Back to the Finals
After a week-long break, it’s back to the Finals in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-7 title series between defending champion San Miguel Beer and Magnolia at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.
The battle has been a dogfight so far. Magnolia came back from 20 down to ignite an 18-0 blast bridging the third and fourth periods to take Game 1, 105-103, at the Big Dome last March 23. Then, in Game 2 at the MOA Arena last Sunday, the Hotshots cut a 21-point deficit to seven behind an 11-0 surge to start the fourth quarter only to run out of steam and dropped a 92-77 decision. Now the series is tied at a win apiece but with Magnolia missing the services of Marc Pingris and Justin Melton, San Miguel looks ready to steamroll its way to a fourth straight Philippine Cup crown.
What makes a San Miguel victory imminent is coach Leo Austria’s adjustment in Game 2 to deepen his rotation. In Game 1, San Miguel’s bench accounted for a single point but in Game 2, the shock troopers delivered 20 as Austria distributed the players’ minutes more judiciously. Entering the series, Magnolia’s advantage was coach Chito Victolero’s deep rotation particularly in the backcourt. Now, Austria has found a way to blunt that edge. It must be pointed out that four technical fouls and a flagrant penalty one have been called so far after two games in the Finals. That’s a clear indication that the competition is fierce and far from friendly. In Game 1, San Miguel’s Von Pessumal was slapped a flagrant penalty one for undercutting Magnolia’s Rome de la Rosa under the basket on a rebound play. De la Rosa was bumped in mid-air and fell hard on the floor, prompting the referees to call the flagrant penalty one which has a fine of P5,000. In the same contest, Alex Cabagnot was given a technical foul for pointing an accusing finger at a referee in a sign of disrespect.
In Game 2, Chris Ross was slapped a technical foul for not reporting to the officials table before entering the court. Arwind Santos and Jio Jalalon were assessed a technical foul each for second motion. Ross escaped a second technical foul for taunting the Magnolia bench by faking a pass twice to the Hotshots players during a live play. A second technical foul of a different nature wouldn’t have ejected Ross from the game.
Ross escaped a technical foul or two for verbally jousting with Kyle Pascual and Rodney Brondial who both could’ve also been censured. Game 3 tonight is expected to be more emotionally explosive than either Game 1 or 2 because it will break the series deadlock. Meanwhile, with trade rumors in the air, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial announced a few days ago that the league has lifted its lifetime ban on import Renaldo Balkman. Marcial decided on lifting the ban after conferring with Balkman himself and his local agent Sheryl Reyes and securing clearance from former commissioner Chito Salud and San Miguel Beer player Arwind Santos. Balkman was slapped a lifetime ban by Salud for putting his hands around Santos’ neck during a PBA game five years ago and the irony was the Spiderman was a teammate. The San Miguel team carried the Petron colors at that time.
Balkman wrote a letter of appeal to Marcial and sought an audience with the Commissioner to express his remorse. Marcial met Balkman and Reyes with PBA legal counsel Melvin Mendoza and technical director Eric Castro. A Puerto Rico national player, Balkman is now playing with Alab Pilipinas in the ABL. With the lifting of his ban, Balkman becomes available to play as an import in the PBA once again. His rights are held by San Miguel.
In the Commissioner’s Cup starting April 22, San Miguel will suit up Troy Gillenwater while awaiting the return of Charles Rhodes from the Korean league so it looks like Balkman is the third option for the Beermen. If San Miguel opts to relinquish his rights, Balkman may sign with any team.