The PBA's first conference ended with the San Mig Coffee Mixers raising their second consecutive trophy (at least chronologically) after defeating the Rain Or Shine Elastopainters last Wednesday.
Truth be told, I am disappointed. I was confident we'd go through Petron in the semis, and even brashly proclaimed that whoever wins in the SMC-BGK series was only playing for second place. And now, here we are, second place. The better team won.
I admit defeat, but I don't regret even the slightest bit that I made such a bold proclamation. I believe in the teams I cheer for, and have lost a bit of cash putting my money where my mouth was when someone called me out. I stopped doing it slightly because I think I've lost too much, but mostly because no one really steps up for their teams anymore. People can be all talk but can't even bet a slap on the face (I've literally bet on face slaps).
Now, I have no excuses, just a commentary on why we lost, why I thought we could beat such a powerhouse, and a tribute to the other team I cheered for before pledging allegiance to Rain Or Shine.
*all images from Google, sites credited for those without watermark.
Rain or Shine Key Points
The Rotation
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| Different heroes every game. Doesn't need a huge crowd to get them back in a game down big. *Image from Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters Family Facebook page |
One of the biggest strengths of the Elastopainters is their rotation. Unlike superstar teams of the NBA where there are 3-4 guys and bunch of other guys, RoS trots a lineup pretty much like the Detroit Pistons of 2004. There aren't legit superstars who need to be on the floor for 40 minutes. What they have are a collection of basketball players who know their roles and are all in on what the Coach says. They don't have egoistic players who demand for trades because they don't get on the floor or they don't touch the ball too often. This is the reason why I love this team.
However, this strength can only get a team so far. The superstars get their numbers precisely because they have the minutes on the floor to work on it. By spreading minutes, Rain or Shine overcomes fatigue, but they can't get a particular player going. True, the 12-man rotation can mess up an opponent's read on both offense and defense, but on the flipside, our players are getting messed up as well. It almost becomes a prerequisite then that once called to action, a RoS player must be hot and effective on D right away. You can do that in the regular season, but the playoffs is a whole different story.
RoS won on a short rotation in Game 5, but it didn't produce the same result in Game 6. I think one of the reasons is putting the wrong people in too long. Ian Sanggalang scored like Jeff Chan was a lamp post before they decided to switch Paul Lee on him. Lee, for his part, let his men cut inside (as he's done throughout the series) while he's trying to help double on the post up. Larry Rodriguez, for all his gulang, wasn't effectively contributing on the boards as he usually did but was put in for a longer stretch than Jervy Cruz. I guess a better understanding of the players' strengths and weaknesses could help the coaching staff determine the most effective use of that shortened rotation.
Up to Game 4 of the series, they magnified those strengths to their advantage. Against a bench tactician like Tim Cone, those "strengths" became one-dimensional skills. Think of it this way; Jeff Chan is a good shooter, but actually improved his slashing and even last year, knew when to pass the ball. With a long rotation, Chan came off the bench to provide bench scoring power. He was basically put in to shoot the ball because there were others who could concentrate on doing everything else. TY Tang was there for passing, Alex Nuyles could be the slasher, Jeric Teng could be an outside gunner, etc.. The regular season showed that this was effective because he shot about 40% from the field. In the Finals, his shooting clip suffered a lot because SMC made him work on defense, at the post no less.
Put simply, they relied on their depth so that they could focus on what they were good at, but couldn't adjust when they were shut down. Faced with desperation, they forced their ways to get themselves going, and the Mixers pounced on them. Their system worked wonderfully in keeping them fresh while winning in the regular season, but it took a dynamic system from a brilliant coach to beat them.
Outside Shooting
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| Chan just couldn't get his game going. |
The Elastopainters have great shooters. In fact, outside shooting is such a good trait of the team that they have Raymond Almazan actually believing that he can hit it on a regular basis.
It has blown out opponents and saved the Painters countless times. However, against the Mixers, they just wouldn't go in. Paul Lee's two attempts in one possession with about a minute to go in the 4th quarter of Game 6 probably best exemplified how their shooting throughout the series has been. He had an open look, and then again a Paul Lee-signature stepback three but it just didn't fall. SMC's defense was great, but I can't fully credit it for RoS missing those long bombs; we got the looks we wanted, they just didn't go in.
Speaking of the SMC defense, it forced RoS to shoot from the outside quite a few times, but it wasn't the sole reason for RoS opting for threes. We had a lot of looks early in the shot clock that were made so that there would be an open shooter. Again, the shots just did not fall for us.
Defense
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| No jumps, just keeping their feet on the ground. *image from gmanetwork.com |
Rain or Shine is known best for its defense and I almost find it funny that this is despite not having a lot of players who are able to jump up to block shots. The "Never Say Diet" team gets stops despite not blocking ala-DeAndre Jordan. Guarding passing lanes and trapping are two of the best ways for RoS to get their transition game going. One on one, we have Gabe Norwood, Jireh Ibanez, and Ryan Arana as our best defenders.
