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The Holster Feature - Season Preview: Blades reboot anew

League III.13 Season Preview
Bacoor Blades
14:11

Coming off another disappointing appearance in the League Championship Finals last season, the Bacoor Blades begin another season with its community filled with an uncanny mix of expectation and frustration.

Season Review:

Elimination Round Result: 19-3 (obtained #1 seed and overall home-court advantage via point differential)

Playoff Results:

def. Ding-a-lings in Conference Semifinal, 121-76
def. Luna Thunders in Conference Final, 114-112
lost in the League Final to Dunking Donuts, 2-1 (104-82, 113-130, 91-113)

They had to contend until the final gameday of the elimination round to determine who won overall home court advantage, which they eventually did so. And they did use it to their full disposal, winning comfortably in the conference semis and winning a nailbiter of a game against rival Luna Thunders in the Conference Final. They would win the first game of the title series but would eventually drop the next two, handing the title to Dunking Donuts.

Roster Shakeups:

Additions: Faustino Gregorio Godinez, Ricaredo Publico, Kenneth Roy Villanueva

Departures: Ariel Eliav, Stephane Rambert

Retained: Gabor Martinovics, Antoine Fauvel, Kelly Paul, Eugenio Genco, Kwok Tuan An

Perhaps the biggest blow for this campaign is the loss of their two key players in Ariel Eliav and Stephane Rambert via transfers, which is basically two-thirds of the potent backcourt rotation last season and have been key figures in the last two Finals trips of the Cavite-based franchise.

This means that much of the load will once again be carried by the formidable frontline rotation of the Blades. As for the perimeter scoring, Gabor Martinovics will have to build on his strong showing in his first season with the Blades as he takes on a bigger responsibility on the floor with his wing partners gone.

"It will be a big challenge. To lose key guys like that and to have to take more of the load." said the 34-year old Madagascarian. "This will definitely make the climb back to the top a lot steeper, but it has to be done." he added.

"After two straight title round fumbles, there is building frustration, yes." admitted longtime Blades forward Kelly Paul. "But most of it is of our own doing, by not being able to capitalize with our opportunities."

While the arrival of their troika of rookies shore up the lost rotation, the disparity in talent level would make it hard to replicate the efforts that Eliav and Rambert offered.

On the flipside, their perennial edge in the frontline remain intact. Antoine Fauvel, Kwok Tuan An, Eugenio Genco and Kelly Paul will all be back for another tour of duty. But admittedly by team manager TheDogMan, this band that has defined Bacoor Blades basketball for the better part of the last three seasons could be on its last legs.

"The group is aging, especially Kwok and Antoine, they've been the pillars of this team for a significant period of time now." said the Blades gaffer. "Decline in perfomance due to advanced age is inevitable, especially in this sport."

As for the future of the roster, TheDogMan opts to leave it all to the players and how they would fare in this campaign.

"It's up to them quite frankly, we could easily get new players but it could have ramifications to the team's build and chemistry. We will try to manage them as efficiently as we could." he added.

The Blades will return to the court as they begin their Season 28 campaign with a road trip to black_mamba to face NuRSing_AvENgeRS on the 12th of July.

Blades get clobbered by NuRSing_AvENgeRS in opening assignment

League III.13 Elimination Round
Bacoor Blades @ NuRSing_AvENgeRS
23:06

The Bacoor Blades suffered a devastating loss to start their campaign against NuRSing_AvENgeRS, 100-77. Zbigniew Wikulak and Norbert Szathmári both exploded on the offensive end to lead the hosts to the trouncing of last season's finalists.

It started in the first quarter when a hard-fighting Blades tried to keep it close and managed to make it a 23-17 affair to the hosts. By the second quarter, the aforementioned two-man punch proved effective on the floor, powering the AvENgeRS to a 47-37 halftime lead.

The Blades weren't able to seriously threaten from then on as the AvENgeRS took control of the game from the opening tip of the second half until the final buzzer as the onslaught continued while key role players were beginning to click on offense as well, further compounding the Blades woes.

It's as if the Blades are allergic to winning their season opener, dropping all five of their first gameday matches since they were promoted to Division III back in Season 24.

Antoine Fauvel paced the Cavite five with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Gabor Martinovics scored 18 and dished out 12 assists.

"This is a tough environment to play in. Despite our recent history with this squad, they were still able to power through and beat us." said team manager TheDogMan.

"There's no doubt that they will contend this season and make a deeper push than in recent seasons." says Kelly Paul, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

The Blades will try to rebound from this latest setback as they return to The Bacoor Forum to host Kitty Cat on the 15th of July.

Blades look to regroup as they host Kitty Cat

League III.13 Elimination Round
Kitty Cat @ Bacoor Blades
9:32

Although they suffered yet another opening day loss at the hands of NuRSing_AvENgeRS, the fact that they actually opened the season on the road makes it an opportunity for them to regroup and avoid a losing streak to begin the season as they host newcomers Kitty Cat at The Bacoor Forum.

