Destiny vs experience

The NCAA Finals opens today at the Araneta Coliseum with San Beda College having steamrolled through most of the competition, while Philippine Christian University, the 2004 champion, came from behind to claim the second slot.

In the first round, San Beda, parading a powerhouse line-up reinforced by recruits promoted from their successful Red Cubs squad, was monstrous. In addition, they recruited 6’8" Nigerian scholastic Sam Ekwe, who has led the league in rebounds and blocked shots. Their lone defeat in the entire 14-game eliminations, though, came at the hands of PCU. Leading throughout the game, the Red Lions sat back and starting bombing away from the outside, and the long rebounds gave the greyhounds of PCU plenty of opportunities to run them into the ground.

The one asterisk to that win by the Dolphins, however, is that head coach Koy Banal was absent, attending to his duties as assistant coach of the Purefoods Chunkee Giants.

In the second round rematch, the Red Lions came through, with veteran forward Yousif Aljamal hitting from the perimeter, and the bench providing great support. San Beda finished the eliminations with an impressive 13-1 card.

PCU, meanwhile, hit its peak rather late in the eliminations, sometimes playing to the level of the competition. The Dolphins finished the two rounds with a 10-4 record, and watched as defending champion Letran was unable to stay ahead of them, ending with a similar record. In the playoff on September 8, PCU simply had too much material, defeating the Knights and earning a twice-to-beat advantage. Last Wednesday, PCU showed Letran the door, thanks to a big second quarter by guard Robby David, and 16 points and 14 rebounds from center Gabby Espinas.

What advantage will each team have doing into the finals?

Experience. This is the third straight year that PCU has made it to the NCAA Finals, and the farewell appearance of former MVP Espinas. Rookie head coach Joel Dualan believes that this will be their edge, since his team has come back strong even after losing starters Rob Sanz, JR Retaga and Joel Solis after last season. Remember that, in the active line-up of San Beda, starters Pong Escobal and Ekwe are rookies, as are second-unit leaders Borgie Hermida, Riego Gamalinda and JR Tecson. Ogie Menor and Jay-R Taganas, meanwhile, are sophomores.

Pressure. San Beda has not won a title in 28 years, and the pressure is great to do it now, with a team that has dynasty potential written all over it. Thrust into his first head coaching position barely a week before the tournament started, Joel Duala has been underrated, but successful. Koy Banal has maintained the team’s focus and intensity, but there have been cracks in the armor. In the last elimination game (against Letran), the Red Lions were held to only two points in the second quarter, scoring with only 34 seconds left in the period. Clearly, they have to keep their wits about them.

Offense. Different strokes for each team. San Beda showcases excellent ball movement, and explosive outside scoring, with Alex Angeles and Escobal from long-distance, and Aljamal and others from the perimeter. If they start hitting their outside shots, it will be difficult for PCU to come back. For PCU, running the fastbreak with the blindingly quick guard Jason Castro always works for them. PCU is not as good an outside shooting team as San Beda, but individually, the players are better at creating, using their quickness to get to the basket. Guard David and Lisztian Amparado will bear close watching.

Defense. This is where the Red Lions make their living. The stingiest defense in the NCAA (56 points allowed per game), San Beda denies the ball better than anyone in the league. A key match-up here will be Espinas vs Ekwe. Ekwe may be a terror off the boards and the league’s best shotblocker, but offensively, he has still to grow into the game. Espinas, meanwhile, is the league’s only double-double player. This is one area where PCU still underachieves, in my opinion.

Leadership. For PCU, where Espinas and Castro go, so do they. If one of them has a bad day, it is incumbent upon the others not to wait for the game to come to them. It may be too long a wait. Meanwhile, for San Beda, Aljamal has literally bailed them out, although Escobal and Angeles have shown great willingness to take responsibility.

Each team has a different look, with the same grit. San Beda is a democracy, where fundamentals and looking for the open shot rule. Philippine Christian University is more free-flowing, where the players’ abilities to find the holes in the defense dominate. One team shoots better, while the other is more athletic. Game 1 will definitely be a blockbuster.

That’s today’s big ticket.