The Final Score: Is Nonoy Baclao the PBA's new Tapal King?

Alaska's Sam Eman is 6-foot-9. And he is perplexed. Perched near the basket, logically impossible to stop, Eman figures all he needs to do is reach for the hoop and score two points against Air21. Wapak! Someone blocks his shot. Wait a minute. I'm 6-foot-9! So, within seconds, he regains possession, gathers himself and reaches for the hoop again. Wapak! Same guy blocks Eman’s attempt. Eman's mind is racing. He knows only two players who can do this to him; B-Meg's Rafi Reavis and Rico Maierhofer. Saved by the very persistence that gives Alaska Head Coach Tim Cone hope, he refuses to fold. He finally scores a put-back on the third try. Like an introductory business meeting over lunch, Eman quickly learns about Nonoy Baclao's commerce. On a rainy Friday night, inside the Cuneta Astrodome, a rookie gives Eman the complete sales pitch. No need for PowerPoint presentations. No need for fancy brochures. In one sequence, with two consecutive shot-blocks, the PBA's top overall rookie pick hands Eman his calling card. It says: Siverino "Nonoy" Baclao, Shot Block Specialist, At Your Service. Baclao tallies six shot-blocks against Alaska's big men last October 22. Six. That's more than double his already eyebrow-raising average of 2.5 in his first two games. Consider that Alaska's frontline, aside from Eman, also has 6-foot-7 Sonny Thoss and 6-foot7 Joe Devance. Beginners’ luck? Buena Mano? Gulpi de gulat? Perhaps. We're more accustomed to accepting lucky shots – wild double-pump attempts taken from 35 feet which somehow go in. We’re less likely to hear commentators utter, "What a lucky block!" During the game, two coaches teach in different ways. Cone allows third-year pro Bonbon Custodio, a rookie in Alaska's triangle offense, to run the team during Air21’s comeback in the third quarter. Custodio struggles. Alaska's double-digit lead melts away. My broadcast partner, Andy Jao points out that Cone is training Custodio even at the expense of losing a 13-point lead. Air21 Head Coach Yeng Guiao, on the other hand, wants Baclao to develop his offense, play defense in the final minutes and guard the opponent's most versatile big men, even at the expense of losing a PBA contest. The learning is in the doing. Custodio watches the game’s final moments from the bench. Baclao, on Air21's last defensive stand, jumps into the belly of the beast. Seconds to go, Alaska down by three, Devance has the ball outside the three-point line. He can normally shoot over most defenders. After all, he is 6-foot-7. Yet as he stares at Baclao playing defense with arms probably even longer than Eman's, he’s not so sure. He figures if he takes one step back, he'll have all the shooting space he needs. So he picks up his dribble and hops two paces away from his defender for a chance to tie the game. Wapak! Baclao does it again. Only this time, Devance isn't perplexed. By the time Baclao tallies his eleventh shot-block in three games, Devance is already convinced. – GMANews.TV