Battle of bigs
Barangay Ginebra could’ve been 0-3 instead of 1-2 at this stage of the PBA Philippine Cup but got lucky in eking out a 93-92 decision over Alaska in Dubai last Nov. 7. It’s been a challenge for new Ginebra coach Tim Cone to rearm the troops and familiarize the Barangay with the triangle system. But if there’s anyone who can do it, Cone’s the man. He’s the winningest coach in PBA history and there isn’t a team he’s coached that hasn’t won a championship. Cone did it with Alaska for 13 titles and the Purefoods franchise for five.
Cone is in his first conference with Ginebra and it could take a while before the Barangay hits paydirt. Time, however, isn’t on the side of Ginebra’s Fast and the Furious tandem of Mark Caguioa who turns 36 on Thursday and Jay-Jay Helterbrand who’s 39. Ginebra fans are hoping for another title before the Spark and Helterbrand ride into the sunset. It’ll take some doing, though, as Ginebra hasn’t won a crown since the 2007-08 Fiesta Conference during the Joseph Uichico era and that was seven years and 17 conferences ago. Transforming Ginebra from a devil-may-care, gunslinging outfit into a deliberate, patient half-court fighting machine isn’t easy. To jumpstart the transformation, Cone brought along Joe DeVance, a triangle specialist who was his executioner at Alaska and B-Meg/San Mig Coffee.
Against Alaska, Ginebra raced to a 19-point lead at the half but nearly blew it. With 14.9 seconds to go, the Aces took the lead for the first time as Vic Manuel scored to make it 92-91. Greg Slaughter was fouled with 4.1 ticks left and sank two free throws to regain the advantage for Ginebra, 93-92. Alaska had two attempts to win it but Manuel and Jvee Casio missed as Ginebra dodged a huge bullet in a scary escape act. The foul line was extremely friendly to Ginebra as the Barangay made 26-of-34 free throws compared to only 5-of-7 for the Aces.
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Slaughter, 27, has been the driving force of Ginebra’s reawakening. He’s averaging 27.3 points, 19.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 38.5 minutes while hitting .638 from the field and .786 from the line. From the standpoint of statistics, Slaughter is outperforming San Miguel Beer’s reigning backto-back MVP JuneMar Fajardo who’s averaging 17 points, 13 rebounds and 35.8 minutes. Fajardo is hitting .556 from the floor and a lowly .474 from the stripe.
Both Slaughter and Fajardo are in the newly reconstituted Gilas pool that was assembled for a first practice last Monday. If they’re the future of Philippine basketball, then the future is now. Fajardo turns 26 on Tuesday and only Slaughter is in the way to reestablish his position as the PBA’s most dominant local big guy today. They’re both stratospheric, standing a few inches apart with Slaughter slightly taller at close to 7 feet.
In today’s stellar PBA game between the Barangay and San Miguel at the PhilSports Arena, Fajardo and Slaughter will slug it out in a duel of giants. Fajardo’s dominance is being seriously challenged by Slaughter and their matchup will settle the issue. In terms of playing style, they’re similar in that both are capable of attacking frontally. Fajardo has a more reliable turnaround fadeaway while Slaughter is deadlier with a straight-away jumper from mid-range. Fajardo is a more physical inside operator who can back down a defender at the low post. Slaughter is more mobile with lateral quickness.
It’s intriguing that Ginebra and San Miguel are 1-2 in the league’s defensive standings. The Barangay is giving up only 86.7 points a game and the Beermen, 88.3. What makes Ginebra a frightening proposition is Slaughter’s tandem with 6-9 Japeth Aguilar. They’re the PBA version of a Twin Towers like David Robinson and Tim Duncan or Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson in the NBA. In the Alaska game, Slaughter and Aguilar combined for 50 points and 31 boards.
**** The luxury of playing a Twin Towers, however, has a downside. It’s so tempting to rely on the two bigs for every play and when that happens, balance suffers. With Ginebra, only Slaughter and Aguilar are averaging in double figure points. With San Miguel, coach Leo Austria has more options as aside from Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos are consistently scoring in twin digits. Cabagnot is averaging 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4.8 assists while Lassiter is averaging 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench and Santos, 12.3 points and 7 rebounds.
But offense isn’t what’s propelling San Miguel. In fact, the Beermen are hitting only .403 from the field and .639 from the stripe, both No. 11 in the standings. San Miguel is more than making up for its deficiencies in offense by taking care of every possession, averaging a league-low 14.5 turnovers and giving up the second least turnover points at 11.
A surprise spark for Austria is reserve Gabby Espinas who’s averaging 8.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while hitting 2-of-3 triples and 50 percent from the field. For Ginebra, Cone is still waiting for DeVance and Sol Mercado to break out. JDV and the Soul Train are averaging only a combined 6.3 points. In a defensive dogfight, fresh legs and healthy bodies will play a key role.
Ultimately, it will come down to the clash of the titans in the middle. The Kraken and Godzilla will be unleashed in today’s marquee matchup. Minions will step aside to make way for the giants.