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The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has invited the Gilas Pilipinas cadet team to play in the upcoming Philippine Cup that will usher in Season 46 this April 2021. The gesture is a welcome development as it not only puts the young cadets in the spotlight that will make them household names, but it will also spur their progress and development as a team as they build up for the 2021 FIBA-Asia Cup and ultimately, the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio has lauded this move and thanked the PBA for extending its assistance to the national cause. While there is no confirmation yet from the SBP if the team will participate, there are positive signs that they will.

Not counting the 1998 Centennial and the 2002 Selecta national all-pro teams that participated in the 1998 Centennial Cup and the 2002 Governors' and Commissioner's Cups, respectively, there have been nine PBA conferences when an all-amateur national team participated as a guest team. Recent interviews of former national players on the podcast An Eternity of Basketball revealed that their PBA stint played a pivotal role in speeding up the cohesion and development process.

In this two-part series, we'll look back at how these national teams performed in the PBA. This first part covers the four PBA conferences participated in by the RP-NCC teams of Ron Jacobs. The second part will cover the national teams of Joe Lipa and Rajko Toroman, as well as the one-conference stint of Derick Pumaren's national team in 1988.

RP Northern Cement (3rd place, 1984 1st All Filipino Conference)

Roster: Jeff Moore, Chip Engelland, Hector Calma, Franz Pumaren, Jong Uichico, Elmer Reyes, Yves Dignadice, Rey Cuenco, Alfie Almario, Naning Valenciano, Peter Aguilar, Jun Tan, Tonichi Yturri.

Coach: Ron Jacobs

After an unceremonious debacle in the 1983 ABC in Hong Kong where the Philippines ended up ninth overall brought about by a controversial technicality that forfeited the team's first two games in the preliminary round, NCC forged an agreement with the PBA to serve as guest team for the first time in the 10th season of the league. With the disbandment of Toyota at the end of the 1983 season and the number of teams down to seven, the arrangement became mutually beneficial.

At the end of the eliminations, the Nationals surprised everyone by topping the field with an 11-3 card, one game ahead of Crispa and Great Taste, the latter welcoming Toyota stars, Arnie Tuadles and Chito Loyzaga in its fold. Crispa then defeated GTC in the playoff for the automatic second semis seat, 124-120. The two teams that benefited most from Toyota's disbandment, Beer Hausen and Gilbey's Gin, ended up with 8-6 slates, apparently still adjusting to the new environment. Gold Eagle, led by their franchise player Abe King, closed the elims with a 4-10 record to join the Coffeemakers, the Brewmasters and the Gin Tonics in the single-round robin quarterfinals. Tanduay and Countryfair were eliminated.

Gilbey's and Beer Hausen joined NCC and Crispa in the semis as both teams won two of their three games. Great Taste, considered one of the favorites to win the title, shockingly lost to Gold Eagle, 103-97 that virtually spelled their doom. They also lost to Gilbey's in overtime, 151-145, before ending their campaign with a 142-126 victory against previously unbeaten Beer Hausen. Gold Eagle filed a protest after their 106-104 loss to the Gin Tonics, and the league ordered a re-play to determine the second semifinalist. Gilbey's eliminated the Beermen, 115-106.

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Fresh from a grand slam conquest the previous season, the Redmanizers turned up the juice, winning four straight games after an initial loss to Beer Hausen, 109-108, at the start of the semis. After conquering NCC, 96-94, for their fourth victory and a seat in the Finals, Coach Tommy Manotoc resigned because of health reasons. Many-time national team member and assistant coach Narciso Bernardo took over. NCC, on the other hand, lost their first two games against Gilbey's and Crispa before pulling even with victories over Beer Hausen, 115-109, and Gilbey's, 135-124. The nationals lost steam in the end, losing a heartbreaking game to Crispa and against Beer Hausen, 119-107, leading to their elimination as they finished the semis with a 2-4 card. In their shortened series battle for 3rd place, NCC toppled Beer Hausen in five games, 3-2.

