Derrick Pumaren is not likely to change his ways today when he faces — on the other side of the court — his young coaching rival Jong Uichico and his San Miguel wards at the start of the championship series for the PBA Governors Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
And he relishes the challenge of coaching in the finals again.
"I’m pretty excited about it. Personally, it’s nice to be back after being frustrated by Alaska in the All-Filipino," said Pumaren.
Purefoods pierced the All-Filipino title wars early this year but was flushed out by the Aces in a backdoor sweep. The Hotdogs won Game One and lost the next four games.
But that was then. This is now.
While Purefoods, the last time out, reached the finals on a technicality — because of Tanduay's disqualification — this time, it is in the finals on its own merit.
Purefoods clinched the last slot of the top four and ousted Alaska in the quarterfinals via sudden death. Then, the Hotdogs snapped the dial tone out of Mobiline in the semifinals via a 3-1 series victory.
Now, only one team stands between Pumaren and a Merry Christmas.
The defending champions no less. If only for the fact that Purefoods beat San Miguel in the one game that both teams played in the eliminations, the Hotdogs are slightly favored in the classic, old school matchup. But San Miguel kicked out Tanduay and Red Bull in the playoffs, two teams which defeated the Beermen also in the eliminations. And besides, Pumaren knows this is a brand new ballgame.
"Ibang San Miguel ang naglalaro ngayon. This is not the same team we faced in the eliminations, the one that encountered a bit of rough sailing. This is a different team, a tougher one," said Pumaren.
And though the San Miguel camp has characteristically slipped on the underdog mask, Pumaren is not fooled. He knows he will have his share of problems.
"We are pretty much worried about the post game of the two Dannys (Ildefonso and Seigle). San Miguel will do to them a lot, we know that. They rely on mismatches and they know what to do when they’re doubled. They are very fluid with their offense," he explained.
"Lamont Strothers also poses a problem because he can explode at any given time. You cannot count him out even if he shoots bad for most of the game. If we can control that, we can stretch the series to seven games," added Pumaren.
"And that seventh game will be historic for the leagues as it will be the first played on a Christmas day. And the series indeed goes the full route and if Purefoods wins it, it will also be historic for Pumaren, who hasn’t won a title since steering Swift to back-to-back titles in 1996.