Vindication for Caidic

Barangay Ginebra coach Allan Caidic says if the Kings played Shell seven weeks ago–or when the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino Cup started–instead of last Sunday at the Big Dome, the Turbo Chargers would’ve probably won.

That’s because Ginebra is a team in transition. It’s still in the process of jelling. Chemistry remains a goal.

In the offseason, Caidic brought in a slew of newcomers–Romel Adducul, Sunday Salvacion, Aris Dimaunahan, Rob Johnson, and balik-Ginebra Alex Crisano. Breaking in five new players was no joke. It was like starting over. Gone were Jay-Jay Helterbrand (who opted to find a job in South Carolina rather than absorb a pay cut), James Wallkvist (still receiving a salary although he’s out of the lineup–he was recently spotted soaking in the sun at Boracay), Ronald Magtulis (recruited for San Miguel Beer’s touring goodwill team) and Wilmer Ong (moved to Sta. Lucia).

No doubt, Caidic has assembled a formidable cast. The holdovers are Eric Menk (who averaged 15.7 points and 12.7 rebounds in the previous All-Filipino Cup), Jun Limpot (eager to display his wares after sitting out 11 of 30 games due to injuries last year), Bal David (recently signed to a contract extension), 2001 Rookie of the Year Mark Caguioa, Elmer Lago, Banjo Calpito, Chester Tolomia, and Gilbert Malabanan. The challenge for Caidic was to make what looks good on paper, look good on the court.

Caidic himself says it’s too early to speculate on how the Kings will eventually do in the All-Filipino Cup. The jury’s still out. And Caidic is appealing to fans to hold off passing judgment.

Because Ginebra is the PBA’s traditional crowd darling, it’s not surprising that fans are impatient for results. But Caidic, who learned the coaching ropes from Ron Jacobs, isn’t a believer of quick fixes. He’d rather nurture his team until it’s good and ready for war.

In a way, the All-Filipino Cup format is a blessing for Ginebra. Caidic calls it "a learning experience." Only two teams–one from each group–will be scratched after the double round eliminations and the survivors advance to play only groupmates in a single round in the no-carryover quarterfinals. So, a team may lose a bundle in the eliminations and it won’t make a difference for as long as it finishes in the top four of its group.

So far, Ginebra has won four and lost seven. Tonight, it battles Talk ‘N’ Text in a grudge rematch at the Araneta Coliseum. The outcome of their initial encounter–a 122-117 double overtime win by Ginebra–last March 21 was nullified as PBA commissioner Noli Eala ordered a rematch because of a technicality involving the failure to count Asi Taulava’s buzzer beater in the first extension.

Ginebra is bracketed in Group B with Red Bull, Coca-Cola, Talk ‘N’ Text, and Shell.

Caidic says he’s in the same boat as Adducul who’s averaging 5.9 points and 8.4 rebounds a game in his PBA debut season. "Ang taas ng expectations kay Romel kasi MVP siya sa halos lahat ng mga ligang nalaruan niya," explains Caidic. "Sabi ko sa kanya, just play your game. It will come."

As for Caidic, he admits the pressure to win weighs heavily on his shoulders. The personnel build-up raised lofty expectations of instant success. Then, Ginebra got off to a fiery 2-0 start that raised expectations even more.

Caidic says at practice, he couldn’t ask more from his team. The Kings had workouts during the Holy Week break–on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday–to prepare for the Easter Sunday game against Shell.

"The guys practice hard–talagang obvious na they want to win, they’re committed and they’re determined," continues Caidic. "Kung minsan lang, nagkukulang kami sa execution during the game. We collapse in the end, nagiging tentative kami."

With so many take-charge guys in the lineup, sometimes the players themselves don’t know who should be the go-to player down the stretch. That’s something Caidic is working on.

"Every game, we’re learning, we’re getting better," notes Caidic. "Our consolation is we’re in the fight up to the end."

Ginebra hasn’t lost by more than eight points and its averaging losing margin is 5.3. In the Kings’ four wins, they’ve averaged 87.5 points so it’s clear that Caidic puts a premium on Ginebra’s strength–offense.

Against Shell, Caidic used a big lineup to start the contest. The idea was to exploit the Kings’ height advantage to dominate the boards and create mismatches, particularly on Eddie Laure. He also shuffled his players in and out of the court to preserve his key strikers for the stretch run. As a result, six Kings logged at least 25 minutes compared to only four from Shell.

Caidic’s plan worked like a charm. Laure couldn’t post up against Eric Menk and struggled all night, finishing with only four points. And the Kings didn’t need to double on Laure. Besides, the Kings’ plan was to stick to single coverage because doubling could leave shooters like Chris Calaguio, Ronald Tubid, and Dale Singson free to spot up. That’s why Shell struggled from the outside–Ginebra took away its good looks. For the record, Shell hit only 13.6 percent from three-point range that night.

Under the gun, Caidic proved his coaching mettle in leading Ginebra to the crucial win over Shell. It was sweet vindication for the Triggerman.

Caidic says he would’ve preferred to play Talk ‘N’ Text before or after May 11 when they’re scheduled to square off in the second round of eliminations. Ginebra takes on San Miguel Beer on May 7 and Red Bull on May 16. A perfect date for the rematch would’ve been May 13, a Tuesday.

Caidic explains because of last Sunday’s game, the Kings had to work double time to prepare for the grudge rematch tonight. "Shell is a small team kanya iba ang gameplan namin for Talk ‘N’ Text which has a big team," says Caidic. "Kung back-to-back yung games against Talk ‘N’ Text, we wouldn’t have to cram in preparing. Talk ‘N’ Text is not an easy opponent. It’s not just about stopping Asi and Jimmy (Alapag). They’ve also got weapons in (Mark) Telan and (Vic) Pablo."

Talk ‘N’ Text is fresher for tonight’s game than Ginebra. The Phone Pals are coming off a five-day rest.

But Caidic isn’t complaining. He would’ve liked the outcome of the first Talk ‘N’ Text game to stick but also didn’t complain when the PBA ordered a replay.

Ginebra and Talk ‘N’ Text are in the same group so the grudge rematch features an added dimension of rivalry.

Considering that Tuesday isn’t a regular PBA playing day and the rematch is a bonus of sorts for the fans, Commissioner Eala is opening the upper box section B virtually free to the public tonight. Fans who show proof of purchase of items related to a PBA team, Samsung or any establishment around the Big Dome will be allowed free to watch the game in the upper box section B. The promo is the PBA’s offering to the Filipino workforce in celebration of Labor Day.