Butiki Bullets: Smart Gilas vs Powerade

• Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman put on a coaching clinic against Yeng Guiao, as the younger national team whipped the all-pro Powerade team, 98-69. Jaemark Tordecilla of Fire Quinito commented on Toroman's performance: "I finally figured out why he’s so good, and it’s not because he has arcane coaching technology or that he has a higher basketball IQ than our local coaches; it’s because he outworks them. It’s obvious in their product on the court. The crisp cuts, the pinpoint passing, the excellent communication, the perfect defensive rotations (with their tiny guards knowing where to funnel their men) – these were all drilled meticulously during boring, monotonous practice sessions." Now that's a kind of coach I can get behind.

• I think I have to agree with Gary Mercado of Basketball Exchange that this 29-point blowout is going to be a PBA public relations disaster.

• Do you remember the last time you saw Mac Baracael and Jason Ballesteros play on a basketball court? Forget that, because you will barely recognize these guys. They have developed quite a bit since they've started training with Gilas, and the fact that these guys are no slouches, makes it that much more impressive. Remember, Ballesteros would have been last year's NCAA MVP if his team could just have won one more game. Baracael, before the shooting incident was one of the better players in the UAAP. Honestly, I had little expectations from these two at the beginning, but you have to feel good about their presence on the team now. And on an extra note, Mark Barroca and Dylan Ababou are only beginning to practice exclusively with Gilas. How much better are these two going to get?

• Japeth Aguilar had his way against the Powerade bigs, scoring 24 points. Toroman says Aguilar is only at 60% of his potential. Doing the math, Rajko thinks Japeth could have scored 40 on Powerade.

• Interesting anecdote from Rick Olivares of Bleachers Brew. On one instance in the game Baracael drew contact and yelled 'foul' out loud. As he shot his free throws, Powerade players Kerby Raymundo and Wynne Arboleda were said to have exchanged looks of contempt and the words "angas, ah." Curious, then, that a few possessions later, Raymundo hammered Baracael with a flagrant foul.

• Can either CJ Giles or Japeth Aguilar, under the tutelage of Toroman, keep their NBA dreams alive? Remember, after a solid stint under the same coach, Iran's Hamed Haddadi cracked the roster of the Memphis Grizzlies. Hopefully, one or both of the big guys can do the same.

• And as a final side note, the UAAP/NCAA vs Liga Pilipinas/PBL game was ineresting not so much for the outcome, after the more experienced Liga/PBL selection crushed the college stars by 20+ points in the second half. But I enjoyed it when the Liga/PBL team had James Mangahas guard Joshua Webb of UAAP/NCAA unit. There was some tension between the two, and both were banging all night long. Mangahas, of course, was expected to be DLSU's main man, the King Archer, so to speak. But a bad season had the La Salle community turnng on Mangahas and his fellow veterans in favor of the rookies and sophs, led by the emerging Webb. Was James trying to prove a point? Maybe, but it sure was fun to watch.