Is Alapag the new Mac Cardona?

It wasn't a prediction. It was more of a suspicion. Suspicion, of course, is the more "sosi" way of saying it was a hunch. I mentioned in my last blog entry that the emergence of a new Mac Cardona -- a player Barangay Ginebra fans will love to pick on -- might be the byproduct of some overreaction by Ronald Tubid.

With 1:17 to go in the 2nd quarter, Tubid played pesky defense against Alapag near Talk N Text's baseline. Alapag, who felt Tubid got away with a couple of bumps during the play, pushed Tubid away. Tubid, as expected, magnified the situation for everyone to see (thanks AlexJann23):



Although I have a third chin, I do not have a third eye. I am not into predicting outcomes for PBA games or playoff match-ups. So my hunch turned out to be a decent one. Doesn't mean I will start showcasing my predictive skills. Chamba lang. Did I call it? Nope. It was Tubid and Alapag who made it happen.

Just like Cardona before him, Alapag was showered with boos. I didn't expect Alapag would become Barangay Big Dome's flavor of the month. I sort of expected Alapag, however, to respond by being the man of the moment.

Along with Ali Peek, Alapag torched Ginebra in the second half. Jimmy finished with 32 points including back-to-back three-pointers in the fourth quarter that cooled-down Ginebra's rally. This shows that players only get booed if they're either really bad or really good. In Alapag's case, he wanted to win really bad so he played really good.

Huge win for TNT. Like SMB, they will enjoy twice-to-beat advantage in the Quarter-Finals.

Mmmmmm

And, in the spirit of Sesame Street, the Talk N Text-Ginebra game was brought to you by the letter M.

Mighty Mouse played big. Man Mountain played like a beast. Miller, Mamaril, Mark, Mike and Menk all finished in double figures.

Grrrrrrrrrrr

But the best unnoticed stat of the night: Harvey Carey with 18 rebounds. 9th time he has hit double-digits in rebounds in the PBA Philippine Cup. In his last 5 games, Carey is averaging 17 rebounds! Grabe... MH