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The Holster Feature: How the Bacoor Blades fell from grace

The Holster Headquarters
Bacoor Blades
00:25

After two Finals appearances, the Bacoor Blades took a deep plunge into futility. Six games in and the Cavite-based squad only has a win to show for against five losses for a seventh place rank in the Big 8 Conference. This start is similar to their start during their first season in League III.13, where they lost their first five games before new acquisitions Boris Buzhan and Antoine Fauvel helped form the core that would keep the team competitive until last season.

At the peak of their powers, the Blades had gunners in Buzhan, Ariel Eliav and Stephane Rambert before Gabor Martinovics joined the pack last season. At the front was Fauvel and Kwok Tuan An, who helped the team rack up win after win and surround long-time pieces Kelly Paul and Eugenio Genco with the needed leadership and firepower to aid them in the campaign.

Since then, Buzhan has left, and so is Eliav and Rambert before the season began. Fauvel was let go last week and Kwok Tuan An is nearing the same fate. All that is left from the once intimidating core is Paul, Genco and Martinovics, with three rookies enlisted for the Blades training program as well as a seasoned veteran in Allen Michael Secugal, which seeks to stabilize the squad despite the recent changes.

But the question in everyone's minds is why is this so? Why so many changes within a short period of time? Team manager TheDogMan is quick to address the queues.

"It's just as sudden as how we got them." said the Blades' head. "When we needed help to make the team competitive, we jumped to the transfer market to find key guys that would fill our gaping holes on offense and defense." he further relayed. "We just did it again. But this time, it was the other way around."

The Blades have made aggressive moves in the past to acquire players thru transfers. These transactions usually end up being short-term deals that sees the players let go after one season or at most, three seasons.

"While they are necessary deals made to bolster the team, these deals were also depletive of our resources and has caused us to go deep in the red for numerous times before." said Angel Viterbo, Blades PR Manager.

This situation went into overdrive when the Blades got deep into debt by as much as over five hundred thousand dollars, triggering a mandatory period to organize the team's finances.

"Had we not saved ourselves from that predicament, it would have meant force-selling our key guys and not being able to compete for a title that season."

However, the team also admitted that acquisition of quality players at good prices have become increasingly difficult as the seasons pass.

"The increase in transfer prices for players that we usually acquire for less has indeed become a problem." TheDogMan explained. "But despite the increase in prices, we have been able to make some good deals. But as an organization, we thought it best to make a turn to a different approach."

"One that will benefit the team for more than three seasons. A long-term plan." said TheDogMan.

As for the plan, recent activities by the Blades have shown their intention: The reinstatement of the Blades training program, the acquiring of rookie participants for the program and the acquisition of a trainer to administer it, on top of the transfer moves made by the franchise to free up their payroll and their investment in their arena.

"This one will take a while. But this is going to be an exciting few seasons watching this team re-emerge into how they were the past few seasons - maybe more." concluded TheDogMan.

Rookies Montera, Chan find stride to halt Blades skid in win over TheResurrection

League III.13 Elimination Round
TheResurrection @ Bacoor Blades
10:34

Using a strong showing in the middle quarters, the Bacoor Blades defeated TheResurrection to notch their first League home win for the season, 91-79, behind a stellar display by two of their three rookies under the training program.

Top gunner Gabor Martinovics led the Cavite five with a near triple-double of 23 points, 10 assists and 8 boards. It would have been his second consecutive triple-double as he notched great numbers in their recent National Tournament assignment.

But the story of the game is the performance of rookies Kenneth Montera and Nicolas Chan, who score 20 and 18 points, respectively. They also provided a lot of energy on the defensive end as they combined for five steals and five blocks in the game. This came at the heels of a strong showing for fellow rookie Vladislav Zayka in the National Tournament, earning the three high praises from both teammates and management.

"They've been a bit too eager at times. But you cannot fault their effort to make a good impression on the team." said team manager TheDogMan. "It's good that we can get games like these from them at times, but solid performances on a consistent basis and we will be fine in the later games."

