By Ivan Saldajeno
FOR someone who follows politics as much as they do sports, I'm still in a state of surprise that the Democrats pulled off possibly the biggest overturning of the legislature the United States has ever seen.
Making this win by the Blues even more special was that Texas and Kansas, well-known Republican territories, elected a Democrat to the Senate after a long time.
So I bumped to this tweet from a certain Azi asking what would be the Filipino equivalent of James Talarico taking over the spot of John Cornyn come the new year.
Then I thought of four possible Philippine sports scenarios that could fit the bill, and since this is a Game Analysis column, reactions and additional scenarios are welcome.
Now, here are what I think would be as shocking as this huge senatorial win by the blue side.
Philippine sports equivalents of the major US midterm poll 'blue-bath'
1. Abra getting dethroned as MPBL champs by a sweep
The MPBL is down to the Final Four, and with the way the season has been interestingly competitive (save for those ridiculous forfeitures by Iloilo and Bacolod), it's not impossible that Abra may miss out on a back-to-back.
However, getting eliminated by a sweep would be a wilder story, and this is also very feasible.
The Weavers will face the San Juan Knights, the first team to deal them a loss this season, in the North Division Finals beginning on Saturday night the Andres Bernos Memorial Gymnasium in Bangued.
The difference, though, is that San Juan had Mike Phillips and Gerry Abadiano, who have now joined foreign leagues, at that time.
Despite that, the team can still be a big threat to pull off that 3-0 sweep against Abra.
If the Weavers hold on, they still have the Biñan Tatak Gel and Quezon Huskers to worry about in the best-of-seven national finals.
While Abra won their regular season games against the South Division finalists, both wins came before Cebu delivered a shocker, so Biñan and Quezon may need to resort to that game for additional scouting.
The Weavers are beatable, but if they get swept, that would be a monumental one.
2. UP not making the UAAP finals
The University of the Philippines is now riding on an eight-game winning streak to be on top of the UAAP men's basketball standings.
However, considering how crazy this season has been (at one point, seven teams were just inches apart in the league table), it is not impossible that the Fighting Maroons could end up again as the runners-up.
Worse, though, it is also possible that they may actually miss the finals all along, which for me could be Texas-like.
I first thought of UP not making the Final 4 at all, but that would be just like the Kansas Democrats taking back their senatorial seat after 94 years.
Guess what, though? This is also mathematically possible.
3. Blacklist buying the Team Liquid franchise
This is probably the most ridiculous I thought of.
I came to this right after Bilyonaryo News Channel's Jonas Lavarias and Ray Patriarca reported that Blacklist International, now under the ownership of entrepreneur Josh Mojica, is nearing a purchase of the AP Bren franchise that would see them returning to MPL Philippines.
While I somehow see AP Bren letting go of its club license coming, I thought the Texas and Kansas shocker version of this would be Blacklist going after Team Liquid Philippines' franchise instead.
Like, come on! They're three-peat champs before getting dethroned two weeks ago and remains the barometer of excellence in the league.
Actually, putting the franchise for sale alone would be as wild as the US midterm election results in itself.
(Editor's Note: Dugout Philippines already reached out to AP Bren and Blacklist regarding the rumored takeover, but they have yet to respond as of posting.)
4. NLEX giving the #1 pick back to Blackwater
While the three scenarios above were something I already thought off last night, this one was on a whim.
NLEX currently owns the number 1 pick of next year's PBA Draft after Blackwater gave it away following a 2024 trade headlined by Brandon Rosser.
However, with how the Road Warriors have become since coach Jimmy Alapag took over, it's not actually a far-fetched idea that the top pick could go back to the team that will now be known as the Razors.
Of course, though, NLEX would not let an opportunity to select someone like Caloocan's Kymani Ladi or Biñan's Nic Cabañero first overall slip away.
But with many PBA fans asking for a better parity, maybe a trade to give the number one pick back to Blackwater could sound good news to them.
The views and opinions of this writer do not necessarily reflect those of Dugout Philippines.