NCC's first stint in the PBA was only the third time since 1980 that a guest team played in the PBA. The Nicholas Stoodley-backed South Korean national team played in the Invitationals and finished third overall. They were also aiming to replicate another Nicholas Stoodley-backed foreign team made up of American professionals (led by former 1979 Royal Tru Orange import Larry Pounds) to win a PBA title as a guest team - a feat the Jeansmakers accomplished in the 1980 Invitationals against the Toyota Tamaraws. While they may have failed to accomplish this goal, there were obviously more gains, none more important than the mainstream acceptance of the team to the discriminate Filipino basketball fans. Their ability to go toe-to-toe against the top pro teams earned them more fans and considerable respect.

RP Northern Cement (4th place, 1984 2nd All Filipino Conference)

Roster: Jeff Moore, Chip Engelland, Hector Calma, Franz Pumaren, Yves Dignadice, Jong Uichico, Jun Tan, Elmer Reyes, Alfie Almario, Peter Aguilar, Rey Cuenco, Naning Valenciano, Tonichi Yturri.

Coach: Ron Jacobs

The PBA was forced to have a second All Filipino conference in one season because of the economic crisis besetting the country. With the value of the dollar rising significantly against the peso, the PBA teams decided not to hire imports to manage costs.

There were eight teams bracketed into two groups, with NCC, Crispa, Gold Eagle and Tanduay comprising Group A, and Great Taste, Gilbey's, Beer Hausen and Countryfair rounding up Group B. Teams in the same group would play each other once while facing the remaining four teams in the other bracket twice, for a total of eleven games. At the end of the eliminations, Great Taste and Northern earned automatic semifinals seats, ending up with 9-2 and 8-3 cards, respectively. Crispa beat Gold Eagle, 2-0, Gilbey's came from behind to defeat Tanduay, 2-1, while Beer Hausen swept Countryfair, 2-0, to join GTC and NCC in the semis.

GTC topped the double round semifinals with a 6-2 slate, losing only to Beer Hausen, 105-89, and Tanduay, 136-131. The Brewmasters, led by eventual MVP Ramon Fernandez, and NCC tied for second with 5-3 cards each, while splitting their semis games, 123-98 in favor of NCC in the first round and a 118-107 revenge from Beer Hausen in the second round. In their knockout game for the second finals seat, the Brewmasters won the game, 122-117, amidst controversy over allegations of one-sided officiating favoring Beer Hausen. Coach Jacobs was vocal about his disgust as he felt that the league didn't want an all-amateur team to succeed in the PBA.

In protest, Jacobs hardly played Moore and Engelland in their best-of-five series for third place against Tanduay, losing 135-121 and 127-95. Game 2 even saw rookie reserve, Dennis Abbatuan scatter a career-high 51 points, mostly from at the post and underneath, as NCC's defense seemed half-hearted. Deputy Commissioner Tommy Manotoc summoned Jacobs to his office and admonished him for shortchanging the fans. In Game 3, NCC vented its ire on a hapless Tanduay team with a 148-110 demolition led by Engelland's 60 points. With Great Taste already sweeping Beer Hausen in the Finals, Tanduay copped third place by virtue of a 2-1 series win.

The nationals were at the cusp of making it to the Finals for a battle royale with the Coffeemakers. They had an excellent chance of achieving this feat, but because of the relative youth and inexperience of the local talents, they succumbed to the pressure, losing back to back games in the second round against GTC and Beer Hausen. Yet, it was a major accomplishment as the finalists were led by the best players of the country in Brown and Fernandez.

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Allan Caidic's exposure with the Northern Consolidated program in the mid-80s was the foundation for his storied PBA career.

RP Northern Cement - 1985 Open Conference (3rd place)

Roster: Dennis Still, Jeff Moore, Chip Engelland, Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Yves Dignadice, Elmer Reyes, Franz Pumaren, Tonichi Yturri, Benjie Gutierrez, Jun Tan.

