Wednesday, November 14, 2007
PBA Season 33, Game 1: Ginebra vs. Red Bull Notes
para hindi Suns infested ang blog na ito, infest naman natin ng Ginebra. Original post is at http://carloricohermoso.net/blogView.php?id=524
Looking Back. There were two entirely different Ginebra teams that competed last PBA season. One was the power-house Philippine Cup champions led by its fil-am starting five of Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa, Rudy Hatfield, Eric Menk, and Rafi Reavis. They were followed by Romel Adducul (later traded), free agent Johnny Abarrientos, Ronald Tubid, Sunday Salvacion, Billy Mamaril, sophomores Mike Holper and Mark Macapagal, and Andy Seigle. Come Fiesta Conference time, all of the starting five were gone either to the national team, got injured, or left for personal reasons. The Ginebra bench, plus players such as Egay Echavez, Gec Chia, Rodney Santos, Paolo Hubalde, and import-do-it-all Rod Nealy did wonders for the team, which at one point rose to 9-2, before succumbing to the Alaska Aces and finishing 3rd place overall. The Ginebra boys of summer (the Fiesta Conference guys) weren't able to complete a grand slam of sorts for Ginebra when their real-all-filipino express were halted by the #6 seeded San Miguel squad (I can recall every moment leading to their defeat. huhu). The one thing that remained with Ginebra then was the classy coaching of Jong Uichico, anchored on pressing defense and free-flowing, run-and-gun offense. His coaching is so good that he made the summer guys into championship contenders (which was three points short off making it to the semis).
Moving Forward. Ginebra welcomes to its fold their national team members in Caguioa, Helterbrand (arguably the best point-guard in Asia), and the committed Menk. However, their stint came with a price as Caguioa injured his shoulder while Menk's calves got injured for the Nth time. In comes Gi-Raf-ee Reavis too, whose shoulder injury kept him out of the whole Fiesta Conference. Mainstays include juniors Macapagal and Holper, Sunday Salvacion, Johnny Abbarrientos, Billy Mamaril, and rising-Ginebra favorite Ronald Tubid. Gone are Egay Echavez (to Coca-cola) and Gec Chia, plus Andy Seigle (who tried out with Red Bull but tore his ACL again and finally called it quits) and Rodney Santos (released to the free agent market). Additions to the Ginebra squad are undrafted and free-agent JR Aquino, free agent Gilbert Lao, speedster Paul Artadi, and rookie draftee Macky Escalona.
From the looks of it, Ginebra's biggest hole came with Rudy Hatfield's departure. From the line-up, it seems that Holper is the closest guy who can play the way H-Bomb ruled the court. Ginebra's loaded with guards and becoming short of big men (they once had a surplus of them! Alaska, penge naman jan :P) On paper, Ginebra really seemed full of guards. There's four guys in Helterbrand, Escalona, Artadi, and Abarrientos sharing the point-guard spot. Then there's Tubid, Caguioa, and Macapagal on the two spot, with Salvacion and Aquino playing shooting guard or small-forward. That's nine guys on the guard/small forward spot, while five for the "big-men" positions. Seemed a little off-balance, me thinks.
But the game first. With Caguioa and Menk not in uniform in Ginebra's first game against Red Bull barako, Ginebra seemed to be looking for its identity once more. Good thing Rafi Reavis suited up. But there's no real powerful force inside the lane among Ginebra's big guys (Reavis, Holper, Lao) except for Billy Mamaril. It's a good thing though that identity-less Ginebra was going up against a rebuilding Barako team with quality players such as Cyrus Baguio, Carlo Sharma, Mick Pennisi, and Topex Robinson.
It's either Ginebra played a real good first quarter with fresh guard legs on rotation, while Red Bull seemingly was looking for its groove. There was Tubid coming off the bench and welcomed and applauded by Ginebra fans (fine, kasama ako dun) and the guy didn't disappoint as he shot three treys in the first quarter alone. Ginebra shot so good from outside, even Billy Mamaril's jumpers went in! The UE connection came into play also with Artadi and Tubid leading the Ginebra fastbreak. Or what about Artadi's wild lay-ups, Tubid's hang-time jump shot, and Macky Escalona's buzzer beating awkward layup?
