BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Ngombo, the poor man's Dwyane Wade & Black Mamba strikes again in Manila


While watching the recently concluded FIBA Asia Champions Cup tournament held in Manila, I joked with a couple of media colleagues how Qatar’s Targuy Ngombo was like a poor man’s Dwyane Wade. He’s plenty explosive and has got a great jumper.

Imagine my surprise when I was reading about the Draft Day trades that Portland acquired the rights to Ngombo who averaged 16.3 ppg during the FIBA tournament. Ngombo led Qatar to a third place finish.

According to the nba.com article, as part of the deal with Dallas, Portland also acquired the draft rights for 6-foot-6 Ngombo, a Congolese forward who has played in Qatar since 2006. Ngombo (photo on right from FIBA Champions Cup website) was the 57th overall pick.

While there were reports that the Blazers had struck a deal with Minnesota for Ngombo, Portland’s acting General Manager Chad Buchanan would not confirm it. "We're currently in discussions to trade his rights. I'll leave it at that," said Buchanan.

I wish Targuy Ngombo all the luck and that he is able to get some playing time with the Blazers. Look at Rudy Fernandez, unhappy with the lack of minutes. Maybe with Dallas he’ll play better. And quite honestly, I thought the shallow draft made the trade talk a little more interesting. No blockbuster stuff yet. The possible lockout has put a damper on the proceedings.

Now that brings to mind the late Drazen Petrovic who also left Portland because of the lack of playing time. And Petro blossomed into an All-Star with New Jersey. Will lightning strike twice for Rudy Fernandez? We’re going to find out. 


AFTER WRITING THIS, COACH NASH RACELA SENT ME THIS. OY VEY!


Nike Philippines announced that Kobe Bryant will return to Manila for a third time on July 13, 2011 to kick off a five-city tour. Manila will be his first stop before moving on to Seoul and various cities in China.  

Kobe’s one-day visit will begin with a short show at Nike Park, The Fort at 3:00 PM. The main event will be at Araneta Coliseum at 5:00 PM featuring players from Nike-sponsored FEU Tamaraws, DLSU Green Archers, ADMU Blue Eagles and Smart Gilas Pilipinas. Kobe will teach these young athletes on how to better improve their skills for the coming basketball season.

Take every advantage and see Kobe live on July 13, 2011. Tickets will be distributed at Nike Park The Fort and Titan The Fort for one day only at 12NN on July 2, 2011. Tickets are free of charge and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Only two tickets will be given per person. Additionally, people can tune into Magic 89.9 and Wave 89.1 to win tickets to the show.

Fans can also like Facebook.com/Nikebasketball.phils where 50 lucky community members can get a chance to win 2 free tickets each to see the Black Mamba.

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