Coach: Ron Jacobs

The NCC RP team had a full slate for 1985 given that the SEA Games and the ABC would be held in December. In support of the national cause, the PBA adjusted the sequencing in its calendar, with the All Filipino sandwiching the two import-laced conferences. With NCC going overseas in Gerona for the World Interclub and Taipei for the Jones Cup in June and July, the league accommodated the national team for the Open and Reinforced Conferences. Similarly, Still was finally inserted into the lineup alongside Engelland and Moore but with the provision that only two naturalized players were allowed to play at the same time.

The Open featured reinforcements with unlimited height, with returning imports like 6'11 Lewis Brown (who replaced Doug Harris), the 6'5 Norman Black, and 6'9 Rich Adams (replacing Kevin Graham), while newcomers were 6'9" John Campbell of Ginebra (replacing Harold Driver), 6'7" David Pope of Tanduay (who replaced Merlin Wilson), and Great Taste's 6'9" Joe Binion (replacing Napoleon Johnson).

Great Taste and Tanduay topped the elims with 8-4 cards. NCC, Magnolia, Manila Beer, and Shell duked it out in the quarterfinals for the last two semis slots, while Ginebra dropped out of the race with a 3-9 record. The Ice Cream Makers won two games in the single round robin quarterfinals to gain the third semis slot. The Brewmasters were particularly impressive as they swept their three games by an average of 15.6 points to tie NCC for second. In their knockout playoff game, NCC extracted vengeance with a convincing 98-75 victory to knock out the Lucio Tan franchise.

NCC started well, beating Great Taste, 100-97 in their first semis game. The Coffeemakers, though, went on a roll, led by eventual MVP Ricardo Brown, and won five in a row to earn the first Finals seat. While the national team dominated Tanduay in their two games, they couldn't get past their tormentor, Magnolia, losing both games, 97-95 and 94-84. In their conference head-to-head duel, the Ice Cream Makers won four of their five games. In the last game of the semifinals, NCC had to beat GTC to forge a three-way tie for first at 4-2, but suffered an overtime loss, 102-94, to end up in the battle for third, where they demolished the Rhum Makers, 4-2 in a best-of-seven series.

Nineteen eighty-five may yet be the best year of the NCC national team in terms of accomplishment and performance. Apart from achieving their final objective of winning the ABC title, the PBA crown was a major accomplishment as well, given the daunting odds. When the PBA agreed to have Still play for NCC, it showcased the league's willingness to take risks - the odds of seeing an all-amateur team win a PBA title were high with the 6'8" Jolly Green Giant beefing up the Northerners. While the Open Conference may have yielded only a third-place finish, the invaluable lessons of playing against the pro teams beefed up by a tall import made the nationals more than ready to face challenges in the coming months.

RP Northern Cement - 1985 Reinforced Conference (1st place)

Roster: Dennis Still, Jeff Moore, Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, Elmer Reyes, Yves Dignadice, Pido Jarencio, Franz Pumaren, Jerry Codiera, Tonichi Yturri, Alfie Almario.

Coach: Ron Jacobs

This was the most successful national team to ever play in the PBA. And, they did this in dominant fashion, making them only the second guest team (after Nicholas Stoodley in the 1980 Invitationals) to win a PBA title. After a successful conquest of the 1985 Jones Cup in Taipei where they beat the US Golden Eagles team in overtime, 108-100, as well as a valuable experience in the 1985 World Interclub in Gerona, Spain, the PBA was NCC's last preparation for the ABC tournament to be held in Kuala Lumpur starting December 26, 1985.

With Chip Engelland still ineligible to play in the ABC because of residency requirements, Coach Ron Jacobs opted to sit the sweet-shooting naturalized player and fielded his final 12-man lineup for the tourney. They went up against teams reinforced by one import no taller than 6'6" - the likes included Michael Hackett, Ronnie Valentine, Francois Wise, Norman Black, Lester Rowe, and Corey Blackwell.