The Blades will open their home court stand for the season, where they won 18 games in 20 appearances in both League and Cup assignments last season.

"The last time we competed here at home, we disappointed our own fans and wasn't able to secure promotion to Division II." said Kelly Paul. "We owe it to them that we make the necessary progress to return to that same position and atone for our mistakes."

The 6'9" American was referring to the Blades' last home game, a 113-91 loss at the hands of Dunking Donuts during Game 3 of the League Championship Series, where the Cavite-based squad lost the opportunity to elevate their franchise to Division II.

With an increased responsibility again on the part of their bigs, Bacoor find themselves again looking for ways to conceal their perceived weakness in the perimeter, with only Gabor Martinovics as their sole reliable at the guard spots.

"It is an open secret, definitely. We will try to do our best to make it a non-factor but it will be inevitable when games like the last game come up." said team manager TheDogMan. "But it is a good thing that it came up as early as now so that we could at least get a glimpse of how it will pan out if we continue to keep this situation."

When asked as to whether the team are to make transfer moves to shore up their backcourt, the Blades' head was cautious in his response.

"It's hard to talk about it now. While it is always a part of our plans to bring in key guys that we think can help us to the fold, we would like to make a very sure decision this time and not make rushed choices that could end up with us having to let players go due to restraints in our budget." the gaffer added.

The showdown with Kitty Cat shall tip off at 5:30 pm.

Blades trounced by hot-shooting Kitty Cat in season home opener

League III.13 Elimination Round
Kitty Cat @ Bacoor Blades
21:32

Looks like the first home game bug has yet to wear off the Blades...

A horrendous start did the Bacoor Blades in as they can not recover from the opening quarter onslaught unleashed by the visiting Kitty Cat, 93-81, at The Bacoor Forum.

Still reeling from their last appearance in their home court, a humiliating defeat in Game 3 of last season's Championship series, as well as the opening day blunder at the hands of NuRSing_AvENgeRS, the Blades looked sluggish at the start of the game, giving away possession after possession en route to a 30-22 first quarter deficit that seemed to deflate the Cavite five early on.

Eager to retaliate, the Blades banked on lead guard Gabor Martinovics, who carried the team's cause despite misfiring most of his shots from the field. A late rally in the second quarter was easily quashed by Kitty Cat although the lead did shrink to 49-44 by halftime.

The third canto saw the Blades gain traction on the offensive end as rookie Ricaredo Publico and Martinovics connived to wrest the lead from the visitors by the start of the fourth quarter, 65-63. But an offensive juggernaut, similar to what Kitty Cat did in the first quarter, forced the Blades to relinquish the lead as they returned to their misfiring ways and ultimately cost them the game.

Martinovics ended up with 34 points, but shot a platry 29% from the field, including a dismal 2-for-14 from beyond the arc or 14%. Publico shot better with a 40% clip for 11 points and center Kwok Tuan An had 10 points and 14 boards.

"This was just a disappointing effort by them. They tried to make amends but they ended up short." said team manager TheDogMan. "It was hard to keep up with their energy and their will to win in this game." he further added.

"Their shooting from beyond the arc was just impeccable in this game." said Eugenio Genco, talking about Kitty Cat's 16 three pointers made that aided in their downing of the Blades, led by Kitty Cat forward Spadon, who made six out of nine threes to a total of 24 points as well as 14 boards.

They will face Treblinka Juggernauts up next in their first assignment in the National Tournament.

Blades notch first win of the season with dismantling of Treblinka Juggernauts

Philippine National Tournament Round 1
Treblinka Juggernauts @ Bacoor Blades
23:40

In a display of tremendous defensive effort, the Bacoor Blades methodically broke down Treblinka Juggernauts at The Bacoor Forum, 107-55, to notch their first win of the new season.

From the get-go, the Blades look to atone for their poor start off the gates this season, going inside immediately after the opening tip. Kelly Paul and Antoine Fauvel went to work early to establish their position as the threats underneath. The occasional bombs from the perimeter and beyond by Gabor Martinovics and rookie Ricaredo Publico made it all the more difficult for Treblinka to keep up. The first quarter ended 19-15.

But through stifling defense and crisp passing, the Blades were able to keep their opponents production in the second quarter again to 15 points while going off for 23 of their own. Halftime score was 42-30.

They would no longer relinquish the lead since then as the Blades allowed the visitors only 25 points the rest of the way while going on a scoring binge per quarter, further increasing the lead and adding insult to injury.

"It was a sound game for us. We did all that we wanted to do and we did it as efficiently as we could." Said team manager TheDogMan. "The passing was accurate and we took care of the ball in each possession. Something we did not do very well since the season began."

