When juggernauts clash
Four months into the Pilipinas Super League President’s Cup, there are still two undefeated teams left in the tournament. The Nueva Ecija Capitals and Biñan Taka Gel Game X both sit atop the 19-team field with lofty, unblemished 11-win, zero-loss cards. One team is stacked with legends of Philippine basketball, bulldozing its way through the competition by more than 25 points per game. The other is the epitome of efficiency, able to field three entire five-man units with no perceptible drop-off in consistency and quality, setting league records in several scoring categories. On Saturday, Feb. 3, their deadlock will finally be broken, and one of them will taste defeat for the first time. That’s just the way things are.
Biñan Tatak Gel Game X has intimidated some of its opponents with its All-Star line-up. Marc Pingris, Jayjay Helterbrand and Niño Canaleta are just a few of the former PBA greats listed on the roster and in the coaching staff, headed by Boyet Fernandez, who has won at every level he has played or coached in. In their last two games played at home Tuesday and Thursday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Laguna before capacity crowds, Biñan scored contrasting victories. On Tuesday, they barely escaped the systematically impervious Quezon Titans by three points, thanks to the impressive three-point shooting of former PBA slam dunk champion Canaleta. On Thursday, they blew out the AO Jikiri Indanan Sulu Kings by 29.
Meanwhile, in their first game in November, Nueva Ecija demolished JT Bulacan Taipan, 10967, serving notice to the rest of the league. In their last game six days ago, the Capitals notched win number 11 thanks to the heroics of Byron Villarias, who scored 17 points. If you’re wondering who he is, that is a typical response to a Nueva Ecija win. At any given time, any number of Capitals players could emerge as heroes. In fact, it is common practice for them to replace all five players on the floor when they make substitutions. Unusual, yes. Successful? Without a doubt. Even when their starting center, the effective no-frills William McAloney has been absent, they have had more than enough firepower to overwhelm opponents. The Caps have set tournament marks in three-point shooting, scoring, and so on.
This will be the first time other than the regular venue in San Juan, where Nueva Ecija will venture into an opponent’s home court, though. So far, the Biñan crowd has filled the 6,500-seater Alonte Arena to capacity each time their team is in town. They’ve been welcoming to visitors like the native puto Biñan, but definitely cheer their lungs out for their boys. On Saturday, they will face their biggest test yet, a fellow juggernaut that has not tasted defeat. It’s a trip worth making.
The way these two franchises have performed and have been run has set the standard for the league, and for other professional organizations to model. They play the game the way it should be played, behave like real professionals, and are gracious hosts. The tournament format of playing only a single round-robin also adds a layer of excitement, since you’ll have to earn a shot at revenge in the playoffs.
The games of the Pilipinas Super League President’s Cup are seen on free TV through IBC-13 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m., and on their various online platforms including Facebook and YouTube Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. onward.