Manila Beer and Ginebra topped the eliminations to earn the first two seats in the semifinals. Magnolia, NCC, Great Taste, and Tanduay figured in the quarterfinals for the last two slots, with Shell being the only team to be eliminated. NCC and Great Taste won two of their three games, while Tanduay and Magnolia only won once, catapulting the Coffeemakers and the national team to the semis. In the double round-robin Final Four, Manila Beer came out on top with four wins to earn the first Finals seat, with NCC taking the long route by beating Great Taste in a playoff, 123-107.

NCC went unbeaten after losing to Manila Beer in the second round of the semifinals, 99-93, racking up five wins in a row, including a sweep of the Brewmasters, 4-0, in their best of seven Finals series, winning by an average margin of 25.5 points in what is regarded as the most lopsided series in league finals history. While Moore and Still dominated in both scoring and rebounding, it was the more superior local support of NCC that carried them to victory. Calma scored 26 points in Game 2 to back up Moore's 28, while Caidic tallied 25 to backstop Still's 31 markers in Game 3.

That win streak, coupled with an immaculate slate in both the 1985 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok and the 1985 ABC proved how dominant and merciless Jacobs made this team. At that time, they were already regarded as the country's best basketball team, even better than any PBA franchise.

The marked improvement of NCC as compared to their previous PBA performances may also be a testament to their international stints prior to the conference. They played in Spain, Taiwan, and Malaysia (Asian Interclub) where they were able to go up against future stars like David Robinson, Chuck Person, Harold Pressley, Kenny Gattison, Joe Wolf, Jay Bilas, Tommy Amaker, Marcel de Souza, and Drazen Petrovic, among many others. But, more importantly, it was the team chemistry that led to the Reinforced title as Jacobs parlayed the roles of each player to the hilt, maximized their individual strengths while working within a disciplined system, and introduced one coaching innovation after another. The 1985 PBA Reinforced stint may have only validated how good everyone, including themselves, knew they were.

Originally posted here:
National teams in the PBA (Part 1): The Ron Jacobs-NCC era - ESPN

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo is set to oversee his first European knockout game in Ronaldos home country of Portugal when they face Porto on WednesdayPicture: Emilio Andreoli / Getty Images

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In the years since, the Turin club have lost five finals, most recently when Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win for Real Madrid in 2017.

A year on from that night in Cardiff in Wales, Juventus made a huge statement to the world that they wouldnt settle for second place again: they signed Ronaldo.

When the Portuguese superstar landed in Turin in the summer of 2018, the club had won seven consecutive Serie A titles and four Coppa Italias in a row.

Juve had proven that they didnt need a superstar on staggeringly high wages to dominate domestically, but there was hope that he could take them to the next level in Europe, and for good reason.

Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times and is the competitions all-time top scorer with 134 goals.

Two-and-a-half years later, Juventus are still waiting for their transformation into a Champions League superpower.

READ:Neymar missing in action again, but timing is questioned

In Ronaldos first season, Massimiliano Allegris charges were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Ajax Amsterdam.

The coach departed, and his successor Maurizio Sarri could only guide them to a last-16 elimination by Olympique Lyonnais, a result which resulted in him being sacked the next day.

Now Andrea Pirlo hopes to make it third time lucky, with the rookie coach set to oversee his first European knockout game in Ronaldos home country of Portugal when they face Porto on Wednesday.

Juves recent struggles in the knockout stages havent been for a lack of effort from their 36-year-old great.

Ronaldo has scored all seven of their goals in the knockout stages since he arrived in Italy: a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, two against Ajax in 2018/19 and two against Lyon in 2019/20.

READ:LaLiga not worried about life after Ronaldo and Messi

Ronaldo is also the record holder for goals in the Champions League knockout stages, with 67 strikes in 81 games 20 more than second-placed Lionel Messi of Barcelona.