"These types of games make us feel confident that the potential that we saw from them prior to their entry to the team is realizable within the program." said team trainer Nenad Stojković.

The Blades move one spot to sixth place in the standings with a 2-5 win-loss record. It also snaps the three-game losing streak of the Cavite-based squad. The Blades shall face Valhalla Demons on the 5th of August.

Martinovics waxes hot as Bacoor demolishes Valhalla Demons for second straight victory

League III.13 Elimination Round
Bacoor Blades @ Valhalla Demons
21:00

While it took a while for them to get going, when they did, they were unstoppable.

The Bacoor Blades defeated Valhalla Demons, 84-53, to pump life into their playoff bid. Gabor Martinovics continued his stellar performance for three games now as he notched game-high 36 points together with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Kelly Paul had a double-double of 13 points and 18 boards.

After succumbing to the Demons in the first quarter, 19-21, a defense-oriented second period saw the Blades gain the upper hand at the half, 34-31. They truly shut down their opponents in the third quarter by allowing only seven points for their hosts while scoring twenty of their own.

"We were able to heat up in the later periods and we ultimately took the wind out of them." said team manager TheDogMan. "It was a needed win to give ourselves a chance at the playoffs for this season." he further added.

"It's good to have performances like these under my belt. But the priority is that we are winning and making progress despite the changes in the team." said the 34-year old Martinovics.

The win brings the Blades to the neutral 5th place zone with a 3-5 record, winning the tiebreaker against DLS Heat. The Blades shall face Sta. Maria Ground up next as they resume their National Tournament stint on August 7. The will return to League action with a game against Team Dugong Bughaw on August 9.

Size still a problem as Blades await Genco's return

The Holster Headquarters
League III.13 Elimination Round
21:30

In a press briefing earlier after their daily practice sessions, Bacoor Blades team manager TheDogMan admitted that the current situation with their frontcourt is still a problem despite their recent win streak of two League games and a Cup win.

"Our frontcourt rotation has been a trouble for some time now. Since we had to let go of our key contributors down the post, it has been a struggle to continually get points down low." said the Blades' head, who recently showed the door to Antoine Fauvel and Kwok Tuan An, two of the most integral parts of the Blades' past success.

The gaffer also admitted that the recent turn of events has led to the him putting a smaller team on the floor for most of the game. "We made Allen (Secugal) and Gabor (Martinovics) assume the 4 spot at times, trying to provide a more stretched offense, but it has cost us on defense."

The situation was not made any better by the fact that their sole option underneath remaining, Eugenio Genco, is still down with an injury from a few weeks back.

"We were forced to make roster adjustments since he's injured. It has been tough to watch at times see a smaller lineup than our opponents, but our two wins so far give us an idea that it can work in stretches."

Although TheDogMan admits that the return of Genco would make things easier for the Blades. "It's always good to have an option down low. It also relieves pressure off of Kelly (Paul) and Gabor to score more, as well as more margins for error on the side of our trainees, which would help them develop later on."

While watching his teammates run through the session, Genco expressed his excitement to return to the floor for the Cavite-based squad.

"Of course I'm excited to get back there. There starting to win again and I'm eager to contribute to the cause again. It's been a while and I'm hoping to return as soon as I can."

"His return will stabilize the lineup and lessen the minutes of our key players, especially Gabor and Kelly." TheDogMan concluded.

Genco waiting game still on-going as Blades take on Sta. Maria Ground in next Cup assignment

Philippine National Tournament Round 4
Bacoor Blades @ Sta. Maria Ground
00:02

The Bacoor Blades go on the road for their fourth Cup game against Sta. Maria Ground. And with a depleted lineup, team manager TheDogMan will have to face their hosts still without their key center Eugenio Genco.

"It's still uncertain whether he can play for us in the Cup." said the Blades' head.

The situation remains bleak whether the 7'0" Italian can return to the court but the team has high hopes despite their big man out on the sidelines in civvies.

