Never say die

Surviving two potential clinchers has rewarded Barangay Ginebra with a chance to close out Alaska in Game 5 of their PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-five quarterfinal series at the Araneta Coliseum tonight.

But while coach Joseph Uichico’s charges are all fired up with momentum on their side, you can’t count out the Aces. Alaska coach Tim Cone has been there and done that. He’s the PBA’s Phil Jackson without the two-finger whistle in the mouth. Cone never panics – the problem is his players sometimes do.

It’s difficult not to get rattled when you’re up against the crowd darlings. In Game 4 at the Cuneta Astrodome last Friday, the Aces couldn’t consistently break down Ginebra’s collapsing zone defense and crumbled under pressure. Down the stretch, they lapsed into crucial turnovers that killed their chances of avoiding a Game 5.

Despite another listless performance by import Chris Daniels, Ginebra managed to stave off elimination and won, 94-90. The Kings did it by working hard on both ends. The zone took care of the stops and the outside gunners sealed the deal.

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Alaska had more rebounds, 47-41, but committed 21 turnovers to Ginebra’s 12 resulting in the Kings taking 14 more field goal attempts because of the extra possessions. Usually poised in the line of fire, Alaska blinked and wound up with an unfavorable assist-to-turnover ratio of 20:21 compared to Ginebra’s 22:12. The other stat that went Ginebra’s way was three-point shooting where the Kings shot 11-of-26 to Alaska’s 5-of-17 with the difference accounting for 18 points or the equivalent of six triples, negating the Aces’ 10 point margin in free throw conversions.

Jay-Jay Helterbrand carried Ginebra to victory, compiling 12 points and four assists in 33 minutes. He blanked L. A. Tenorio in the fourth period after the former Ateneo star had scored 14 in the previous quarters. Ronald Tubid also did his part in defense, shutting down Cyrus Baguio in the payoff period.

Diamon Simpson was almost unstoppable all night long. But too many touches for the import took away the locals’ rhythm. He scored 10 of Alaska’s 22 points in the final period – not enough to deny Ginebra a win.

In Ginebra’s 12 victories so far this conference, the Kings averaged 100.6 points with a low of 91 and a high of 115. In the Kings’ 11 losses, they averaged only 84.1. The figures show that Ginebra thrives in a high-scoring game – the Kings haven’t won a game where they hit less than 90.

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Ginebra’s constant switching from zone to man has wrought havoc on Alaska’s offensive patterns. The Aces don’t usually take too many three-point shots but against the zone, they’ve taken far more than what is tolerable. In Games 1 and 2 which Alaska won, they averaged only 10.5 attempts from three-point distance. In Games 3 and 4 which Alaska lost, the Aces averaged 18.5 – meaning Ginebra forced the Aces to play out of their comfort range.

In Games 3 and 4, Uichico kept Alaska off-balance by starting small with a three-guard formation then moving J. C. Intal or Sunday Salvacion at the three spot to neutralize Joe DeVance. Intal was the main beneficiary of the adjustment, firing 20 points in Game 3 and 12 in Game 4.

Despite the momentum swing, Alaska is favored to take Game 5 because Cone should’ve been able to figure out how to beat the zone by now. Simpson is also far superior to Daniels and that advantage is crucial.

The other quarterfinal duel between Rain Or Shine and B-Meg is similarly a winner-take-all affair. Derby Ace crushed the Elasto Painters, 92-78, in Game 4 last Friday to arrange the clincher.

Rod Nealy will suit up for Rain Or Shine in what could be his final game this conference. He’s set to fly to Las Vegas for the Korean league tryouts tomorrow. If Rain Or Shine makes it to the semis, Nealy won’t be available for Game 1 on Wednesday and possibly, Game 2 on Friday because the Las Vegas camp is three days long. The word is coach Caloy Garcia has a standby back-up but will keep the window open for Nealy if he decides to return.

Postscript. There’s a coffee-table book that’s being produced by Sports Press Photographers Association of the Philippines founding father Mon Vecina and other crack photojournalists. It’s called “Sports Eye.” The theme will depict the Filipino athlete’s heroic campaigns in the Olympics, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games and other major international events with a focus on the exploits of Lydia de Vega, Onyok Velasco, Eric Buhain, Efren (Bata) Reyes, Stephen Fernandez, Tac Padilla, Paeng Nepomuceno, Manny Pacquiao and many, many more. Photo essays on the UAAP, NCAA, MICAA, PBL, PBA and other leagues will also be featured. The book is what every Filipino sports fan must have in his library and there’s no more talented photojournalist to put it together than Vecina, the POC Olympism awardee for sports photography.