#PBA2015 PREVIEW: BLACKWATER ELITE vs SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN – TIME TO GET A WIN
Blackwater and San Miguel Beer are strange bedfellows right now at the bottom of the standings. Both teams are currently winless, with SMB losing its first two outings, while Blackwater bringing up the rear with a 0-3 slate. Regardless of what happens in this game, one of these teams will finally break into the win column.
Blackwater’s struggles haven’t been unexpected. With primary import Chris Charles missing the team’s first three assignments, it was no wonder they’ve remained winless this entire season. Marcus Douthit has been solid, sure, but nobody has been able to consistently backstop him and lift the Elite to a win.
San Miguel, on the other hand, finds itself in an unusual state. A few days after winning their first Philippine Cup since 2001, the Beermen have lost two in a row. They seem like shadows of their former selves, and a win here should be able to spark something in an otherwise loaded roster.
Here are some things to look at in this game:
- ONE MAN SHOW
In their previous game, the Elite couldn’t get much going against the Purefoods Star Hotshots. The only guy who was really able to consistently do some damage was import Marcus Douthit. The Gilas Pilipinas big man notched a near-triple-double for Blackwater, but it was still not enough. He’ll have to duplicate that tonight against a team with so much size like SMB.
Vs PUR: 30pts, 11rebs, 8asts, 2blks, 1stl, 11/20 FGs.
Current stats: 22.0ppg, 14.0rpg, 5.0apg, 3.0bpg, 1.0spg, 42.9 FG%.
- BIG MAN ZERO
The only guy who really complemented Douthit was fellow frontliner Bryan Faundo, who shot well from the field en route to scoring 14 points. Faundo, who wears #0 as his jersey #, is by no means a game-changer, but he’s the next best thing that this team has to a star who can really backstop their import. Needless to say, he has to continue being productive for this team to even have a small shot as a W.
Vs PUR: 14pts, 4rebs, 7/13 FGs.
Current stats: 16.3ppg, 5.3rpg, 53.3 FG%.
- BAM BAM… FLOP?
Another guy who is expected to step up but has been inconsistent so far is former San Beda standout BamBam Gamalinda. He was one of this team’s main guys in the last conference, so he should be a main cog for them this time around, but he hasn’t really been consistently effective. Without a doubt, he is due for a big game soon.
Stats last conference: 9.3ppg, 4.5rpg, 1.9apg
Stats this conference: 7.3ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.3apg
- PROTECT THE BALL
One big factor in Blackwater’s last defeat was the fact they turned the ball over 19 times. This led to 20 points off turnovers for the Hotshots. Out of 14 players fielded in, only 4 players went without a turnover. The Elite will definitely need to take better care of the basketball against a team as strong as SMB.
Turnovers vs PUR: 19 (Douthit with 4, Faundo & Canada with 2 each)
- ROBERTS’S POWERS
After playing a little meh in his first PBA game, Ronald Roberts put up eye-popping numbers against the tall Ginebra frontline. Sure, yes, the Beermen still lost, but at least Roberts didn’t shoot under 40% anymore. The 6’8 PF should build on that performance and be dominant against the bigger but older Douthit. If he can do that, then SMB should have an easy win against the Elite.
First game: 18pts, 38.9 FG%, 2blks, 33.3 FT%
vs GIN: 32pts, 59.1 FG%, 5blks, 57.1 FT%
- JUNE MAR & ARWIND SHOOTING BLANKS
Perhaps the biggest reason for SMB’s woes so far this conference is that the Beermen’s power pair of bigs hasn’t been shooting very well. These guys were awesome in the Philippine Cup, with June Mar winning BPC and Arwind winning Finals MVP, but right now they’re just not playing as well as advertised.
Combined scoring & shooting in Phil. Cup: 34.2ppg and 50.0 FG%
Combined shooting in Comm. Cup: 23.5ppg and 34.4 FG%
- PLAYMAKER
Alex Cabagnot was a helluva great playmaker for SMB in their last game, handing out 11 of the team’s 18 assists. That means he assisted on more than 33% of his team’s field goals. Pretty good, but it was offset by the fact he shot 3/14 from the floor, including missing all but one of his threes. This was a guy who led GlobalPort in scoring when he was there. His playmaking is important, but he has to score the ball as well.
Season stats: 12.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 4.7apg, 33.6 3pt%, 36.0 FG%
Comm Cup stats: 5.0ppg, 3.5rpg, 7.5apg, 9.1 3pt%, 18.2 FG%
- PUNISHED IN THE PAINT
Another huge factor that went against SMB was, strangely enough, getting outscored in the paint. SMB has, arguably, the best center and best power forward in the league and they still got GROSSLY outscored in the shaded lane by Ginebra. And Japeth Aguilar didn’t even play more than 9 minutes! Needless to say, this SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN, especially against a team with an over-the-hump Douthit and an overachieving Faundo.
Pts in the Paint last game: SMB 30, GIN 60
- FOR THE WIN
It’s all about getting that first win for both teams. Nothing much is expected from the Elite, but no team wants to go on 15 or more games without a win, right? Nobody wants that ignominy. They shouldn’t wait till the Kia game for a shot at a win.
On the other end, the Beermen have a golden chance to get their first W, especially since they have a shot to string together a streak with Alaska, Meralco, and NLEX coming up after this game.
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