"We've been able to win the last two games without him. And while he is an important part of what we do, we need to step up and not let his inability to play affect us." said Kelly Paul.

The beanpole has averaged nearly 13 points and 12 rebounds in the four League games so far in the season. And his inside presence has been sorely missed as teams with a solid front court have been able to manhandle the Blades in recent games.

"We're going to face a team that does not necessarily have a set up strong five. It will make things interesting for sure." said gunner Gabor Martinovics, who has been able to find his shooting touch over the last three games.

It will be interesting indeed as to how the Blades continue to play without Genco. They did win their last three games including their Round 3 assignment. This proves that they are starting to gel as a squad and is willing to add Genco to the mix once he fully recovers.

"His contributions will be welcomed heavily when he returns, but the team has to play on while he's still out." TheDogMan concluded.

Mystery center starts for the Blades in Cup trouncing of Sta. Maria Ground

Philippine National Tournament Round 4
Bacoor Blades @ Sta. Maria Ground
2:51

Just hours after their Cup showdown with Sta. Maria Ground, team management of the Bacoor Blades were seen highly active in the wee hours of the morning evidently finalizing a deal acquiring a player from the transfer market. And up until the game itself, the man remained a mystery.

When the starting five was announced, the fans at The Bacoor Forum were given a glimpse of their new player. He scored only nine points, but grabbed 21 rebounds, dished out six assists and a blocked shot. The Blades win their Round 4 assignment convincingly, 94-46.

"To those who were wondering who our new guy is, we are presenting you Enrique Verastegui, a Spanish international to play for us from here on in." said team manager TheDogMan. "We acquired him earlier this morning from transfers and we hope that his contributions to the team will make us a solid force in the games to come."

"I'm glad that the community has been warm in welcoming me." said a happy Verastegui. "I know it was a bit weird as to how this whole thing began but I hope my performance in this game helped in any way my ease of arrival to this team's fans."

The game also saw an explosion from outgoing guard Allen Michael Secugal, who was put on transfers almost the same time as the arrival of the Verastegui to Bacoor. The Filipino skipper had 46 points and seven assists in a game to remember him with that seemed to be a testimonial game for the 33-year old.

"Masaya ako na nagkaroon ako ng ganitong performance bago ako umalis." said a torn Secugal. "Pero mas masaya ako na kahit papano, nakatulong rin ako sa team na 'to kahit na saglit lang akong nag-stay dito" Secugal concluded.

Bacoor has received bids for Secugal, further ensuring the departure of the guard from the club. In his five games in the League for the Cavite-based franchise, Secugal averaged 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, shooting 24% from the field and 16% from three.

Blades come from behind in dogfight win vs. Team Dugong Bughaw

League III.13 Elimination Round
Team Dugong Bughaw @ Bacoor Blades
21:

After two convincing victories, the Bacoor Blades were tested by Team Dugong Bughaw at The Bacoor Forum. But a second half fightback turned a 12-point deficit at the half into a six-point win, 61-55, to enable them to keep in step with the conference leaders.

Showing more enthusiasm and aggressiveness in the first quarter, the visitors stormed into an early lead, 17-10. They followed it up with a more spirited second quarter where they got their offensive game going, further padding on to the lead as it stood at 40-28 by the interval.

Visibly frustrated by the pesky defense of Team Dugong Bughaw, Kelly Paul and Gabor Martinovics began on a mission to put the Blades back in the game. Their scoring binge along with the tight defense by the rest of the squad, shackled the visiting team's output to just seven points in the third period, though the Blades were still down entering the fourth, 47-44.

But the Blades seemed to have gotten a hold of the way Team Dugong Bughaw worked on the offensive end, limiting them again to just single digits in scoring for the final period.

"If there's one thing that I'm sure of after watching our performance in this game, is that I've seen our squad have better days on offense." said team manager TheDogMan. "They were able to clip our top guns in the first half but they broke loose in the second half and never looked back.

