Sustainability is critical in Finals

Now that the PBA Philippine Cup Finals is even at 1-1, there’s a 46.5 percent chance that the bestof-7 series between defending champion San Miguel Beer and Magnolia will go to a Game 7. PBA chief of stats Fidel Mangonon figured that out by checking on the history of the league’s 80 best-of-7 Finals and noted that there hasn’t been a Game 7 in the Last Dance since San Miguel stormed back from 0-3 to beat Alaska for the Philippine Cup crown in 2016.

The stats also showed that in the last four Finals where the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds squared off, the No. 2 team won so that’s good news for Magnolia. But in the last five Finals, the team that won Game 1 wound up losing three series so that’s good news for San Miguel. Experience is clearly on San Miguel coach Leo Austria’s side as he is undefeated in five Finals appearances. Magnolia coach Chito Victolero is a first-timer in the Finals.

Austria’s experience was evident in Game 2 at the MOA Arena last Sunday. He knew going down 0-2 to Magnolia wasn’t an option and made sure there would be no repeat of San Miguel’s meltdown in Game 1. Austria learned from the bitter lesson of Game 1 where the Beermen blew a 20-point lead in the third period to lose, 105-103, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Friday. The painful thing was San Miguel led 42:40 minutes but couldn’t hold on to the driver’s seat when it mattered most.

It was a case of miscalculation in managing the Beermen’s minutes. Austria relied almost exclusively on his starters who were gassed out down the stretch. Three San Miguel players logged at least 40 minutes compared to none from Magnolia. The imbalance was reflected in bench points where Magnolia dominated, 47-1. JuneMar Fajardo fired 31 points but sputtered in the end, scoring only six points and collecting five of his 11 turnovers in the fourth period. The payoff quarter was a nightmare for San Miguel as the Beermen were outshot from the floor, 52.2 percent to 27.8 percent, had only one assist to Magnolia’s six and compiled eight turnovers to the Hotshots’ two. Arwind Santos also disappeared in the fourth, hitting only a point after scoring 18 in the previous three periods.

In Game 2, Austria spread out the minutes a little more and focused on sustainability. Brian Heruela, for instance, played only 41 seconds without chalking up a single stat in Game 1 but last Sunday, erupted for 10 points in 15:08 minutes. Billy Mamaril didn’t see action in Game 1 but delivered four points in 5:44 minutes in Game 2. Only Santos checked in for more than 40 minutes in Game 2 and delivered 24 points, including a back-breaking triple that stopped an 11-0 Magnolia run to start the fourth quarter. Santos’ trey triggered a 10-0 San Miguel counter attack that iced the contest after the Hotshots trimmed a 21-point deficit to seven.

From only one bench point in Game 1, San Miguel had 20 in Game 2 so that even as Fajardo was held to 12 points, the Beermen still had enough cushion to win, 92-77. The Hotshots attempted a repeat of their bold resurgence in the fourth period of Game 1 but couldn’t hold off the Beermen who played with poise under fire. Austria’s constant shuffling of players preserved his starters for the final assault and it paid off.

San Miguel’s offense was overpowering in Game 2 as the Beermen hit 13-of-30 triples for a lofty 43.3 percent clip and shot 45.7 percent from the field overall compared to Magnolia’s 39.8 percent. The Beermen’s defense was just as impressive. They trapped Paul Lee in pick-and-roll situations to limit his scoring and made it difficult for Ian Sangalang to roll to the basket off screens. Austria’s scheme of employing three men to form a defensive line across the paint five feet from the basket in a semi-zone worked wonders in preventing Magnolia from scoring a bundle of second chance points. In Game 1, the Hotshots had 33 second chance points but in Game 2, they scored only 16. That ploy opened up space for Rafi Reavis to take shots from mid-range but he connected on only 2-of-8 from the floor.

For a while, Reavis and San Miguel’s Yancy de Ocampo were both on the court matched up against each other. In the 2002 PBA draft, De Ocampo was the first overall pick and Reavis the second. They’ve won 10 championships each so this series will be the tiebreaker. Reavis, 40, and De Ocampo, 37, are among the league’s senior statesmen.

Now, it’s Magnolia’s turn to make adjustments in Game 3 which is scheduled on Easter Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Marc Pingris, who watched from the sidelines, said San Miguel’s second unit outworked the Hotshots’ relievers and that made the difference in Game 2. But he pointed out the Hotshots’ fight-back from 21 down to cut the gap to seven in the fourth period showed how big their heart is. In Game 3, it will take more than just heart for Magnolia to beat San Miguel – it will also take grit, smarts, composure and a collective effort on both ends.