Saving best for last

For a while, it looked like Magnolia import Amal McCaskill wasn’t in the mood to put up a fight against Air21’s Steve Thomas in their celebrated matchup at the Big Dome last Sunday.

The Beverage Masters had a lot more to lose than the Express in Game 4 of their best-of-7 semifinal series in the PBA Fiesta Conference. A loss would’ve sent Magnolia into a 1-3 hole with little hope to advance to the Last Dance. Despite the stakes, McCaskill didn’t seem to play with a sense of urgency - at least in the early going.

McCaskill, 34, lacked aggressiveness in going strong to the hole in the first half and never went to the line. He had six points (on 3-of-8 field goals) and five rebounds at the turn. In contrast, Thomas collected 10 points and nine rebounds to lift Air21 to a 57-49 lead.

In the third period, McCaskill added three more points to his total. No big deal. The consolation was Magnolia made a bit of headway, trimming the deficit to two to start the payoff quarter.

Then, McCaskill went to work. He broke out of his stupor and fired 10 points in the last 12 minutes, including the marginal basket as time ran out. McCaskill’s turnaround jumper off Thomas just outside the low block broke a 102-tie and saved the Beverage Masters from imminent danger. As it turned out, McCaskill saved his best for last.

McCaskill finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots in 39 minutes without a turnover. He shot 8-of-17 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws. Thomas wound up with 20 points, 18 rebounds and three turnovers.

Magnolia leaned on McCaskill’s heroics to pull off a 104-102 squeaker. Game 5 is scheduled tonight and Game 6, on Friday. If necessary, Game 7 will be on Sunday.

Since McCaskill arrived to replace Jameel Watkins, Magnolia has compiled a 7-4 record. He’s not the most prolific import in town but the 6-11 center has a knack for getting the job done. He plays within Magnolia’s system, doesn’t stray from what he’s supposed to do, paces himself to maximize his mileage and gets his teammates involved in the flow.

What’s clear is McCaskill is an experienced and skilled player. He won’t hesitate to take the big shot – as he did last Sunday with the game on the line. He isn’t as bulky as Thomas but he’s quicker on his feet. McCaskill is more of a finesse, than a power, player and uses his versatility to throw off Thomas on the defensive end.

McCaskill is a survivor. After playing for Marquette University, he was picked on the second round by Orlando in the 1996 NBA draft. He barely saw action for the Magic then took his sneakers to Greece, Spain and Venezuela before landing a job with the San Antonio Sours five seasons later. McCaskill went from San Antonio to Atlanta and finally, to Philadelphia in a four-year NBA career that ended in 2003-04.

Running out of NBA options, McCaskill went overseas again, this time to play in Lebanon, Puerto Rico and the United Arab Emirates. Before moving to the PBA, McCaskill played in the CBA All-Star Game. He earned the invitation by averaging 20.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Albany Patroons in the minors.

No doubt, McCaskill realizes he can’t bring Magnolia to the finals on his own. The Express is a tough act and last Sunday, Magnolia got lucky when Gary David fouled out in the homestretch and Wynne Arboleda couldn’t finish the game because of cramps.

In six games so far this conference, Air21 has beaten Magnolia in four of six encounters.

Whether Danny Seigle will play more minutes as the series progresses is still a question mark. He’s still not 100 percent healthy and Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen is obviously reining him in for fear of reinjury.

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The Express let Game 4 slip away. Air21 had more rebounds, 51-47, turnover points, 19-8, second chance points, 19-15 and fastbreak points, 21-13 but Magnolia’s defense held the team to only .415 shooting from the field. The Beverage Masters also dished out more assists, 20-14, including Olsen Racela’s eight.

The big difference was in bench production as Magnolia’s relievers contributed 58 points compared to Air21’s 26. Lordy Tugade, Danny Ildefonso, Marc Pingris, Dondon Hontiveros and Mike Cortez came off the bench to provide the fuel for the second unit assault. Those five players, by the way, could start for any team in the league.

Both squads are so evenly matched that disregarding Air21’s loss without Thomas in harness, the average winning margin on both sides has been only three points. Air21 has beaten Magnolia by six, two, one and four while the Beverage Masters won by two last Sunday. Without Thomas, Air21 bowed to Magnolia by 26.

Aside from the import matchup, the intriguing duel in the series is between Tanquingcen and Bo Perasol. Both are cerebral tacticians with a keen feel for the game. How they shuffle their players in and out of the court to create matchup problems is crucial as is the timing of the rotation. Defense, execution and the desire to win figure in the winning equation, too.