Defense crumbles. The fortunes of the two teams were reversed: Ginebra lost their defense (talk about nakaw plays on an inbound, plus Topex Robinson's offensive rebounds) and offense (the long Ginebra drought), while Red Bull finally played their "committed" (hey, I watched the primer on Red Bull) defense, which turned Ginebra's misses into Cyrus Baguio fastbreak opportunities. Tubid, Salvacion, and Mamaril were in foul trouble, which forced Uichico to dig deeper into the Ginebra bench. Worst of all, free throw shooting. ARGH. Ginebra was a big let-down in the charity stripe, with Tubid (2-8 FTs) and Helterbrand (2-5) leading the miss-the-free-throw-contest. Tubid wasn't a factor anymore, while Cyrus Baguio made a mockery out of Ginebra's defense. How can Ginebra let Topex Robinson, the smallest guy in the PBA, get the offensive rebound and shoot two crucial putbacks? It's either Ginebra's short of intimidating big men, or they weren't doing their defensive assignments.
Hero. Mark Macapagal's career with Ginebra is a roller coaster one, in terms of his spot in Ginebra's rotation: from being the top guy in his rookie year (he used to start for Ginebra in that All-filipino team that was supposed to run naked in Baywalk), to finding himself deeper in the rotation in Tubid's arrival. He didn't enjoy that much minutes in the Fiesta Conference back in summer. After his 28 point production against Alaska back in October 2006 (I watched that! I watched that! Mark Macapagal for threeeee!), his path became a downhill one.
He didn't shoot that well in the first half, by the way. He kept on firing blanks from outside in the first half. In fact, prior to his biggest trey in the evening which reminded Ginebra guys of Pido Jarencio's fireman ways (pamatay sunog) against the Red Bull uprising, he was 0-8 from trey land. With Ginebra's offense going down the drain (how many 24 second violations?), Macapagal rose to the occasion by firing a crucial trey and deuce, while consistently sinking his free throws in the last few minutes of the match. His heroics saved Ginebra from being a victim of Red Bull's 2nd half comeback. Where would Ginebra go without him? I never lost faith in that guy.
Rookie Jitters?. The last time I saw Macky Escalona play, he fired 28 points in the UAAP (yes, let us not be reminded of that painful game again). Finally, he's donning a Ginebra jersey. Yey for me. Too bad though, Ginebra's so deep in its point-guard rotation that he only got to play in the last minute of the second and third quarter. Seems he's hesitant to take the shot that at one point he was so free from inside when he opted to pass the ball to Sunday Salvacion from outside. In another play, I thought he's finally getting the rats out of him by spinning around his defender in a fast break play, only to be foiled by Junthy Valenzuela. With Ginebra having four point guards, I don't see him getting major minutes anytime soon.
And many more. Unfortunately it's way really beyond bedtime now. Ginebra vs. TnT next. See you at the games!
I can hear the background music. "Everybodehh... rock your bodehh" (Ok, that was from the Backstreet Boys). Props to Virgil for the photo.
Looking Back. There were two entirely different Ginebra teams that competed last PBA season. One was the power-house Philippine Cup champions led by its fil-am starting five of Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa, Rudy Hatfield, Eric Menk, and Rafi Reavis. They were followed by Romel Adducul (later traded), free agent Johnny Abarrientos, Ronald Tubid, Sunday Salvacion, Billy Mamaril, sophomores Mike Holper and Mark Macapagal, and Andy Seigle. Come Fiesta Conference time, all of the starting five were gone either to the national team, got injured, or left for personal reasons. The Ginebra bench, plus players such as Egay Echavez, Gec Chia, Rodney Santos, Paolo Hubalde, and import-do-it-all Rod Nealy did wonders for the team, which at one point rose to 9-2, before succumbing to the Alaska Aces and finishing 3rd place overall. The Ginebra boys of summer (the Fiesta Conference guys) weren't able to complete a grand slam of sorts for Ginebra when their real-all-filipino express were halted by the #6 seeded San Miguel squad (I can recall every moment leading to their defeat. huhu). The one thing that remained with Ginebra then was the classy coaching of Jong Uichico, anchored on pressing defense and free-flowing, run-and-gun offense. His coaching is so good that he made the summer guys into championship contenders (which was three points short off making it to the semis).
