By: Jason Webb
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
In one of the more unexpected playoffs to date, no top-seeded team won a game in the wildcard. Who would’ve guessed the results we had, given the caliber of two of the teams that were eliminated! In the first round of the wildcards, pre-conference favorite Talk ‘N Text, the No. 6-seed bowed to ninth-ranked Coca-Cola while defending champion Barangay Ginebra, which was No. 7 after the elims, fell to eighth-seeded Air21. And just last Sunday, the Tigers, the lowest ranked wildcard team, booked themselves the final quarterfinal spot with a win against the Express. It’s been that kind of season so far. Surprises aplenty!
The quarterfinals isn’t expected to be any different.
NO. 3 ALASKA vs. No. 9 COCA-COLA
After missing the last semifinal slot, Alaska looks to stop the continued advance of the lower seeds. Alaska, a team considered to be a championship-challenger squad, faces a team that no one would’ve penciled in for the quarterfinals after the first round of the eliminations. Coke has yet to beat Alaska this season but don’t think this should weigh heavily on the minds of both teams.
The quarterfinals isn’t expected to be any different.
NO. 3 ALASKA vs. No. 9 COCA-COLA
After missing the last semifinal slot, Alaska looks to stop the continued advance of the lower seeds. Alaska, a team considered to be a championship-challenger squad, faces a team that no one would’ve penciled in for the quarterfinals after the first round of the eliminations. Coke has yet to beat Alaska this season but don’t think this should weigh heavily on the minds of both teams.
ALASKA
No letting up after winning last season’s Fiesta Conference. With a slight shakeup in their lineup (JunJun Cabatu for Nic Belasco) and an addition of a couple of rookies, Alaska seems to just keep rolling along. A team that seems to just know how to win, they never grabbed too much headlines on their way to the third best record in the conference. It has continued to be the old reliables for Alaska, with Willie Miller leading the guard charge. The biggest improvement for the team seems to be the improvement of the play of their big men (even with the loss of Belasco). The games of Reynel Hugnatan, John Ferriols and Sonny Thoss in the Philippine Cup have become one of their catalysts for their solid elimination round performance.
COCA-COLA
The surprise team of the second round of the eliminations as well as the wildcard, everyone by now knows the story. After winning just one game in their first eight, the Tigers pick up Asi Taulava via a trade and all of a sudden their fortunes change and now they’re in the quarterfinals. But that is not just the story here. The biggest improvement of Coke has been its ability to defend of late. Just look at the wildcard wherein they held Talk ‘N Text, the conference’s highest scoring team, to 73 points and kept Air21 at 102 (after Air21 previously had 119 against Barangay Ginebra). The team is undefeated when it keeps opponents under 100 in this early Asi era. This is a ball-control team, which uses the Asi threat at the post and is very selective with its fastbreak opportunities.
SERIES
No need to bring your seat belt for this series cause we should see quite methodical games (except for a few Miller or Ronjay Buenafe fastbreaks). With that in mind, half-court defense should be at a premium. And as things go, the Best Player of the Conference “may” (and I say “MAY!”) come from the winner of the series, Asi-Coke or Miller-Alaska. Their teams will be leaning greatly on the former MVPs (especially Coke) even with sound basketball systems intact. It will be a test of a triangle offense led by Willie and a ball-control post-up team led by Asi. In the end, it might not just be about them but a test of how good these two will be able to make their teammates better, without compromising their system.
NO. 4 RED BULL vs. NO. 5 MAGNOLIA
Here is match-up of a couple of teams that made it into the quarterfinals with opposite reviews. You have Red Bull which many believed, at the start of the conference, was supposed to struggle past the wildcard but in turn easily made it into the quarterfinals and even challenged for a semifinal slot. And on the other, Magnolia, a pre-conference Finals pick, which made it into the quarterfinals by the skin of its teeth. Regardless of how they got here, this will mark another match-up of teams that have gotten in each other’s face quite a number of times and each time they’ve met in a series, it has been quite a treat for PBA fans.
RED BULL
Red Bull has done an excellent job at staying within their strengths and sticking to their system. They have continued to find gems within players that other teams were unable to find something out of (Mike Hrabak and Carlo Sharma). One of the surprises of the eliminations (the other being Sta. Lucia), Red Bull’s lineup may have had some key losses along the way (trades, injuries, suspensions) but the results continue to be the same. This is a team that plays with so much confidence, as head coach Yeng Guiao has continued to find a way to make his team believe in “everything” he preaches.
MAGNOLIA
It was a testy conference for a team with an abundance of talent. I really felt that the Beverage Masters tried to find their identity during the conference, and through 18 elimination games I still wonder if they were able to do so. Of course, talent is one thing but getting them to jell together is just tougher than expected. A strange thing considered the good mix of veterans, youth and coaching that the team possesses. Up to now, everyone still seems to be waiting for them to come out of their shell. Maybe the off time before the quarterfinals was the break they needed to get them going. And this series against their former team for three of Magnolia’s key players (Rico Villanueva, Lordy Tugade and Larry Fonacier) might just motivate them to live up to the very reasons why they were acquired.
