Sports: PBA-NO SEMIS PREDICTIONS

NO SEMIS PREDICTIONS

It was a quick end to the quarterfinals as both Alaska and Red Bull swept their opponents.  All seeded teams advanced in stark contrast to the wildcard wherein no seeded team picked up a victory.  It continues to be an unpredictable season so far, so don’t dare ask me to predict who’s going to make it to the Finals.

STA. LUCIA vs. ALASKA

STORY

Sta. Lucia has been the surprise team of the Smart Philippine Cup racking together eight straight victories on their way to their first outright semis berth (in this format).  The mixture of youth and veterans finally came together for a franchise that has had a Top 3 pick in the last three years.

Alaska, on the other hand, looks to ride on the confidence of winning the previous Fiesta Conference and get back into the Finals of the Philippine Cup.  No surprises for Alaska, as it has been another stellar conference for Willie Miller who just picked up his second MVP trophy.  Even with the loss of Nic Belasco, new Aces have been pulled out of the deck (Reynel Hugnatan/John Ferriols).

Curiously, Alaska was dominated and unable to beat SLR in the eliminations.  The same has been untrue in the past years wherein SLR has only had one winning season against Alaska in the past 15 years, or since the Realtors entered the league in 1993.

OFFENSE

Alaska seems to have no problem with this area as they have proven that they can both setup and run the break with the same dexterity.  One thing you should know is when the playoffs arrive, there is more pressure on your halfcourt game as teams are more keen in giving away cheap fastbreaks.  That might be a problem for SLR as they have gotten much of their points from running in the elims.  Don’t get me wrong, the halfcourt game of SLR is good…but it has yet to be proven if it can withstand the test of a 7-game series wherein each move is scrutinized by four (that includes assistants) opposing coaches to find weaknesses within the set.  Alaska, with their triangle (and occasional Miller/Cortez isolations), have been tested over and over again!

DEFENSE

Sta. Lucia is the more athletic team (been a while since we said that), and look for them to force Alaska into making mistakes.  Much tougher than it sounds, since you’re looking a team that has loads of experience in their hands.  Although tough, that is Sta. Lucia’s identity during the elims and they were able to handle Alaska’s offense in winning their two elimination games.  Alaska’s biggest problem on defense should be on transition.  With so many Realtors inclined to pushing the ball up, Alaska’s lineup up and down the order are expected to get down quickly defensively.

INTANGIBLES

The biggest key to this series should be experience.  Alaska, with players loaded with semifinal and Finals experience, plays a team with only four players (Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino, Paolo Mendoza and Norman Gonzales) who have gone to the semifinals let alone a Finals.  It will be a test of a young, up and coming coach against Tim Cone and his loads of championship experience.  The bigger test will definitely be on SLR and their young guns, as people will see how they react to a series with so much on the line.

PUREFOODS vs. RED BULL

STORY

Two teams who dominated the 2005-’06 season, Purefoods and Red Bull square off once again in a best-of-seven series, but this time, it’s to make the Finals and not for the championship.  A lot of key personnel are back for both teams from their wars of two seasons back but there are much less for Red Bull.  The top two players of that season for the Barakos are now gone (Lordy Tugade-Rico Villanueva) but it seems for Red Bull…less is more!  A bit of a surprise to some, coach Yeng Guiao (again!) has been able to find key players, within the team, to make his crew overachieve once more.

Purefoods was the biggest story to start the campaign putting together seven straight wins, which was ironically ended by Red Bull.  A team able to pick up players the past 12 months to fill holes that surfaced after their championship run, Purefoods’ identity remains the same but now with better fits to the system of coach Ryan Gregorio.  It remains a team fueled by the offense of James Yap and Kerby Raymundo but built on the defense played by the entire team.

OFFENSE

Purefoods has been led by the Yap and Raymundo tandem once again, in offense.  With the occasional flashes of brilliance of their energy guys (Peter June Simon, rookie Chico Lanete and Marc Pingris), this is a team that runs it’s offense quite patiently, many times running the shotclock to the final seconds.  Not great at moving the ball, the Giants’ top assist man is Raymundo.  On the flip side, Red Bull just can’t wait to put the ball in the basket.  Especially when Cyrus Baguio is on the court, the team looks to run regardless if it is a made or missed basket.  One of the quickest teams in setting up their offense, it involves quite a bit of people and ball movement.  The biggest attraction offensively should be the Bagiuo and Yap show. 

DEFENSE

The top two teams at making you miss.  Not really much to break them apart except for the fact that Purefoods is a much better rebounding team than Red Bull. The Giants’ defense will be tested on both their halfcourt and transition defense while the Barakos’ defense will be tested greatly on putting together a full 24 seconds worth of defense on the halfcourt set.  Both teams have what it takes to win and it shows with what they do defensively.

INTANGIBLES

Just like the other series, it seems that there are more players of Purefoods that are accustomed to the glare of big-time playoff basketball.  Sure, a majority of the players of Red Bull have been there but most of them did not have to play major roles in their previous playoff runs.  Experience and composure should tilt “slightly” in favor of the Giants, in this case.  But that is just part of the story, I think the biggest intangible is who will be able to keep their cool and their head in the ballgame.  Expect a tough and physical series as we have seen in their past games (read: Carlo Sharma vs. Jondan Salvador). The winner won’t be decided by who bullies who but rather who is able to play their game regardless of the physicality.

Source: www.pba.ph