Butiki Bullets: Thursday November 5

• Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia figured in a vehicular accident last Monday. Another bad break in an already tough season for Elastopainters. They dropped their 5th consecutive game last night.

• San Miguel is a team that can drive its fanbase nuts. They had a horrendous first half against Rain or Shine, where they only mustered 33 points. There was just bad shot selection, with everybody taking outside shots. I've made a big deal about how the Beermen are tough inside and out, but this conference, they've been all about the perimeter. In the third quarter, they finally got some points from close range, mostly on fastbreaks. And they broke out in a spectacular 35-point 4th quarter where they just blew the game wide open behind threes from Lordy Tugade and Mike Cortez. Look, I know SMB is a great shooting team. And that they've closed out games late when the three starts falling for them. But getting good looks gets easier when your man is worried about your penetration or about helping out on one of your teammates. I'd like to see more balance on offense. Arwind Santos is a good finisher, but even when he's been near the basket, especially baseline, he's been taking a short jumper rather than taking it strong. I hope Jay Washington gets back soon. He may be a jump-shooting big man (a good one, at that) but he's also one of the few Beermen with actual post moves.
  

• Is Ariel Vanguardia a perfect fit for the NU Bulldogs?

• Alaska is looking real nice this year. The Joe DeVance-Sol Mercado trade looks like a stroke of genius. Mark Borboran looks like a real PBA player now. And LA Tenorio is just busting out this year. He led the Aces in scoring through the first four games. Last night, he had 13 points on just 9 shots, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, a clutch three and free throws to seal the game.