Battle of the winless

Only one team will remain winless after GlobalPort and NLEX face off in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow. Both squads are at the bottom of the standings where San Miguel Beer is No. 1 with a 2-0 record. NLEX is 0-5 and GlobalPort, 0-4.

Dating back to the Philippine Cup, the Road Warriors have now lost nine in a row, including four in the first conference with one of the losses dealt by GlobalPort, 110-96. It’s been an uphill climb for new coach Yeng Guiao who’s more used to winning than losing in his distinguished PBA career. 

Guiao’s system is built on chemistry which was his trademark in capturing two championships with Swift, three with Red Bull and two with Rain Or Shine. That’s the reason why it’s taking a little longer than usual for Guiao to whip NLEX into title form. He didn’t tinker with the lineup, both players and coaching staff, after joining the Road Warriors in the offseason. Clearly, the players and coaches whom Guiao inherited had to learn his style from scratch. Familiarization is a process and requires patience from everyone involved in the transformation.

NLEX slumped to 2-9 in the Philippine Cup, an indication that it wouldn’t be easy getting used to Guiao’s system. Guiao likes to rotate his starters and keeps every player on his toes. His style doesn’t cater to stars. He has a soft spot for role players and that’s how he wants each of the Road Warriors to think of himself. In Guiao’s mind, everyone has a chance to be a go-to guy because it’s an equal opportunity approach. He’s also a stickler for the basics, particularly on defense. He’s not inclined to give extended minutes to players who don’t rotate, who can’t read and react, who fail to follow instructions in defending picks for rolls or pops.

In the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup, Guiao opted to bring back Wayne Chism who played for him in three conferences with Rain Or Shine. Familiarity and chemistry were the factors that landed Chism another tour of duty in the PBA.  Guiao added two players to the roster, Juami Tiongson and Rabeh Al-Hussaini, for depth in the backcourt and frontcourt. As usual, he hasn’t stuck to the same first five and has now started 15 players. The only player who hasn’t started is Al-Hussaini who joined NLEX from Meralco three games into the conference.

NLEX is a far cry from Rain Or Shine and Guiao has no illusions to build a replica. Garvo Lanete isn’t Jeff Chan. Carlo Lastimosa isn’t Jericho Cruz, Kevin Alas isn’t Paul Lee and nobody is close to being Gabe Norwood. Guiao is working with pieces whom he’s still testing. Consistency is an elusive goal. NLEX is averaging 98.8 points but giving up 104.8. However, NLEX is showing signs of life. The Road Warriors haven’t been blown out in any game so far and their average losing margin is six points. They lost to Star by two and to TNT by five in overtime – two setbacks that could’ve easily been NLEX wins. 

GlobalPort, in contrast, is a team that’s long on talent but short on efficiency. The Batang Pier is averaging 91.3 points (No. 11 in the league) and yielding 110.3 (second worst) a game. GlobalPort is No. 1 in turnovers (20.3) and No. 11 in assists (17.3). Coach Franz Pumaren’s squad lost to Alaska by 28, to Star by 26, to Barangay Ginebra by 17 and to Blackwater by five. 

Terrence Romeo missed the first game of the conference and scored only 13 against Star and 14 against Ginebra. He was back in form with 35 points against the Elite but couldn’t generate enough local support with Stanley Pringle delivering only 13. 

GlobalPort, meanwhile, has pushed the panic button and brought in Malcolm White to replace NBA veteran Sean Williams who averaged only 17 points in three games. In another roster change, KG Canaleta was traded to Blackwater for Dylan Ababou and James Forrester. White, 28, isn’t as talented as Williams but is a fiercer competitor. In his PBA debut, White had 33 points and 17 boards against Blackwater.

White averaged only 5.1 points and shot 41.7 percent from the line in his senior year at Louisiana State in 2011-12 and was ignored in the NBA draft. He saw action in Japan, Canada, Uruguay and Qatar before signing up as a naturalized player for Bahrain this year. Williams was the New Jersey Nets’ first round pick in the 2007 NBA draft and suited up for the Nets, Dallas and Boston in 137 games over four seasons. Despite his NBA credentials, Williams was a bust with GlobalPort and didn’t seem motivated to give it his all, prompting his release.