As of this writing, on August 31, 2024, the San Juan Knights just ended the Pampanga Giant Lanterns’ impressive 23-win run.
One would say that this is a proverbial finals preview. If the PBA is going to open its doors to MPBL teams, then these two could fit right in. Orlan Wawar had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights with Zach Huang, Dexter Maiquez, and Mike Malonzo giving him the much-needed support. Meanwhile, Justine Baltazar finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals who also got support from former Phoenix Fuel Master Encho Serrano.
The MPBL needs to find a way to separate these teams from meeting early in the playoffs.
Anyway, Pampanga’s 23-game win streak is the second-best in MPBL history. The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards holds the record with 25 games. Before the MPBL, the MBA’s Manila Metrostars held the record with 22 games, which is three games more than the PBA record that was achieved by the Crispa Redmanizers.
I can make this a blog about the best teams in the MPBL, and how they have what it takes to play in the PBA.
However, the streak made me remember something.
The 1999 MBA National Champions and the 2023 MPBL Champions have something in common.
A badass big man who could raise hell whenever he wants to.
ROMMEL F'N ADDUCUL
In terms of pre-PBA resume, nobody had it better than General Rommel. The former San Sebastian Stag ransacked the NCAA and unleashed hell on the MBA, winning two titles and an MVP in the league's run. One could say that Adducul is the de facto face of the league. If there was one player PBA teams desperately wanted to pirate, it's this guy.
And when the league disbanded, he turned the PBL into his MBA. Before moving to the Manila Metrostars, Adducul played for Chowking in the PBL but while he gained individual honors, he failed to win a title. That all changed in his second PBL coming when he finally won a championship with LBC. Adducul finally became the first player to win a college, PBL, and MBA MVP award, which is what he needed to boost his PBA Draft stock.
THE SNUB SITUATION
I chose to compare these players because it's rare for two marquee big men to choose other leagues over the PBA. Adducul could have been the first pick overall in the 1998 PBA Draft if he chose the league over the MBA. Balti meanwhile, was the big man in MPBL's semi-pro pond. Yes, Balti saw action for the Hiroshima Dragonflies in the Japan B.League but it's not like he needed the international leagues to boost his PBA stock.
It's all about the "snub." Thirdy Ravena and Rhenz Abando are examples of choosing other tournaments than the PBA. Both players could have applied in the 2024 PBA Draft since they are free agents but Ravena ultimately chose Dubai while Abando is still weighing his options. Jason Brickman is an example of a Fil-Am who said he wanted to play in the PBA, but then would rather play for other leagues. Jordan Heading is in the same mold. And Chris Tiu is notorious for choosing Gilas Pilipinas over the PBA. When most of his contemporaries joined the draft between 2009 to 2011, Tiu was able to play for Gilas alongside then-18-year-old Kiefer Ravena. Tiu would join the PBA at the age of 27 and only had one double-digit season - the season before his retirement in 2018.
Adducul and Baltazar applied to the PBA when during the prime of their careers. Before joining the PBA, they have won multiple individual awards and championships. They weren't coming in as rookies but as instant saviors.
Without the "snub" caveat, we can place two other names in this situation. Johnny Abarrientos may have been the lone MVP of the 1993 PBA Draft class, but it's hard for the Sta. Lucia Realtors to snub two-time UAAP champion and three-time UAAP MVP Jun Limpot. And of course, before June Mar Fajardo played in the PBA, he was a two-time CESAFI champion and a three-time CESAFI MVP. Like Adducul and Baltazar, JMF had a stint with the ABL's San Miguel Beermen and "lucked" out when the PBA San Miguel squad got the top pick from Barako Bull (then known as Air21/Burger King) in the Japeth Aguilar deal.