Gabor Martinovics shook off a shaky first half to finish with 20 points while Kelly Paul dominated with 18 points, 25 rebounds and four blocks in the game. They were the only two players from the Cavite-based franchise to score in double figures as the next highest contribution was newly-acquired Enrique Verastegui's eight markers.

"It was really just a bad scoring day. It nearly cost us the game and this run we're having at the end of the first round." said a relieved Kelly Paul. "Good thing we were able to salvage the victory and keep it going.".

The Blades remain in fifth place with a 4-5 record. They will face Pilipinas Katipuneros next as they continue their inter-conference foray into the second round of the eliminations.

Blades land Italian center in major deal

Bacoor Blades Player Movements
Transfer Market
17:22

In a stunning move by the Bacoor Blades management, the Cavite-based franchise land Italian center Marco Montixi from Polish squad Ks. Modlimowo for a fee of $200,000.

"We are pleased to announce the arrival of Marco Montixi to the Bacoor Blades." declared team manager TheDogMan. "We are confident in his abilities on the court and that he will be able to help this team moving forward."

For his career, the 6'11" beanpole averages nearly 14 points and 11 rebounds, shooting almost 56% from the field. A former League champion, Montixi has been a veteran of many playoff wars throughout his stints in three teams throughout his career.

"I would like to thank everyone in the Bacoor Blades organization for this wonderful opportunity to play for their club." said a grateful Montixi.

The move also meant that the newly-acquired Enrique Verastegui had to be immediately released from the club in order to make a trim in the lineup payroll. "It was a circumstance that we did not want to face. But we had no choice as the lineup is fashioned differently for the season." cleared TheDogMan.

The new addition to the squad means that the frontline is at least shored up again after Antoine Fauvel and Kwok Tuan An were put on transfers early in the season. Montixi shall suit up for Bacoor beginning with their clash with Pilipinas Katipuneros this Tuesday.

Surprised Verastegui disappointed with quick boot from lineup

The Holster Headquarters
Bacoor Blades
1:17

Just merely a few days after being acquired by the Bacoor Blades for a fee of $74,000, Spanish international Enrique Verastegui was given the boot from the club moments after management acquired Italian center Marco Montixi in a move that was described as a "circumstance that we did not want to face".

"It caught me by surprise. I thought that the deal was going to last for a few seasons at least." said by the now-former Bacoor Blade.

In his two appearances for the Cavite-based franchise, Verastegui scored an average of 8.5 points, 18.5 rebounds 4.5 assists 4 blocks and 3.5 steals. He aided the Blades to a Cup win against Sta. Maria Ground and in their recent League win against Team Dugong Bughaw.

"I was expecting to be able to gel with the team a little more. We won two games but it was obviously not enough to gauge our level of chemistry with each other." said the 35-year old.

"It was truly unexpected and I'm very saddened and disappointed with the development but I still wish the Bacoor Blades all the best in their campaign this season." said the calm beanpole, who showed professionalism amidst the storm in his career.

With the recent development, Verastegui's career is in limbo as he is back in the transfer market waiting for a bidder to save his status or he will retire after the mandatory 3-day transfer period. This was an alternative introduced seasons ago for players that have been released by their teams to give them an opportunity to still play even after their terminations.

"Well, the next three days shall be tough. I hope there would be teams that are still willing to use my services. I know that I can still give a team something useful to their campaign, but if it's not there, i'll just hang my jersey." concluded Verastegui.

In a statement by the Bacoor Blades, team manager TheDogMan commended Verastegui for his brief spell with their club and thanked him for his enthusiasm to join the team. "We thank Mr. Verastegui for his commitment to the club and his enthusiasm to help the club immediately to regain its lost poise." said the Blades' gaffer.

"We are expressing our deepest apologies to Mr. Verastegui and his agent for being put in this situation but, as mentioned before, as much as we wanted to avoid the circumstance, when it does come, we did know what our option would be."

As it stands, the 7'1" behemoth's career as a basketball player is on borrowed time until a team is willing to make a bid on him to prolong his career.