Moving Forward. Ginebra welcomes to its fold their national team members in Caguioa, Helterbrand (arguably the best point-guard in Asia), and the committed Menk. However, their stint came with a price as Caguioa injured his shoulder while Menk's calves got injured for the Nth time. In comes Gi-Raf-ee Reavis too, whose shoulder injury kept him out of the whole Fiesta Conference. Mainstays include juniors Macapagal and Holper, Sunday Salvacion, Johnny Abbarrientos, Billy Mamaril, and rising-Ginebra favorite Ronald Tubid. Gone are Egay Echavez (to Coca-cola) and Gec Chia, plus Andy Seigle (who tried out with Red Bull but tore his ACL again and finally called it quits) and Rodney Santos (released to the free agent market). Additions to the Ginebra squad are undrafted and free-agent JR Aquino, free agent Gilbert Lao, speedster Paul Artadi, and rookie draftee Macky Escalona.
New Blood. Left-Right: Paul Artadi. Still couldn't make those lay-ups.
JR Aquino. I don't know if he's better than Gec Chia or not. The difference is, they came from the opposite sides of the world in their collegiate career, pero I don't care anyway. Ginebra 'to pare.
Gilbert Lao. A journey man hoping to finally settle with Ginebra. Might be earning less than what Andy Seigle earned, but is effective as Andy Seigle in the twilight of his career. Props to Virgil for the photo.
JR Aquino. I don't know if he's better than Gec Chia or not. The difference is, they came from the opposite sides of the world in their collegiate career, pero I don't care anyway. Ginebra 'to pare.
Gilbert Lao. A journey man hoping to finally settle with Ginebra. Might be earning less than what Andy Seigle earned, but is effective as Andy Seigle in the twilight of his career. Props to Virgil for the photo.
Jayjay Helterbrand. Still the same old guy that glues Ginebra's offense together. Mr. 14-7-7 (points-rebounds-assists). Great point guard. Great hair too. Leading the way for Ginebra's point-guard TEAM (they're four). Props to Virgil for the photo.
From the looks of it, Ginebra's biggest hole came with Rudy Hatfield's departure. From the line-up, it seems that Holper is the closest guy who can play the way H-Bomb ruled the court. Ginebra's loaded with guards and becoming short of big men (they once had a surplus of them! Alaska, penge naman jan :P) On paper, Ginebra really seemed full of guards. There's four guys in Helterbrand, Escalona, Artadi, and Abarrientos sharing the point-guard spot. Then there's Tubid, Caguioa, and Macapagal on the two spot, with Salvacion and Aquino playing shooting guard or small-forward. That's nine guys on the guard/small forward spot, while five for the "big-men" positions. Seemed a little off-balance, me thinks.
But the game first. With Caguioa and Menk not in uniform in Ginebra's first game against Red Bull barako, Ginebra seemed to be looking for its identity once more. Good thing Rafi Reavis suited up. But there's no real powerful force inside the lane among Ginebra's big guys (Reavis, Holper, Lao) except for Billy Mamaril. It's a good thing though that identity-less Ginebra was going up against a rebuilding Barako team with quality players such as Cyrus Baguio, Carlo Sharma, Mick Pennisi, and Topex Robinson.
Ronald Tubid. Ginebra fans love him now! Man, you just have to hear the applause when he entered the court from the bench for the first time. All Ginebra fans missed his antics, his wild drives and hang-time moves, his emphatic rebounds (with matching elbows or butt shoving), or his sharp treys (with a matching crucifix). Props to Virgil for the photo.
