B-Boys-Kings kicks off Commish Cup

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippine Basketball Association, with a new carrying station in Studio 23, unwraps today its import-laced second conference with a road game in Laoag City pitting a re-tooled Meralco Bolts team versus crowd darling Barangay Ginebra.

The B-Boys, featuring five new acquisitions in Sol Mercado, Eric Rodriguez, Renren Ritualo, Reynel Hugnatan and Mark Isip, tangle with the Kings at 5 p.m. at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena.

The first regular twinbill in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup is on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Both the B-Boys and the Kings are raring to come out strong and jumpstart their bids in the short mid-season tourney.

“We just had enough time to get import Nate Brumfield into our offensive system. Hopefully, we get better as a defensive unit,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“We’ve been trying to fast track the whole process. We practically have a new team with five new players in our roster. I like our build-up process and my wish is to come up with a solid team the soonest possible time,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.

An exciting match-up between highly touted imports in Brumfield and Anthony Dandridge spices up the game to be shown live on Studio 23.

Brumfield is coming off a stint in the Mexican league where he averaged 14.5 points on .566 field-goal shooting and .673 from the stripe.

He was a star at Oklahoma Baptist University, which he led to the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Division I title last year.

Dandridge, on the other hand, was the 2009 US NCAA slam dunk champion while playing for New Mexico. He’s fresh from a stint in the Lebanese league where he ranked second behind Lebanon national team stalwart Fadi El Khatib in scoring, with an average of 28.0 points per game.

“Dandridge is comfortable playing the 3 (small forward). He is best suited in our fastbreak game and is quickly learning to adapt to our system. My concern is his hamstring strain,” said Gregorio.

On the other hand, injuries to Jayjay Helterbrand and Mike Cortez are the Kings’ concerns.

Both teams fared well in the Philippine Cup with the Kings finishing third behind the Talk n Text Texters and the San Miguel Beermen, and the B-Boys narrowly missing the semis.

The B-Boys are expected to perform better with a lineup beefed up by Mercado, Ritualo, Hugnatan, Rodriguez and Isip. There’s also the returning Marlou Aquino.

“Sol is incredible. He has great skills and displays an unbelievable will to win. Reynel gives us toughness, intelligence and experience. The more games we play, the better we will be late in the season,” said Gregorio.

The youthful Meralco mentor expects a tough match with the Kings.

“It’s always tough to play them. They’re complete on all fronts. We just want to stay close and grab it in the end,” said Gregorio.

Uichico also expects a battle.

“They’ve got stronger. Isip and Aquino are not new to their system and should help out Hugnatan and (Asi) Taulava up front while we all know how Mercado and Ritualo can be explosive,” said Uichico.

“The others are known role players and should help them become tougher,” Uichico added, pointing to Gabby Espinas, Nelbert Omolon and Chris Ross.