Age appears to be no concern for the forward, who is enjoying another prolific season for Juventus with 23 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions.

But with his contract due to expire at the end of next season, time is of the essence in Juventus efforts to harness the power of the competitions most prolific player. Reuters

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Juventus look to Ronaldo to carry them to the Promised Land - News24

Liverpool won an important Champions League game but the main story for the Reds was Kylian Mbappe and those very specific omens.

In for the KylWhat to do when by far the biggest development from Tuesday evenings Champions League games was neither linked to the Premier League nor a transfer story?

The Daily Mirror website has the answer:

KING KYLIAN! Mbappe makes declaration on PSG future amid Liverpool and Real Madrid transfer interest after netting hat-trick at Barcelona

Perfect. The word Liverpool is mentioned literally once, and the declaration on PSG future made by Mbappe is literally that it would be stupid to decide my future on a single match.

Not as stupid as it would be to crowbar Liverpool and Real Madrid into a story about a PSG striker scoring a hat-trick against Barcelona and then telling the media he is happy at his current club.

Blind updateThe Liverpool Echo go down a similarly predictable route. They cover one club andmined those Mbappe clicks long ago. But at lunchtime of the day after the Reds win the first leg of a Champions League knockout game, should this really be the headline atop their website?

Liverpool news and transfers LIVE Kylian Mbappe update, Jurgen Klopp claim, Virgil van Dijk latest

You won a game! A quite important one! Never bloody mind the Kylian Mbappe update of him still not joining.

Real them inThe thing is that Liverpool were really good against Leipzig on Tuesday, reducing the need to make everything else about them, too. They were very professional. Ruthless. David Maddock of theDaily Mirrorwas undeniably impressed.

Salah inspired a remarkable Champions League victory, with a devastating performance that reduced the Leipzig defence to a shivering, ruined wreck.

A remarkable Champions League victory? It was very good indeed, but that seems a bit much. It wasnt even the most remarkable Champions League victory of the night. And that devastating performance required two relatively unforced mistakes for Liverpool to establish a two-goal lead.

That shivering, ruined wreck of a Leipzig defence did not allow a single shot after Sadio Manes goal just before the hour. Two errors in five second-half minutes doth not a shivering, ruined wreck make.

Leipzig had 12 shots to Liverpools ten yet Maddocks only mention of the German sides attacking is that Alisson made a fine save. From whom is not made clear, nor when.

He writes 581 words without ever referring to Dani Olmo hitting the post, Christopher Nkunku almost scoring at the start of the second half and Hwang Hee-chan coming awfully close to making it 2-1 at the end. All in the name of pretending that suddenly, they looked like the real Liverpool again when it was much better than the last couple of months but so very far from the real Liverpool of old.

Its a bit strange.

The omenHe adds:

There were hints of triumphs past too, not least in the deadly impact of their forward line. On the last two occasions they have met German opposition at this stage, they went on to lift the trophy. And those are omens to cling to, with this quality up front.

Why is everyone else even competing this year? Dont they know what happens when Liverpool play German teams in the last 16 of the Champions League? Never mind that it has literally only happened twice before because that is a very particular set of circumstances that excludes them losing to Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals in 2002, or beating Augsburg and Dortmund in the last 32 and quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2016 before losing in the final.

Mbappe is good and everything but Mediawatch isnt sure even he can cope with such powerful and incredibly specific omens like that.

Cherry go roundMartin Samuel of the Daily Mail at least recalls the Olmo, Nkunku and Hwang chances for Leipzig in his match report. But he is rather disparaging otherwise of last seasons semi-finalists, who are suddenly lacking the care required to progress at this stage in the tournament.

He writes that there are considerably better teams left in the competition, while if Jurgen Klopp could have cherry-picked an opponent, it may well have been this one.