It's either Ginebra played a real good first quarter with fresh guard legs on rotation, while Red Bull seemingly was looking for its groove. There was Tubid coming off the bench and welcomed and applauded by Ginebra fans (fine, kasama ako dun) and the guy didn't disappoint as he shot three treys in the first quarter alone. Ginebra shot so good from outside, even Billy Mamaril's jumpers went in! The UE connection came into play also with Artadi and Tubid leading the Ginebra fastbreak. Or what about Artadi's wild lay-ups, Tubid's hang-time jump shot, and Macky Escalona's buzzer beating awkward layup?
Defense crumbles. The fortunes of the two teams were reversed: Ginebra lost their defense (talk about nakaw plays on an inbound, plus Topex Robinson's offensive rebounds) and offense (the long Ginebra drought), while Red Bull finally played their "committed" (hey, I watched the primer on Red Bull) defense, which turned Ginebra's misses into Cyrus Baguio fastbreak opportunities. Tubid, Salvacion, and Mamaril were in foul trouble, which forced Uichico to dig deeper into the Ginebra bench. Worst of all, free throw shooting. ARGH. Ginebra was a big let-down in the charity stripe, with Tubid (2-8 FTs) and Helterbrand (2-5) leading the miss-the-free-throw-contest. Tubid wasn't a factor anymore, while Cyrus Baguio made a mockery out of Ginebra's defense. How can Ginebra let Topex Robinson, the smallest guy in the PBA, get the offensive rebound and shoot two crucial putbacks? It's either Ginebra's short of intimidating big men, or they weren't doing their defensive assignments.
Hero. Mark Macapagal's career with Ginebra is a roller coaster one, in terms of his spot in Ginebra's rotation: from being the top guy in his rookie year (he used to start for Ginebra in that All-filipino team that was supposed to run naked in Baywalk), to finding himself deeper in the rotation in Tubid's arrival. He didn't enjoy that much minutes in the Fiesta Conference back in summer. After his 28 point production against Alaska back in October 2006 (I watched that! I watched that! Mark Macapagal for threeeee!), his path became a downhill one.
Mark Macapagal.Redefining Mr. Clutch. Never lost my trust in this guy ever since he wore that red and white jersey. Props to Virgil for the photo.
He didn't shoot that well in the first half, by the way. He kept on firing blanks from outside in the first half. In fact, prior to his biggest trey in the evening which reminded Ginebra guys of Pido Jarencio's fireman ways (pamatay sunog) against the Red Bull uprising, he was 0-8 from trey land. With Ginebra's offense going down the drain (how many 24 second violations?), Macapagal rose to the occasion by firing a crucial trey and deuce, while consistently sinking his free throws in the last few minutes of the match. His heroics saved Ginebra from being a victim of Red Bull's 2nd half comeback. Where would Ginebra go without him? I never lost faith in that guy.
Rookie Jitters?. The last time I saw Macky Escalona play, he fired 28 points in the UAAP (yes, let us not be reminded of that painful game again). Finally, he's donning a Ginebra jersey. Yey for me. Too bad though, Ginebra's so deep in its point-guard rotation that he only got to play in the last minute of the second and third quarter. Seems he's hesitant to take the shot that at one point he was so free from inside when he opted to pass the ball to Sunday Salvacion from outside. In another play, I thought he's finally getting the rats out of him by spinning around his defender in a fast break play, only to be foiled by Junthy Valenzuela. With Ginebra having four point guards, I don't see him getting major minutes anytime soon.
Macky Escalona. What a way to start your first ever rookie game in the PBA by entering the court 30 seconds into halftime and managing to beat the buzzer with his familiar awkward looking looper lay-up. His only field goal in the game.
And many more. Unfortunately it's way really beyond bedtime now. Ginebra vs. TnT next. See you at the games!
