guarded by a relatively smaller person who is not necessarily more massive. If you still like doing the 3, then polish up on your dribbling and passing skills so you can be converted to a 6'6" Point Guard.
- Alvin Padilla lost steam in the end. The guy was amazing at the start. Looking at his attempts, you know they will go in. Unfortunately, he couldnt sustain it and gradually disappeared by middle of the 2nd quearter. Add to that the foul trouble and the successive turnovers which resulted to diminished confidence and aggressiveness. Hope they can condition him better for the next 13 games.
- Point guards sucked. At least for this game, they did. Turn over after another. You can see the turnover happening before it even begins because passes are weak or too strong, the angle not so great, and you can already see that the dogs have anticipated it. In fairness, you can see that Mikee Reyes does have some moves and with a few more games or seasons, I think he will be good. Hopefully, he grows some more inches and pounds. But for now, they suck because UP had 37 turnovers.
- Veterans are still inconsistent. Martin Reyes and Woody Co, you guys are the King Parrots, what happened?
- No go to guy. We dont need a star (but one would be nice) but there should be someone creating shots and opportunities for others. Padilla, judging by his gam, should fit the bill since he can handle the ball, drive and pass. He did this and it resulted to an easy bucket. Wish they could do this more. Magi can just lurk around the paint and anticipate a drop pass for easy pickings.
- Crucial point - trailing by 7 or 5 points in the 3rd, the maroons had a steal and had a 4 on 2 break. Juruena the rookie, dribbled the ball upcourt. You can already feel trouble happening because he is big guy and a rookie dribbling the ball on the break. Somewhere in the shaded lane, he was torn between going all the way or passing to the wings. In the end, he hesitated and passed it to the left, dishing out a weak above the shoulder, behind the head pass---which was intercepted ofcourse leading to a fastbreak on the other end. 4-point swing, momentum swing, end of game.

Despite the loss, there's still hope looking forward. Afterall, this NU win and their hot 3-pt shooting MIGHT be a fluke (but then again, maybe not). I mean even the best basketball teams lose so what more for an average team. That's what you call school spirit (but spirits cant play:)

For now, lets hope UP will do better as they battle Adamson next.

Tales of the Last 35 Years – Transformers the Fallen

My blogs are long and boring, someone important said. Transformation needed.

Ok, that was a very lame segue. Im a fan of the animated Transformers and have looked forward to the movie adaptation. Aside from Megan Fox's hotness, there really isnt much to see. I almost became the Fallen because I kinda fell asleep. I dont like how they transform and some battle scenes look messy (i cant tell one robot from the other and what the heck they were doing). I wasnt really looking for a good story because there isnt one to expect which is fine because you can enjoy a movie that doesnt have a good storyline. 

To be more "objective", lets run down what people like about movies and cross check with Transformers the Fallen and see how it fares:

Good Story - X; robots fighting and fumbling to capture/kill defenseless, tiny humans.

CGI, Special Effects - effects like these are common so if you ask me, unless you come up with something groundbreaking or new, say the way Matrix did, then you cant score. 

Good Acting - I think Megatron wasnt as bad ass and Prime was too stiff. The rapper autobots were also annoying. 

Hot Leads/Famous Actors - Megan Fox, end of story. oh, and the lady-bot.

Sex/ Breast Exposure - we wish! but there was a bed scene between sam and the killer lady-bot. But it wasnt a sex scene and even showcased the homo side of sam (screaming like a soprano). Wish they made more hot lady-bots though.

Intriguing Came0s - michael bay played one of the decepticons

Good Sequence - there was this stretch were Megan Fox was wearing this white jeans which doesnt seem to get dirty until near the end (but its still not as dirty as it should be) 

In all, I wouldnt say the movie is bad, I just didnt like it. You can end up enjoying it and say what the hell was I watching but fact remains I almost fell asleep. So call me the Fallen, dont care.