But unlike Adducul and Balti, Limpot was 21 when he was selected first overall by the Realtors. Fajardo was 23 when he was selected by the Petron Blaze Boosters in 2012. Technically, the ABL Beermen was June Mar's version of PBL, since he never had semi-pro experience at that point, unlike Limpot who has seen action with the PABL's Magnolia Ice Cream Makers.
BY THE NUMBERS
ROMMEL ADDUCUL | JUSTINE BALTAZAR | |
HOMETOWN | TUGUEGARAO, CAGAYAN | MABALACAT, PAMPANGA |
PBA DRAFT | 2003 | 2ND OVERALL | 2024 | 1ST OVERALL |
AGE WHEN HE DEBUTED IN THE PBA | 26 | 27 |
COLLEGE | SAN SEBASTIAN GOLDEN STAGS | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS |
COLLEGE | INDIVIDUAL | NCAA MVP | 1996, 1997 NCAA ROY | 1994 | UAAP MYTHICAL TEAM | 2018, 2019, 2021 |
COLLEGE | TEAM | NCAA CHAMPION | 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 | UAAP CHAMPION | 2016 |
PRE-PBA | INDIVIDUAL | MBA MVP | 2000 MBA 1ST TEAM | 1999, 2000, 2001 PBL MVP | 1997, 2002-03 PBL FINALS MVP | 2002-03 PBL 1ST TEAM | 1997, 1997-98, 2002-03 ABC ALL-STAR (FIBA) | 1997, 1998, 2000 | MPBL MVP | 2023 MPBL FINALS MVP | 2023 MPBL 1ST TEAM | 2023 MPBL A-STAR MVP | 2023 PSL FINALS MVP | 2023 |
PRE-PBA | TEAM | MBA CHAMPION | 1999, 2001 PBL CHAMPION | 2002-03 | MPBL CHAMPION | 2023 PSL CHAMPION | 2023 |
THE DIFFERENCE
Here's the reason why Justine Baltazar is going to be better than Rommel Adducul.
Balti has backup.
This is the biggest difference between the two.
When the ABC All-Stars played the PBA selection, Adducul came in late because he had to help the MetroStars win their match. Rushing to the Araneta Coliseum and coming in the second half, Adducul was greeted by many PBA stars wanting to test him. Adducul got to bother Marlou Aquino's shot initially, but it was all hell afterward. His post-up moves failed to bother Eric Menk and Aquino was also there to swat his shots. He couldn't get the rebounds and couldn't get his offense going, no thanks to Major Pain and whatever strategy PBA selection coach Tim Cone had against him.
Menk and Cone - remember them later.
The 2003 PBA Draft order had Alaska picking first, then Ginebra, and finally Shell. The Alaska Aces, a team that hasn't won a title since the departure of their MVP guard Johnny Abarrientos, has been looking for his replacement.
Their eyes are set on 22-year-old combo guard Mike Cortez. The Cool Cat is a big-time player, with two UAAP championships and two Mythical First Teams to show, but in terms of star power, he is no Rommel Adducul.
The 2003 PBA Draft had a collection of MBA, UAAP, NCAA, and Fil-Am talents. If you're going to make a table on the draft's first three rounds, you'll find that it's loaded as hell.
LEAGUE | PLAYERS |
MBA | ROMMEL ADDUCUL, EDDIE LAURE, BILLY MAMARIL, REYNEL HUGNATAN, JOHN FERRIOLS, LEO BAT-OG, BRUCE DACIA, RALPH RIVERA, STEPHEN PADILLA |
UAAP/PBL | MIKE CORTEZ, ENRICO VILLANUEVA, ADONIS STA. MARIA, CYRUS BAGUIO, RONALD TUBID, RYSAL CASTRO, VINCENT SAN DIEGO, JENKINS MESINA, GEC CHIA |
NCAA/OTHERS/PBL | MARLON LEGASPI, SUNDAY SALVACION, ARIEL CAPUS |
FIL-AMS | HARVEY CAREY, BRANDON CABLAY, JIMMY ALAPAG, EUGENE TEJADA, ROB JOHNSON, KAHI VILLA, DUSTIN COLOSO |
But while Tim Cone had a Fil-Am fix back then, maybe he never saw Rommel Adducul as Alaska material. Looking back, I think he should have selected Adducul as the top pick, and kept Kenneth Duremdes rather than trading him to Sta. Lucia, and used the tenth pick instead of trading it to Talk N Text for Don Camaso. Adducul at that point, looked like the XL version of Alvin Patrimonio and could have easily had the career of two-time MVP Danny Ildefonso.
