First to the finals

Depending on the outcome of Game 6 of the Magnolia-NLEX semifinals last night, the PBA Philippine Cup finals will begin either this Friday or Sunday. If Magnolia won, San Miguel Beer will enjoy a five-day rest before returning to action on Friday. If NLEX won, the Beermen will extend their rest to seven days as Game 7 of the Magnolia series will be on Thursday.

After San Miguel disposed of Barangay Ginebra in their own semifinals last Saturday, coach Leo Austria gave the Beermen a two-day break before reporting back to practice yesterday morning. The rest before the finals was a welcome respite for San Miguel. “Since our game against TNT in the quarterfinals (last March 6), it’s been everyday basketball for us – if not practice then game,” said Austria. 

The rest will benefit guard Chris Ross in particular. He strained his right thigh in Game 3 of the Ginebra semifinals and sat out the second half. In Game 4, Ross wasn’t supposed to see action but pleaded with Austria to send him in even for a few minutes to test his ability to play through pain. Ross logged 8:47 minutes off the bench and scored 11 points in San Miguel’s 102-81 win last Thursday. It was the first game this conference where Ross didn’t start.

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In the Game 5 clincher last Saturday, Ross played 16:51 minutes and compiled five points, one rebound and one assist, once more as a reliever. Austria held back from playing Ross his usual minutes. In the eliminations, Ross averaged 35.1 minutes, one of five Beermen to log at least 35 minutes an outing. The others were Marcio Lassiter 37.8, Arwind Santos 37.7, JuneMar Fajardo 36.9 and Alex Cabagnot 35.4.

With Ross not 100 percent, Austria started Matt Ganuelas Rosser instead and reconfigured his starting lineup for the last two Ginebra contests. Cabagnot moved from offguard to point guard while MGR checked in at either offguard or three switching with Lassiter, Santos at four and Fajardo at five. MGR normed 6.0 points and 21.8 minutes in the eliminations but in the last two Ginebra semifinal outings, his exposure zoomed to an average of 36 with a 13-point clip.

Whether Ross will return as a starter or not for the finals depends on his condition. If he’s not 100 percent, MGR will continue to start. In the Ginebra series, Austria said MGR was a perfect fit. “Ginebra played three bigs so with Matt as a starter in place of Chris, we were able to match up,” he said. “In a sense, it was a blessing in disguise. We needed a big three and Matt was our answer. In high school, he played point guard so he has the ability to play one, two and three. If the other team plays small, we can even put him at four. At three, he can match up against Troy Rosario and Joe De Vance. He’s very hardworking and athletic. He can dribble, pass and the most important thing is, he can defend, that’s No. 1. He’s working on his shooting and it’s something he will improve on. He’s showing more and more confidence. With my instructions, he goes to the spot where he is most effective in offense. Against Ginebra, they doubled off Matt so he got easy baskets under the goal because of his ability to move without the ball.”

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Team manager Gee Abanilla said the two-day break was enough time to recover and heal the players bodies. “Definitely, Matt and Gabby (Espinas) are giving us extra depth, especially Matt whom we can utilize in multiple positions,” he said. Espinas underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean up his knee two weeks before the start of the Philippine Cup and sat out the first nine games before suiting up late in the eliminations.

“Gabby’s not yet 100 percent,” said Austria. “He’s the ideal reliever for Arwind at four. He’s still working on his timing but he’ll be ready for the Finals.” Espinas has played in San Miguel’s last eight games, averaging 3.5 points.

San Miguel has made it to the playoffs in nine of 10 conferences under Austria, making it to six Finals. The Beermen are unbeaten in five Finals since Austria piloted the team to its first of three consecutive Philippine Cup crowns in 2014-15. The only conference where Austria failed to take San Miguel to the playoffs was in the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup. Before Austria took over, San Miguel had only two Final Four appearances in the previous two seasons so his arrival has clearly reversed the franchise’s fortunes.