What’s in a name? Hog’s Breath is hot

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy rooting for NLEX in the PBA D-League could not restrain himself from laughing  when he read the name of the team the Road Warriors were going to play last Thursday at  Blue Eagle Gym in Loyola Heights.

“Hog’s Breath! What kind of a name is that?” said the United States-raised boy who was vacationing in Manila with his mother.

“I wonder what kind of product they’re carrying. Could it be breath freshener for swine? Hahaha!”

His uncle, a member of the NLEX coaching staff, had to admonish him.

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“Don’t laugh, Benjamin,” the uncle said. “Don’t you know that Hog’s Breath is the name of a restaurant with franchises worldwide? I saw one in Australia the last time I was there.”

The uncle said the young lad had to have a little more respect for one of the top

D-League teams which managed to stay undefeated at that point with a 4-0 record.

The team is coached by Rain or Shine deputy Caloy Garcia, also coach of the NCAA finalist Letran Knights.

When Benjamin left the Blue Eagle Gym late that afternoon, he wasn’t laughing anymore. The team he was rooting for had lost to the team with a funny name. Hog’s Breath maintained its clean slate at 5-0.

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NLEX, the Boyet Fernandez-coached team which swept the first four titles in the

D-League, is getting stiffer competition from the opposition every year. Last season, the title slipped from the Road Warriors and landed in the hands of Blackwater, coached by Leo Isaac, like Fernandez a former PBA mentor.

From 10 teams in its maiden year, the number of D-League participants ballooned to 14 this season, with more squads knocking on D-League’s door.

“The more the merrier. More teams make for more excitement,” said Fernandez, whose team relies heavily on the backcourt savvy of Pamboy Raymundo this season.

“The teams are definitely stronger now.”

The Road Warriors were mired in fifth place at 4-1 as of yesterday. Blackwater is sixth at 4-2.

Hog’s Breath is now 6-0 with a victory over the Zambales M-Builders Wednesday. The Zambales core is made up of members of the FEU Tamaraws.

“With more teams in the D-League, we should be able to discover more players and that’s good for Philippine basketball,” Fernandez, the league’s three-peat coach.