"Now that they had a game like this, I hope that they get a grasp of the idea and never let go of it for the rest of the season." the Blades' head concluded.

With the win, the Blades advance to Round 2, where they face paul6227 again at The Bacoor Forum. The game shall take place on the 24th of July. But they will hurdle first a game in the League against Dragons Lanzar Sobresaliente (DLS) Heat.

Blades win first League game in conquest of DLS Heat

League III.13 Elimination Round
Bacoor Blades @ Dragons Lanzar Sobresaliente (DLS) Heat
17:25

The Bacoor Blades avoided furthering their two-game slide as they defeated Dragons Lanzar Sobresaliente (DLS) Heat, 117-107.

The win gave them a 1-2 card after three games and avoided a possible slide to the bottom of the League, where automatic elimination threatens the team.

It was in the first quarter when the Blades looked to have figured out early the schemes of their hosts, winning the period 25-15 via the efforts of longtime standouts Kelly Paul and Eugenio Genco. The second quarter became a shootout as a combination of good offense and mediocre defense saw both teams explode for a combined 64 points. Halftime it ended 58-46 for the Cavite five.

But in the third quarter DLS just could not keep up as the Blades kept on firing on all cylinders, notching another 33-point quarter while only having 22 to balloon the lead to 23 points, 91-68, entering the last 12 minutes. A spirited rally in the final period was all for naught as the game was under wraps early in the period thru the efforts of the Blades frontline that turned the game into a block party.

Paul had 28 points and 11 rebounds for Bacoor, while his tag team partner Genco had 25 points. Gabor Martinovics had a double-double of his own, scoring 24 markers and dishing out 14 assists.

"We needed this win to get our bearings back. It was a tough way to come out of the gates in the first two games but we were able to stop the bleeding for now." said team manager TheDogMan.

"It was key for us to win this game and try to crawl back this season." said Paul. Not the way we wanted to start but we still have a full season ahead of us to try and correct our mistakes."

They face Born_To_Be_WIld up next at The Bacoor Forum.

Kwok Tuan An's effort in naught as Blades dominated by Born_To_Be_WIld at home

League III.13 Elimination Round
Born_To_Be_WIld @ Bacoor Blades
17:50

It was not a pretty sight to see as the Bacoor Blades got throttled by visiting Born_To_Be_WIld, 93-75, at The Bacoor Forum.

The game did not look that way at least early on in the first period, when the Blades fought back the early challenge, 23-16. But a second quarter storm saw the visitors take the lead and wrest the game in their favor, winning the quarter 31-18 for a 47-41 edge by the interval.

The Blades tried to make the game interesting by the start of the second half, but they ultimately lost the third quarter by two points as Gabor Martinovics had shooting woes and resident center Kwok Tuan An seemed to be the only one who can get shots at a consistent basis.

The final period saw complete domination for the visitors as they limited the Cavite five on the floor to just 16 points in the quarter, effectively shutting down any other attempt by the Blades to rally.

Kwok Tuan An had a monster effort 23 points and 25 rebounds to lead the home charge, Eugenio Genco added 13 points and 21 rebounds. But even though the Blades won the rebounding battle convincingly, 60-39, the team were unable to contain their opponent's outside shooting.

"They were just hot from downtown, the bulk of their production in the game came from their outside shooting." said team manger TheDogMan, talking about their opponents connecting on 15 of their 34 attempts from beyond the arc, a whopping 44%.

The Blades fall to 1-3 with the loss, tied for last place. They will have a break from League action as they face their second assignment in the National Tournament, paul6227, on the 24th of July before facing Ding-a-Lings on the 26th of July.

Blades dominate 2nd Cup assignment paul6227 at home

Philippine National Tournament Round 2
paul6227 @ Bacoor Blades
21:49

Despite their League blunders this season, one thing that the Blades are still enjoying is a stint in the National Tournament. And that continued as they won their second game of this season's staging, trouncing paul6227, 91-68, at The Bacoor Forum.

A monster performance from Eugenio Genco carried the Cavite five through to the next round, amassing 33 points and grabbing 22 rebounds. Young prospect Kenneth Roy Villanueva provided an additional 18 points and 20 boards while youngster Vladislav Zayka had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The pressure was applied in the odd quarters, where the Blades kicked up their offense as well as turning on their defensive prowess against a hapless paul6227 squad that did not see any of the Blades' attack coming.

"We just surprised them at every turn. It was important for us to be quick on our attack because that was something that they did not expect to see coming into the game." said team manger TheDogMan. "We've always been a deliberate offense but this time, we showed them that we can be a running team as well.

"It had to begin with somebody. It just happened to be me this time." said Genco of his performance. "The big guns of the team are rested and we had to bank on a guy to make things happen. And it did happen for us this time." the Italian beanpole added.

The Blades face Ding-a-lings next as they look to bounce back from their League loss the last time out.