The Alaska pick gave TNT the chance to select Jimmy Alapag.
So can you imagine Alaska having Kenneth Duremdes as the superstar with Adducul, Jimmy Alapag, Don Allado, and Jon Arigo as his chief help?
Adducul was seen as the enemy and the dude who had more to prove because of the accolades that he got. Unfortunately, Adducul ended up going to Ginebra and while he had a couple of championships with the Kings, he went from top guy to role player because their MVP during his time with the Gins... was Eric F'N Menk. I know the word "role player" is a harsh term for him but if you saw his MBA career, it's hard to see him fall from being a 20-point, 10-rebound guy to an 8-point, 10-rebound player that he became. If he fell to a team like FedEx, who had the initial rights to the first overall pick (they traded the pick to Alaska for Bong Hawkins when the franchise was still with Tanduay,) it would have been a different story. The Lina franchise might have been alleged conduits in the later part of their PBA stint, but in 2002, they were a proud squad that proudly represented their MBA roots. In the 2003 PBA Draft, they selected MBA veterans John Ferriols in the second round, Bruce Dacia in the third round, and Kelani Ferrerria in the fourth round. In the same season, they had Wynne Arboleda, Ryan Bernardo, Gherome Ejercito, and Omanzie Rodriguez in their squad. Adducul would have been a perfect fit for the squad.
POTENTIAL STARTING FIVES IN 2003
GINEBRA | ALASKA | FEDEX | |
CENTER | ROMMEL ADDUCUL | ROMMEL ADDUCUL | YANCY DE OCAMPO |
POWER FORWARD | ERIC MENK | DON ALLADO | ROMMEL ADDUCUL |
SMALL FORWARD | JUN LIMPOT | KENNETH DUREMDES | VERGEL MENESES |
SHOOTING GUARD | MARK CAGUIOA | JOHN ARIGO | RENREN RITUALO |
POINT GUARD | JAYJAY HELTERBRAND / BAL DAVID | JIMMY ALAPAG | WYNNE ARBOLEDA |
Fortunately for Balti, that's not going to happen to him.
Whoever said that Balti did not delay his draft application so he could go to Converge is insane. It's the same reason why the FiberXers released Maverick Ahanmisi and Jeron Teng with nothing in return. I know tanking is a step higher than being a farm team, but Converge's record is the result of the team's attempt to get their marquee player.
At the moment, the FiberXers boast Justin Arana and Alec Stockton as their go-to guys with Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos as key support. He is also going to "transfer" to a team that also has Delta Pineda as chief backer. June Mar Fajardo blossomed under Danny Ildefonso's tutelage and he's probably going to get the same treatment. At the moment, we can see Ildefonso's awesomeness in the form of Arana. And now that Alex Cabagnot has been added to the squad, what are the chances that fellow Kapampangan Arwind Santos will join the squad as well?
Of course, Balti is going to be the team's center of attention.
And how ironic is it that Converge got their PBA franchise because Alaska had to leave?
AFTERMATH
Balti never won the UAAP MVP award, and that's okay. If he gets the same awards and achievements as he had with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, then he is probably the best player the PBA has ever seen in this kind of situation.
The PBA wanted Balti's talents for some time now, and it's probably the same timeline as that with Adducul. Both players snubbed the league until it was insane to do so, but unlike Adducul, Balti has control of his situation.
The situation is his to exploit.