They are second in the Bundesliga, beat PSG in November and held Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw at the Allianz Arena in December. Theyre quite good. Two costly mistakes in an otherwise close game doesnt make them rubbish.

Klopp was able to note how dominant they can be football-wise, how overwhelming they can be in a game from a physical point of view after the match. It doesnt sound like an opponent he would have cherry-picked.

Echo chamberBut back to the Liverpool Echo, for they have the biggest scoop of all from Budapest.

What Jurgen Klopp did on touchline after Mohamed Salahs Liverpool goal

Strap yourselves in, folks. You are genuinelynevergoing to believe this

The relief was tangible on the touchline from Klopp as he celebrated with a trademark fist pump.

Manager celebrates player scoring goal. This means more.

Low rezAfter Monday and Tuesdays breaking news, here is Wednesdays third instalment of the enthralling saga that is gripping the football world. But mostly The Suns website:

Riyad Mahrezs Covidiot wife flouts mask rules in Sainsburys after lockdown breach

At least they arent pretending its the biggest story of the day. Its second behind the revelation that Kylian Mbappe is better at 22 than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were.

Christian beliefBut the most credit of all goes to theDaily Starfor pretending that Chelsea are about to sell one of their many thousand forwards.

Thomas Tuchels comments hint at one of Chelseas big-name attackers being sold, reads the headline to a story in which the only Tuchel quote is that it was a tight decision not to start Christian Pulisic against Newcastle.

He deserves to start, he deserves to come in, he added. And from that we are meant to glean that he may need to offload at least one of Pulisic of Hakim Ziyech in the summer. It really is the only solution.

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Liverpool are back with 'omens' that even Kylian Mbappe cannot handle - Football365.com

Though the Cork footballers won just one Championship game in 2020, Ian Maguire feels his side are making progress.

After the high of beating Kerry with a last-gasp winner in the Munster semi-final, Cork lost to Tipperary in a historic decider.

"It was the fourth year in a row we lost the Munster final," said Maguire, speaking at the launch of Sports Direct's five-year sponsorship deal with Cork GAA.

"These are all missed opportunities. They all hurt. It's not good enough, personally would be my opinion.

"We definitely made strides. We qualified from Division 3. We won all our games. There were a lot of different experiences there. We played teams like, for example, Leitrim, something I never would have thought of five years ago.

"New players came into the panel, the U21s were integrated. You saw from the Munster final lineout how many young players with limited appearances actually played.

"Cork won a knockout game. That's something I feel hasn't happened for a while, or there hasn't been enough of those wins. We won a high-pressure knockout game, which is a great experience.

"It's six of one and a half dozen of another in that we've definitely made progress but ultimately it was disappointing. We're definitely going in the right direction.

"I'm sick of chasing the top, I'd rather be at the top."

Cork GAA football captain, Ian Maguire, pictured following the announcement of Sports Directs new five-year sponsorship deal with Cork GAA that will see Sports Direct support the mens senior, Under 20 and Minor teams in both codes and provide a new personalised boot partnership for the senior panels. Photo credit: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Maguire feels complacency was not an issue within the panel heading into the Munster final.

"I suppose the complacency element is something youll always consider when you beat a big team but because of Covid - we beat Kerry and while there may have been a few drinks or whatever in other years, that didnt happen because of Covid," said the Cork captain.

"You got dressed, you went home, it was a very different experience and I would have said that protected us against complacency because we were back training, back into a routine.

"Ive watched the game about a thousand times, Tipperary came with an intensity that we just didnt match from player 1 to player 24. They brought the fire.

"They targeted our half back line on their kick-out Colin ORiordan playing half forward obviously, hes an exceptional fielder, hes not in the AFL for no reason. They got good supply into their forward line and they played on the front foot, we were playing from behind and they have some good players.