This was exploited by SMC the most. With such a stacked team, there were going to have mismatches just about everywhere. They had Norwood or Ibanez play either Simon, Yap, or Barroca, but that left everyone else to do their thing. I mentioned Sanggalang earlier. Yap, Simon, and Devance all had their turn cutting to the basket if they had Paul Lee guarding them from the outside. At the post though, Sanggalang and Devance had to work for their points against Lee. Chan, for his part, got beaten up so bad at the post that he barely had enough air to run around to get space on offense.
Team defense works so well for RoS, but the excellent floor spacing by the Mixers prevented RoS from helping. The team needs to learn how to adjust on the fly if they are forced to play one on one defense, and they need to be more comfortable with the tendencies of their teammates and opponents so that they can fill their weaknesses on defense.
The Walkout
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| That awkward moment, when you make a dramatic walkout, and the stupid door is still locked. |
The crowd at the Big Dome roared in disbelief, while the supporters were in a state of shock. It was unorthodox, and I probably wouldn't do it myself. However, stand by Coach Yeng's decision to do it. Despite in-game and post-game comments, the refs are still drawn to who the crowd favors. Ginebra gets a break from these whistles 8/10 times. SMC played through it and beat them handily in Game 7. RoS couldn't do it, and felt their pleas fell to deaf ears.
If I were on the other side of the fence, I'd say all the same shit the SMC fans are throwing at RoS for the walkout. It's totally understandable. But being on this side, I'd throw my own thousand pesos if RoS needed a fund for the fine. I don't know how else I'd make a statement stronger than that.
It had somewhat of an effect; the refs weren't calling the "pwet-box out" as I call it about three plays after that. Then they went back to calling it. Not saying they shouldn't altogether, all I'm saying is, call it if it's not allowed. Don't let it go and then at the crucial moments blow the whistle every single time. RoS will play the Gulang card on defense, and it's up to the refs what type of contact they will allow. Playoff basketball demands more physical play. The refs don't need to call college fouls in a playoff series.
Fighting to the End
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| It's the passion for the game that made me love this team. Sometimes though, emotions get the better of Coach. *Image from inquirer.net |
Ryan Arana said in an interview after the Game 5 win that Coach Yeng threatened them that if he saw anyone seemingly give up, "tatapusin ko ang career nyo dito". Everyone played with more desperation than ever in that game.
Bets aside, I don't lose faith in my team unless we're down 10 with under 24 seconds left in the game. I don't switch channels to wait if my team can come back, I watch every second of the 4th to see how they will. It's one of the things I love about the team.
In Game 4 though, there were so many moments when I saw the team give up. I wanted to believe we could cut it down to 7, and at one point, we did. However, with every made basket by the Mixers, they sulked. With every missed shot, they bowed their heads instead of trying to get the loose ball. They gave up like they didn't before.
In Game 6, Jireh played like he'll die for the ball as he always did. Ryan played like he didn't have a shoulder injury (until falling on the floor made him remember he did). Gabe only stopped defending when the ball went through the hoop already. But then there are moments when you see Larry Rodriguez bowing his head after missing a shot instead of looking at where the ball is (which was tapped to someone right behind Rodriguez). Then Coach Yeng just totally lost it when he was in the ref's passing lane for the inbound. That was a dagger more painful than Barroca's three over Gabe.
We lose because we gave up. Refs calls be damned, we shouldn't have let them take us out of the game. SMC did it by beating the living hell out of the Gin Kings in Game 7 because that's how you beat teams favored by refs; you hit your shots.
A Shoutout to the Mixers
The Scoring Apostle
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| The only way to defend Simon is pray that he won't make the shot. |
Truthfully, even in my previous blog, Simon is that one guy from SMC that I fear the most on offense. He doesn't need a million moves to beat you; he'll just need you to give him enough breathing room and he'll hit the shot. It wouldn't matter if he's open or not, he will hit a shot.
He's had cold nights but if he gets his shot going, there's no telling when he'll stop. Peter June Simon was one of the players I loved watching in the PBA and was one of the reasons why I stayed loyal to Alvin Patrimonio's squad until I got pissed with Ryan Gregorio and the team letting go of talents such as Paul Artadi (to BGK at the time) and Ping (to Magnolia, I think, at the time). Now it's difficult to root against him because of all the things he brings to the table.
The Heart of Offense and Defense
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| Them boys know how to work their team up. *Image from ph.sports.yahoo.com |
Speaking of people difficult to root against, how about the heart of SMC's offense and defense; Mark Andy Barroca and Jean-Marc Pingris, respectively. Barroca comes off the bench and finishes the game much like Manu Ginobili of the Spurs. He's an unfair bench guy who should automatically take home the 6th Man of the Year award every single year he doesn't win an MVP title. I think he's already the best two-way guard in the PBA today, right up there with Jason Castro.
