Tame the BULLS!

[Jaime <jaims@philonline.com.ph>]

Hey, guys!  What can I say!  I am very impressed.  I salute our players
for their non stop effort.  It's just the first game, I know, but
definitely there's something to believe in and look forward to coming
from this awesome win.  

The first quarter was really awful to see.  It was like logging in
turnovers every possesion that we have.  Automatic turnovers!  But I
guess it's just the first regular game jitters for our guys.  Come the
second quarter, they started to settle down and shots started to fall in
most of our possesions.  The half and full court press is somewhat still
not into the flow until the 2nd half.  

Another thing I could really commend is the effort of our centers,
especially, Knight.  He may be lean and a twinner but he sure held his
own against the heftier Bulls centers. He came up with the block shots
we've been missin last year (one against jordan).  Well, our frontline
sure is something not to be underestimated upon.  Simply said, very lean
but very quick and mean.  But I still think we should still look for
that big presence in the middle.  Anyway, Knight, Mccarty and Declerq
were all over the court and their defensive intensity really made it
hard for the bulls to get inside the paint.  Mccarty is really something
to look forward to.  He only needs to concentrate and work on his shot
selection and he will be our biggest steal in that recent trade ever.

Also, I like very much the overachieving effort of everybody that was
fielded in.  Though the only veteran player that really played well was
Barros, some of our old faces made a good account of themselves.  

All the new recruits are AWESOME!!!  Namely Mercer, Mccarty, Knight,
Declerq, Billups, Bowen, and even Thomas.  They will really help us a
lot!  Still, our franchise player, Mr. Walker really did everything
tonight.  Except for the turnovers, he was devastating against the
Bulls.  31 big points!  Man, he is our future!  Knight, Declerq, Bowen
and Thomas, I should say are very excellent acquisitions.  For they are
really the type who know their roles and it doesn't matter with them if
they get shots or get "beautiful" in the court.  All they know is that
they have specific roles and most of all that they are a team!

Most of the credit tonight will likely go to the players' effort but
Pitino should still get most of the credit too.  He hung onto the game
and his players patiently despite the 20 point deficit in the early
goings.  He is one of the masters of this game, I really believe now. 
Tonight Pitino showed what he could do!  Although this is only the first
game and WIN, he truly deserves all the respect and chance to prove his
worth.

The bulls might have relaxed in this game but we  surely should get the
credit for winning this game and doing it in our new Celtic defense
style!  We whupped their asses in National TV, alright!!!

So... to all those who doubted of our chances in this first regular
game, eat your words!