Star Hotshots’ top gunners now being asked to be more defensive-minded
NOT long ago, Star, then known as San Mig Coffee, became the most successful team in the PBA under the tutelage of multi-titled coach Tim Cone, the winningest mentor in the PBA, who has won 18 championships and the only mentor to win two grand slam titles.
With Cone at the helm, the old Purefoods franchise was able to win five championships, including four straight crowns, bridging the 2013 Governors Cup and all of the three conferences at stake the following season.
They’ve been successful not only because of their ability to run the complicated triangle offense but also their commitment to buy into the defensive philosophy Cone had laid down.
“It’s about defense. We were successful because we were a great defensive team,” Marc Pingris told BusinessWorld in an exclusive interview.
Following the acquisition of Paul Lee and Aldrech Ramos and the development of Allein Maliksi as one of the team’s top gunners, the Hotshots have added a new dimension to the squad.
But defense should remain the team’s calling card and head coach Chito Victolero and his players are embracing it.
Even PJ Simon, one of the deadliest shooters in the squad ever since when he was playing alongside long-time resident star James Yap, has accepted this role.
“That’s what being asked of me, to play defense. Coach Chito always finds a good match up for me, defensively,” said Mr. Simon. “If he sees I’m okay with this, he will use me, but if not, there are other players who can step up to do that. There are a lot of stoppers in this team.”
Doing this isn’t new after all, for Mr. Simon. The only difference now is that he has to chase younger quicker guards.
“We’ve used to defending like the one we’ve been doing with Coach Tim Cone. He wants defense first before offense, although it’s different now as I have to chase younger players,” added Mr. Simon.
Mr. Ramos is acknowledged as one of the best stretch four forwards in the PBA today, but as soon as he came into the Star lineup, he knew he has to adjust his game.
“Whenever you’re playing with Marc Pingris at practice, you just have to be like him,” said Mr. Ramos. “He’ll push you to defend hard.”
It’s the same case Jio Jalalon went through.
Known for his scoring prowess, energy and speed when he was still playing for the Gilas Cadet and the Arellano Chiefs in the NCAA, Jalalon had to build the same intensity of play just like Mark Barroca.
On Sunday, Mr. Jalalon’s defensive mentality was put to a testy against Jayson Castro, the bets point guard in Asia.
“I was asked by Coach Jason Webb. He told me I need to defend first before offense,” added Mr. Jalalon. “I wasn’t thinking about Jayson Castro, who’s one of the bets players. I don’t want to worry myself. I just want to help out my team, especially on the defensive end.”
Mr. Castro was held to a quiet 16 points on four- of-15 shooting as Mr. Victolero’s game plan worked beautifully.
“The mind-set is our defense versus their offense. So we limited them to under 80. Our goal is under 90. They average around 100 points per game. We were able to execute our defensive game plan. Our guards stepped up on defense, particularly against Castro. We’ve learned a lot from our previous games. We’ve learned a lot from our game against Ginebra and Alaska. We tried to build on these games to get better,” said Mr. Victolero.