LESSONS LEARNED
Depending on the impact left by Game 4 two days ago to both teams, the pivotal Game 5 Friday night could be where the battle is won or lost.
Leo Austria, the San Miguel coach, says they have learned their lesson after blowing big leads and throwing away Games 1 and 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, providing compelling proof Wednesday of the Beermen’s power to dominate the rest of the best-of-7 series.
And with the balance of power and momentum shifting after SMB’s impressive 88-70 victory that leveled the championship at two games each, the big question now is: Have Alex Compton and the Alaska Aces learned theirs?
Compton fancies the Aces as David and the Beermen as Goliath, two Biblical characters from the Old Testament where the underdog shepherd boy felled the heavily favored Philistine behemoth with a rock and a slingshot.
So far, in this series, Goliath has remained upright.
Asked what he intends to do against a team with six players scoring in double figures, Compton referred back to his favorite tale.
“Gotta pick five more shiny stones for next game,” Compton said with a sliver of smile after the Beermen led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter, repulsed an Alaska rebellion in the fourth and brought matters back to square one at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game 5 is at 7 p.m., with the Aces advised not to abandon Calvin Abueva to the wolves as in Game 4.
While a reawakened Alex Cabagnot (22 points), Ronald Tubid (13), MyPhone-PBA Best Player of the Conference choice June Mar Fajardo (11 and 11 rebounds), Arwind Santos (11 and 14), Chris Lutz (11) and Marcio Lassiter (10) were bombing away unchecked, the Aces, in a one-sided encounter, had no other tallying more than 9 points and 6 rebounds after the firebrand Abueva’s 22 and 7.
“I got to do a better job of trying to find a way to get us some shots. I can’t keep saying ‘defense, defense, defense’ and not get us some shots,” he said. “Hindi na puwede yung ganon.”
Compton took just a few seconds during the post-game interview to go through the stats sheet during the post-game interview to find the numbers that made him frown: Dondon Hontiveros took only three 3-point attempts, RJ Jasul 4 while JVee Casio took just 2, missing both. Casio was scoreless for the first time in his 4-year career.
In contrast Cabagnot fired away with 10 attempts (hitting 4), Marcio Lassiter 7 (making 2) and Santos 6 (converting 3).
Getting the Aces sharpshooters (2 of 13 threes) open looks should help define how this evening’s match will play out.
The Aces may also wish to rethink the wisdom of double-teaming Fajardo at the low block every time and leaving an SMB shooter open.
While the strategy proved effective in two of the first three games as Fajardo tried to force his way to the basket and SMB shot 8 of 32 from 3-point range in an 88-82 loss in Game 1 (Santos, Cabagnot and Ronald Pascual combined for 6 of 20) and 9 of 30 in treys in a 78-70 defeat in Game 3 (Santos 3 of 11 triples and Cabagnot 2 of 6 field goals), the scheme got shredded in Game 4 where the Beermen buried 6 of 13 threes in the first quarter alone.
That made life a lot easier for the big guy.
Fajardo played just 27 minutes, his lowest exposure in the series, and took just five shots, making four, as he happily waited for the double-team to come along before giving up the kick-out pass which triggered SMB’s ball movement to the open man.
The Aces probably have two options.
Granting the Beermen might come out less accurate against better defense in Game 5, the Aces, nonetheless, need to decide if they want to risk again getting torched from double-teaming or if they’d rather gamble by sending Sonny Thoss, Sam Eman, Eric Menk and maybe Gabby Espinas, if he is healthy, to do single coverage on Fajardo to avoid giving the SMB gunners clear shots.
The second choice would be hell for Thoss and Alaska’s frontline, and Fajardo’s numbers could soar. But the alternative is just as frightening: five snipers coming at the Aces from five different directions.
SMB also came up with an interesting move in Game 4, getting Fajardo the ball outside the paint and dragging Thoss with him. That left the space in front of the basket vulnerable to attack. If that happens again, expect the Aces to challenge Fajardo to shoot from there.
Cabagnot in the first five after having Chris Ross play the point as a starter reaped dividends for SMB. A 2-point guard setup also paid well against the Alaska press, especially when the Beermen saw Ross throw away possession in four consecutive plays in the second quarter after San Miguel built a 33-16 first period lead.
With the series now down to a best-of-3, the rebounding duel is likewise expected to play another major role in Game 5 after SMB dominated the boards two days ago, 53-35, including 16-10 under the offensive glass where the Beermen collected 19 points to the Aces’ 4.
So far, SMB has succeeded only in tying the series. But with the manner the Beermen imposed their will in Game 4, the Aces will have to come to the Big Dome Friday night armed not only with a slingshot and five extra stones, but with adequate firepower to blow things apart and not rely too much on weaving their comeback magic every time.
Game 4 demonstrated fightbacks can only go so far.
Simply said, the Aces have to come out with all guns blazing from the onset, not wait around for the Beermen to bungle another 20-point lead.
Alex Compton’s favorite story is all about that.
After all, David never gave Goliath a headstart, did he? (WJRHT)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.