On defense, is there any doubt that Pingris is the heart that keeps pumping life to that SMC defense? He's an undersized PF in international competitions, but in the Philippines, he is arguably the best player at the post. He's no longer the offensive liability that he was early in his career with his newfound weapon which I'd almost accuse SMC to be teaching all their players; that one-hander in the lane seems to be a staple for every one on their team.
Players can't catch up to Barroca and they can't shake Pingris off. Either one of them deserved the MVP trophy for putting the team on their shoulders.
James Yap
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| Jireh messed up James the first time they met in the Finals. James was having none of it this series. |
I've been critical of James Yap because he failed to deliver every single time I counted on him. I rooted for his UE Red Warriors before I went to UST. I was excited that he had Paul Artadi as his running mate again in Purefoods. I rooted for him to win that championship they didn't get while playing for UE and it took me years before they actually won one, and I don't even think Artadi was there.
This season, like the past couple of seasons, James wasn't hitting his shots. He was all hype with no game left to speak of. I actually wanted James to shut me up in I think Game 3 or 4 of the BGK series. He failed to deliver again.
Then there was Game 5 of that series when he finally delivered. You could call it a fluke, but he hit some pretty big shots in Game 6 before the refs bailed Ginebra out with a petty foul on Yap to Caguioa. In Game 7, he just went wild.
I thought he'd be shooting blanks already by the Finals, but he had that push in him to hit big shots to either stretch leads or bring them back. This was a James Yap series that I wished to have seen when I was cheering for them.
The Other Guys
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| Alex "The Project" Mallari is a Tim Cone favorite as a big ball handler |
Rain or Shine is considered deep, but that's because Coach Yeng utilizes everyone on the bench with some of his hugot tactics. Teams under SMC are known to be really stacked with big names. Anything short of championships are disappointments for Ginebra, Petron, and San Mig Coffee. It was on full display in this Finals series, and even in the season.
Ginebra had a pseudo-coach always making his opinions on timeouts despite a head coach already holding the board. Petron has a collection of stars who can't buy in to what the coach is preaching because they haven't had a coach that lasted a full three conferences over the past couple of years. When then-BMeg got Coach Tim Cone, he was given a full reign on the team, and he was able to build the team he wanted (Alex Mallari yow!) and incorporate a system in such a way that it isn't player-dependent.
Having said that, SMC still had the capacity to sign big name players into this iron clad system of Coach Tim. The butt of my jokes has been Alex Mallari, a former third overall pick in the draft. He played a couple of good games. They have guys like Ian Sanggalang who's underrated only because no one watches the NCAA and Greg Slaughter commanded such great attention. If it wasn't Raymond, I would've loved to have Ian in RoS just so he could play with Pampanga's own Coach Yeng. Joe Devance, who I usually call "Boy Fancy Pass" is a mismatch nightmare. The bigs can't keep up with him, and the guards can't cover his size. When he's not trying too much, he knows how to make the right plays and can shoot from just about anywhere on the court. Justin Melton was a revelation late in the season. He's an athletic guy who can carry the ball and shoot from a distance, but has the tendency to dribble too much. He reminds me of Shannon Brown of the Lakers. Rafi Reavis can get way up for boards. Yancy De Ocampo is a crafty post player.
See, no matter how deep their lineup is, Coach Tim has about 8 guys he'd play this deep in the postseason, but every once in a while he could turn someone like Jerwin Gaco into more than just a punchline. With an expansion team coming in, wouldn't it be nice to know that there's a team like SMC who will not be able to protect some of these other guys and may have a chance to shine elsewhere?
Tim Cone
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| Just passed Coach Baby Dalupan's record. Nice to see what looks like an unbeatable record broken in my lifetime. *Image from untvweb.com |
What else can be said about the winningest coach of all time? When faced with the choice between Ginebra or Alaska back in the 90's, I've always went with Tim Cone's Milkmen. In the time when the league was ultra-competitive with teams not hoarding talent for themselves, Alaska was one of the teams I admired because of how well they moved together as a team. Ginebra was a popular choice, what with players and their "Never Say Die" attitude back then, but it was more of will. The Milkmen played in some kind of order I never would have understood as a kid just learning the game.
It was effective 20 years ago (gahd, I'm old), and it remains effective now. It's not because it is unbeatable, it's because Coach Tim has made a dynamic system that he could call his own. Over the years of learning the game while coaching on the sidelines, he's made subtle changes to make sure that the system isn't completely broken.
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The next conference starts on Wednesday, March 5, and I'm excited about it again. Some trades in the offseason and our beloved Coach Pido will finally call the shots for his own team in the PBA. It's a great time to be a fan of the PBA right now.
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