"What would you do differently? Its a tricky question. I suppose there were missed opportunities in that game and in the modern game, the main KPI is turnovers and we did not mind the ball in that game, we had too many of them. My lasting recollection of that game is how many times did we turn the ball over on their 45, leaving a large amount of space in front of Quinlivan and Sweeney inside which is just easy to attack. I think thats where our main failing was.

"Can you put that down to tactics or down to players? We were far too careless with the ball. We werent quick enough with our transitions. There was a lot of things that we didnt do that we should have done. I suppose Tipperary punished us as a good team would do."

When Maguire joined the Cork panel in 2014, there were numerous players who had been part of the All-Ireland winning team four years earlier. More than a decade on from that victory, Ciaran Sheehan is the only one with a medal remaining.

"For me personally, and obviously representing Cork, the goal is to win an All-Ireland and I know people will probably laugh at that," Maguire said.

"Its something thats always talked about in the dressing room, its always the goal. I could be delusional, and maybe thats a good thing, but ultimately the aspiration is an All-Ireland. It should always be an All-Ireland."

The new Cork GAA jersey was also launched today and celebrates the three core pillars of clubs, schools and county, that together, form the foundation of Cork GAA. The newly-launched jersey is now available exclusively through Sports Direct Ireland online https://ie.sportsdirect.com/, until stores across the country re-open.

Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

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'The Goal Is To Win An All-Ireland, I Know People Will Probably Laugh At That' - Balls.ie

So its raining cats and dogs every day? Threat of snow? A team frustrated after three league defeats on the spin with little or no goal-scoring capability? Fan base up in arms? Well, Ive got the answer to you. Warm weather, sunshine, a pint, some tapas, maybe some flamenco guitar for good measure. Such was the tonic that Big Sam and his squid provided a Harry Kane-included Spurs squad yesterday. It couldnt have come at a better time.

As for the game, of course, we dominated. Of course, we wasted our best chances for fifty minutes until we didnt. Kudos to Hojbjerg for threading the pass to Kane, to Kane for a clinical finish, and to Lucas and others who set up Son for an even easier finish to salt this game away. But of course but for a bit too much eagerness on behalf of their striker, there were the dangerous balls into the box that on a different day v a different side might easily have yielded a goal or two and denied us the victory.

But this isnt the time to harp on negative thingsAurier was back and effective, Sanchez and Toby were acceptable, the midfield was more aggressive (Lamela and Lucas both making contributions) and our finishers finished. So while Champions League looks a remote possibilityand probably best won through the Europa League, a top seven finish is still attainable. Weve got that going for us which is nice.

But lets face itthat isnt what Jose was hired to do. The midweek games over the next three weeks are the ones he was brought here to win. So farand admittedly the opposition has been poor but for a good Championship side in Brentford and Chelsea who we escaped from via penalties before their previous manager had figured out how to play his team (well, maybe he never did)Jose hasnt lost a knockout game yet.

The Toffees are a tough draw coming after their spirited late comeback at Old Trafford yesterday with a dangerous front line against our leaky defence, Calvert-Lewin in particular seems primed to cause trouble. But this is the type of game where our manager can set us up in a way that gives us our best chance. Surely it will be largely a counter-attacking approachwith possibly the same lineup we saw today except for Sissoko or Doherty starting in place of either Lamela or Lucas and Aurier.

And if we win he can then decide just how much priority to give to what surely is the toughest league game remaining on the fixture listCity at the Etihad after they will have journeyed to Wales to play Swansea. Im thinking that AVB has time on his hands, and is schooled in how to produce a 6-0 defeat because maybe the Wolfsberger game a week Thursday is the bigger of the two. So bring him in to be the guest coach.

We might just see a sacrifice on the weekend because, despite our surprising success against Pep these past three years, this seems a huge mismatch. But that is why Levy pays Jose the big bucksfor all the problems, away wins in trophy competitions the next ten days will give the final three months of this season some real focus. At least we can enjoy the respite from the slog for a few days.

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Opinion: The tonic which Tottenham needed - The Spurs Web