Blades decimate Pilipinas Katipuneros to even record

League III.13 Elimination Round
Bacoor Blades @ Pilipinas Katipuneros
00:48

Putting their foot down, the Bacoor Blades showed no mercy in defeating their hosts Pilipinas Katipuneros, 73-34.

The Cavite five were already on the throats of their adversaries by limiting their first quarter production to just nine points, while scoring 18 of their own. But the second and third quarters provided the main story of the game as Bacoor, going on a 46-21 blast during the middle periods in a slowed down, deliberate manner before the fourth quarter became extended garbage time, with both teams combining for just 13 points.

The Blades totally outclassed their opposition, limiting the Katipuneros to just 20% shooting and dominating the boards, 70-39.

"We needed a win like this. This shows our versatility on offense, that we can rely on a deliberate, slow-paced game to win and not just out-running our opponents." said team manager TheDogMan. "We have the ability to do that because of our rediscovered post game." the Blades' gaffer added.

It was a remarkable debut for center Marcos Montixi, who had 14 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 64% from the field. But the player of game was still Gabor Martinovics, who had a stat sheet-filling performance of 34 points, seven assists, seven steals, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

"I thought I was going to have a bad debut since I was turning the ball over a lot. But thank goodness I was able to churn out a decent performance in my first game here." said an elated Montixi.

"We obviously need to get him to play more game with us to continue building our chemistry." said Martinovics. "This is an opportune time since Eugenio (Genco) is also back and we could make the lineup full again." he added, mentioning the returning Eugenio Genco, who missed the last two weeks due to an injury.

The long-timg Blades beanpole scored four points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 18 minutes of action for his first game back.

"To be back out there again, it's nice." said the Italian center.

When asked about the arrival of Montixi, a fellow Italian, Genco was quick to show his excitement to have another fellow countryman to the Blades fold. "We've had Marino Crocetti before. It's always nice to have teammates from the same country since there is a certain level of understanding between the two of you that can translate to on-court effectiveness." Genco explained.

The win pegs them at 5-5, still at the 5th spot with a game remaining to end the first round of eliminations. The Blades will face Buffalo Soldiers in their fifth National Tournament assignment, to take place at The Bacoor Forum.

Balanced attack in effect as Blades win fifth Cup game

Philippine National Tournament Round 5
Buffalo Soldiers @ Bacoor Blades
20:01

Bacoor Blades team manager TheDogMan's gamble to include his top guns in the Cup lineup paid off as they did not have to play heavy minutes in their dominance over Buffalo Soldiers, 106-54, at The Bacoor Forum.

It was a field day as all eight members of the Blades lineup scored at least nine points, led by Eugenio Genco's 23 points and 19 rebounds in a bounce-back game for the Italian center after coming off an injury that sidelined him for two weeks. Gabor Martinovics and rookie Vladislav Zayka both scored 16 points while Nicolas Chan added 13 markers.

Storming early from the gates, the Blades posted a 32-13 lead at the end of the first. Then the hosts limited their visitors to a game-low 10 second quarter points en route to a 55-23 lead at the half.

Their opponents no longer showed signs of fight as early as the first moments of the third quarter. This coincided with the Blades slowing their offense down yet maintaining a steady pace to prevent a comeback from the Soldiers. The lead grew gradually and dismantled the morale of Buffalo altogether.

"This was a great win. We move on in the Cup and our game is starting to pick up." said team manager TheDogMan, off of the heels of their League win against Pilipinas Katipuneros that evened their standing at 5-5.

"It was also great to see Eugenio back in form. We will need him for our push later this season." the Blades' head added.

"Getting a game like this feels good." said Genco. "Coming off an injury, I was frustrated that I can't play and contribute to the team's cause. So to have this type of game is huge for me." Genco added.

The win represents their seventh consecutive victory in all competitions. They move on to the sixth round of the Cup where competition is expected to get tougher. "We'll see how the next few days pan out. We'll take on the challenge and try to win as much games as possible." said Gabor Martinovics.