SERIES
Two teams that state the case of offense against defense -- Red Bull does a solid job of making teams miss (second behind Purefoods); Magnolia, on the other hand, is one of the better shooting and scoring teams in the league. It is a given that the Beverage Masters can score, what is critical for them in this series, is to prove to the Barakos that they also can defend. Magnolia seems to have the better tools but finding the five players that will give them the best combination of defensive and offensive presence will still be the biggest test for head coach Siot Tanquingcen. Red Bull will undoubtedly stick to its unpredictability system and run early its offense and try to put pressure on the transition defense of Magnolia. Look for Cyrus Baguio to often spearhead their fastbreak with Mick Pennisi and Hrabak trailing for open threes. The aggressiveness of Red Bull, I think, will be a given specially playing against Villanueva and company. Now, it will be up to Magnolia to match that intensity level of Red Bull on both ends of the court. Although, we know Magnolia is a team loaded individually, for this series, it should go down to which squad can play better team ball.
No letting up after winning last season’s Fiesta Conference. With a slight shakeup in their lineup (JunJun Cabatu for Nic Belasco) and an addition of a couple of rookies, Alaska seems to just keep rolling along. A team that seems to just know how to win, they never grabbed too much headlines on their way to the third best record in the conference. It has continued to be the old reliables for Alaska, with Willie Miller leading the guard charge. The biggest improvement for the team seems to be the improvement of the play of their big men (even with the loss of Belasco). The games of Reynel Hugnatan, John Ferriols and Sonny Thoss in the Philippine Cup have become one of their catalysts for their solid elimination round performance.
COCA-COLA
The surprise team of the second round of the eliminations as well as the wildcard, everyone by now knows the story. After winning just one game in their first eight, the Tigers pick up Asi Taulava via a trade and all of a sudden their fortunes change and now they’re in the quarterfinals. But that is not just the story here. The biggest improvement of Coke has been its ability to defend of late. Just look at the wildcard wherein they held Talk ‘N Text, the conference’s highest scoring team, to 73 points and kept Air21 at 102 (after Air21 previously had 119 against Barangay Ginebra). The team is undefeated when it keeps opponents under 100 in this early Asi era. This is a ball-control team, which uses the Asi threat at the post and is very selective with its fastbreak opportunities.
SERIES
No need to bring your seat belt for this series cause we should see quite methodical games (except for a few Miller or Ronjay Buenafe fastbreaks). With that in mind, half-court defense should be at a premium. And as things go, the Best Player of the Conference “may” (and I say “MAY!”) come from the winner of the series, Asi-Coke or Miller-Alaska. Their teams will be leaning greatly on the former MVPs (especially Coke) even with sound basketball systems intact. It will be a test of a triangle offense led by Willie and a ball-control post-up team led by Asi. In the end, it might not just be about them but a test of how good these two will be able to make their teammates better, without compromising their system.
NO. 4 RED BULL vs. NO. 5 MAGNOLIA
Here is match-up of a couple of teams that made it into the quarterfinals with opposite reviews. You have Red Bull which many believed, at the start of the conference, was supposed to struggle past the wildcard but in turn easily made it into the quarterfinals and even challenged for a semifinal slot. And on the other, Magnolia, a pre-conference Finals pick, which made it into the quarterfinals by the skin of its teeth. Regardless of how they got here, this will mark another match-up of teams that have gotten in each other’s face quite a number of times and each time they’ve met in a series, it has been quite a treat for PBA fans.
RED BULL
Red Bull has done an excellent job at staying within their strengths and sticking to their system. They have continued to find gems within players that other teams were unable to find something out of (Mike Hrabak and Carlo Sharma). One of the surprises of the eliminations (the other being Sta. Lucia), Red Bull’s lineup may have had some key losses along the way (trades, injuries, suspensions) but the results continue to be the same. This is a team that plays with so much confidence, as head coach Yeng Guiao has continued to find a way to make his team believe in “everything” he preaches.
MAGNOLIA
It was a testy conference for a team with an abundance of talent. I really felt that the Beverage Masters tried to find their identity during the conference, and through 18 elimination games I still wonder if they were able to do so. Of course, talent is one thing but getting them to jell together is just tougher than expected. A strange thing considered the good mix of veterans, youth and coaching that the team possesses. Up to now, everyone still seems to be waiting for them to come out of their shell. Maybe the off time before the quarterfinals was the break they needed to get them going. And this series against their former team for three of Magnolia’s key players (Rico Villanueva, Lordy Tugade and Larry Fonacier) might just motivate them to live up to the very reasons why they were acquired.
SERIES
Two teams that state the case of offense against defense -- Red Bull does a solid job of making teams miss (second behind Purefoods); Magnolia, on the other hand, is one of the better shooting and scoring teams in the league. It is a given that the Beverage Masters can score, what is critical for them in this series, is to prove to the Barakos that they also can defend. Magnolia seems to have the better tools but finding the five players that will give them the best combination of defensive and offensive presence will still be the biggest test for head coach Siot Tanquingcen. Red Bull will undoubtedly stick to its unpredictability system and run early its offense and try to put pressure on the transition defense of Magnolia. Look for Cyrus Baguio to often spearhead their fastbreak with Mick Pennisi and Hrabak trailing for open threes. The aggressiveness of Red Bull, I think, will be a given specially playing against Villanueva and company. Now, it will be up to Magnolia to match that intensity level of Red Bull on both ends of the court. Although, we know Magnolia is a team loaded individually, for this series, it should go down to which squad can play better team ball.
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