The Championship Blog

disclaimer: this piece has been in my drafts for the longest time and im just posting this finally. :)

It has been quite a while since my last visit here in Cyberworld. 1 month i think to be exact. A lot of things went down while I was out. This and that, this and that... the boring world of a corporate slave... work, home, sleep.

Well, i am determined not to follow the norms of that world, i am determined to have at least an ounce of variety into my everyday life.

That variety is common to all Filipino males. Basketball. Basketball is my way to breakout of the normalcy of the corporate world. Basketball is my way to express.

Well, good thing for me, Accenture does support the notion of work-life balance, and thus support extra-curricular programs such as Accenture's basketball program. The Game can still be The Game. We have the Accenture Basketball League, which is our bread and butter in our sports program. It gives me personally a sense of accomplishment to see that other sports program in Accenture and other companies for that matter pattern some of their program after the ABL. The real heroes here are my friends Vin and Fred, who do the work behind the scenes. Im just happy to be a part of it.

Apart from the ABL, it gives me grate honor to be a part of the Accenture Basketball team. Im glad to be a part of it since day 1, from the initial tryouts. Last Saturday, we completed that journey with a championship in the Gillette MBL Vector Cup.

Ahh the Gillette MBL Vector Cup.

Another league for basketball enthusiasts. A great one at that. You get to play against ex-pros, campus legends and corporate aces.

That day, i was fortunate enough to play for 2 championship games. One for the Open Division, the strongest division of the league, and one for the Corporate Division, which in my view is the next strongest division of the league.

First game was the Open division championship. We were up against the undefeated CKP team which has blown away their competition throughout the tournament. We lost by 36 the first we played this guys. This team was composed of current varsity players and some players who are playing in the PBL. But this time, Team Abesamis, that's our team was finally complete. We have Rainier Sison, an ex-PBA player who had just come from a foot surgery to remove bone spurs from his foot. We also had Mike Buendia, a NBC player whose intelligence on the court is unmatched, and we also had the Gregorio Brothers, Pao and Yong, who are legends in the Ateneo basketball scene. So there we went, we fought hard and valiantly, we even led most of the way. They caught up with us, and then with them leading by 2 points, Pao uncharacteristically missed a layup in the dying minutes... it was a very disheartening loss for us, who had dominated the much more younger and superior team, only to falter at the end. But i think we showed that we were the strongest team out there. It was fun playing with ex-pro players, you really learn a lot just by playing with them.

The next game was the championship of Team Accenture vs. NU3 Foods. Here is a story i wrote for the company bulletin. :)

