MANILA, Philippines — They call it small ball basketball.
It works in the NBA as best exemplified by the Golden State Warriors, and it has also produced result in the PBA courtesy of newly crowned Governors Cup champs the Magnolia Hotshots.
Minus a player in the mold of a Fajardo or a Slaughter, the Hotshots unleashed their small, pesky crew playing an up-tempo game and a spread-out pressing defense resulting to a successful title run in the final conference of PBA Season 43.
They posted a solid 8-3 record in the elims, then got past the Blackwater Elite, the Ginebra Kings and the Alaska Aces in the playoffs to nail a first win in the post-Tim Cone era.
They’re a hungry wolf pack Wednesday night as they devoured the Aces, 102-86, to end their best-of-seven series in six games at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
It’s the 14th title in all for the Purefoods franchise but the first without a dominant big man, and it’s a surprise coming in the current era of behemoths June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter.
“We don’t have a Fajardo or Slaughter. You can’t beat them playing their game and you have to find other ways to have a chance at beating them. That’s what we did,” said Magnolia team manager Alvin Patrimonio.
“It’s not an overnight success. It’s a long process,” said coach Chito Victolero in adopting a new system that on Wednesday night ended the monotonous championship runs of teams built around dominant big men.
Instead, Magnolia put into fore the rah-rah-rah game of its small but quick unit led by Mark Barroca, Paul Lee and Jio Jalalon.
Adapting well into the run-and-gun and pace-and-space system of Victolero is import Romeo Travis.
Minus the Patrimonios, the Codiñeras and the Raymundos in their current lineup, the Hotshots sacrificed physical strength and low-post offense for speed, hustles and agility.
“Takbuhan and outside shooting. Walang poste-poste. May influence yan from NBA,” said Patrimonio, a great post operator leading the team to six championships during his time.
They were put into a tough test in the finale when pitted against a rival playing the same brand of basketball.
But in the end, they proved they’re made of sterner stuff, and went on to end the franchise’s four-year title drought.