So the game started, and surprisingly NU3 came out strong out of the gates, hitting their first 4 shots, and actually led 10-4 midway into the first quarter, with only ‘The Big Difference’ Lincoln Ty scoring the first 4 points of Team Accenture and keeping them in the game in the early goings. Then ‘The Quick Brown Fox’ PA Papa, and Ryan David combined efforts along with the defense of ‘One-Man Press’ Sean Calma to put Team Accenture ahead at the end of the first quarter by 11, which was punctuated by a buzzer-beating lay-up by Niku Valles. Defense and transition offense again was the key for Team Accenture during the first quarter.
In the second canto, Team Accenture continued to run past their slower opponents as Niku Valles, Melvin Castrence, and Noel Umapas led the fast break attack of Team Accenture as they increased their lead to 19, 31-12. Then, the complexion of the game began to change. NU3 began using their size, heft and their familiarity to the physical type of game and slowly forced their way back into the game. Corporate Division MVP Ian Sanchez of NU3 led the inside attack with nice low post moves while front court partner Mike Arandia proved to be a bigger thorn on Accenture’s defense as he buried his mid range jumpers with regularity as there was no answer to his offensive barrage. With this NU3 run and Team Accenture’s inability to score under pressure, the once mighty 19 pt lead was trimmed down to 4 pts at halftime.
The 3rd quarter began with NU3’s Ian Sanchez burying a corner 3-point shot, to trim the Accenture down to a solitary point. ‘The Rifleman’ PJ David tried to keep Team Accenture ahead with his offense as he shown that he was not just a 3-pt threat but was an all-around player as well. Pat Cruz would come in later and provide perimeter defense, and toughness in the guard position, as the 3rd quarter became a rugged see-saw battle, with NU3 Foods, behind their crowd who suddenly got alive after being silent for the early parts, threatening to pull ahead of Team Accenture. But everytime NU3 Foods had a chance to grab the lead, they end up missing the shot and Team Accenture would quickly capitalize. This quarter also saw the struggles of Niku Valles, as he failed to lift up his team’s play, as he committed turnover after turnover, and forced shot after forced shot. This quarter ended with NU3 further closing on Team Accenture, only behind by a point, 50-49.
In the crucial 4th quarter, NU3 supporters expected the much more veteran NU3 Team to simply take over the game, but Team Accenture had other plans in mind. Their dominating season would be nothing if it did not end with the Division title. With this in mind, and true to Coach Artie Gloria’s words, “OUR TIME!!!” became the motto of Team Accenture. Putting behind their troubles in the last two quarters, they bore down defensively as RJ Timtiman stayed away from foul trouble to anchor the inside defense of Team Accenture. Offensively, Wilmore Gregorio, who was struggling with his perimeter game, got Team Accenture started with a nifty drive to push the lead back up to 3, at 52-49. Then, after a few exchanges with no score, ‘The Green Lantern’ Bambie Aldeguer buried the biggest shot of the game.
Left wide open in the right quarter court area, Bambie, always known to go for the big shot, drilled in a backbreaking 3-pt shot, to further distance Team Accenture from NU3 Foods. With the 3pt shot, Team Accenture was now ahead 55-49, and they would never look back. Ryan David, and PJ David would continue the offensive onslaught for Team Accenture, with Ryan burying short jumpers and PJ adding another big 3-pointer. At about the 6-minute mark, Niku Valles would reenter the fray to redeem his 3rd quarter woes and ignited another big run along with PA Papa, as they terrorized the ball-handlers of NU3 and finish them with quick points in the fastbreak, as they have done all league long. PA would also prove to be a thorn in the NU3 Food’s side in terms of rebounding as the diminutive PA would challenge the bigger guys of NU3 under the boards and would usually end up with the ball in his hands. Niku would put the game away for good with a 3-pointer and a foul for a rare 4-point play opportunity. Carl Bersales, Richmond Go, and Jap Constantino, along with Melvin and Bambie would finish of the game, with Carl playing great defense and finishing on fastbreaks, Jap and Richmond controlling the paint, and Melvin and Bambie as the offensive options.
If there was a finals MVP, PA Papa would have been the obvious choice. He simply played an awesome game, finishing with 17 pts, 9 big rebs, 5 assts, and 5 stls. Niku Valles was right there with him, as he had 17 pts, 2 rebs, 3 assts, and 1 stl. They both lead a balanced scoring Accenture team who had 3 more players who scored in double figures. 4th quarter hero Bambie Aldeguer finished with 11 pts. He also had 6 rebs. Lincoln Ty was big down low. He got 10 pts, 9 rebs and 2 stls, while Ryan David finished with 10 pts, 8 rebs, and 2 assts. NU3 was led by Mike Arandia, who burned the nets for 23 pts. He also had 10 rebs, and 3 stls. Team Accenture defense limited NU3 main man to 6 pts, on 1-11 FG shooting. He did get 12 rebs and 3 assts.
Once again the coaching staff did an awesome job of leading the team in this game. In fact, they were at their best as well, and deserve as much credit as the players with the championship victory. Coach Artie Gloria did a wonderful job on his rotation and calling of plays. He kept on motivating his players and kept telling them, that it is ‘OUR TIME!’ Assistant coaches Ever Dioco, and Miguel Domingo provided Artie with the necessary checks and assistance throughout the game, and they would talk with the players one-on-one and explain to them how they could help the team more. Team Managers Alvin Tsang and Fred Chua were as equally valued as well, as they also helped the coaching staff with their basketball expertise. They also made sure that the team as provided for with what was necessary.
When the buzzer sounded, there was jubilation from the Accenture gallery. Team Accenture has finally swept the entire MBL Corporate league. Together, they had triumph. Team Accenture had won a hard, grueling championship battle, and they proved that they truly deserved the title. The awarding ceremonies followed after. PA Papa, PJ David, and Niku Valles of Team Accenture were named to the Gillette MBL Vector Cup Corporate Division Mythical Five. They were joined by Ian Sanchez of NU3 Foods, and Phillip Francisco of Petron. Our very own PA Papa won the Defensive Player of the Year for the Corporate Division, while NU3 Food power forward Ian Sanchez won the Corporate Division Most Valuable Player Award. And of course your Team Accenture was awarded the Championship trophy right after. Each of the Team Accenture players will then be awarded medals as Gillette MBL Vector Cup Corporate Division Champions. It was truly a proud day for the Accenture Community.
From the first announcement of the open tryouts for Team Accenture, to the hard practices of the Team Accenture pool, to the suicide drills and competitive scrimmages, to the tune-up games Team Accenture played in, and finally to the start of the league, Team Accenture has displayed the greatest asset in team sports, TEAMWORK. This Teamwork was developed through the weekly practices, and then into the games. This has been the heart and soul of Accenture basketball, and in this MBL Vector Cup, it was never more evident. A team composed of Accenture Basketball League Superstars, sacrificing each of their games and egos to make Team Accenture a champion team, and to watch them hoist up the championship trophy and share in the glory of the title, was just a beauty to behold. It is really OUR TIME…
It has been a very successful season for Accenture basketball. A Final Four finish in the Manila Invitational Basketball League, and a championship in the Gillette MBL Vector Cup. Surely this is not the end, but only the beginning.
Congratulations to Team Accenture as a whole and to those who supported Team Accenture, Thank you…