Déjá vu for Ginebra

It was a familiar situation that faced Barangay Ginebra in the dying seconds of the Kings’ game against San Miguel Beer in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday.

Twice before, Ginebra had the final possession in one-point losses to Meralco last Oct. 3 and, you guessed it, San Miguel last Oct. 17. Both times, coach Joseph Uichico went to Willie Miller for the do-or-die play and both times, the Thriller failed to deliver.

Against Meralco, Miller missed an open jumper with 18 ticks left as the Bolts held a shaky 73-72 lead. Four straight Meralco misses from the line gave Ginebra a chance to steal it down the stretch but with less than three seconds left, Miller lost control of the ball on an inbounds play. He never got a shot off as time expired to preserve Meralco’s one-point advantage.

Then came the first San Miguel face-off. With six seconds to go and the Beermen on top, 69-68, Miller was defended by long-armed Arwind Santos. Miller couldn’t fade away or pop a jumper because the Spiderman was too long for comfort so he put the ball on the floor, hoping to use his quickness to create an opening for a decent shot. Alas, Santos gave Miller little space to operate and the ball bounced off the Thriller’s foot to seal the outcome on a sour note for Ginebra.

Last Sunday, San Miguel seized the driver’s seat, 79-78, on Jay Washington’s follow-up of his own miss. Washington drove against a shorter Willy Wilson, put up a shot from about five feet and grabbed the offensive rebound for the put-back. Ginebra’s Rudy Hatfield was out of position to control the rebound as the ball bounced back to Washington and Wilson had no second lift to bat it away.

But Ginebra had about 13 seconds left to win it or lose it. Not once but twice again, Uichico chose Miller to make the big play. The match-up was the same as before. Santos was on top of Miller. Jimbo Aquino, the steel-nerved rookie who earlier in the quarter hit two triples, sat on the bench. Mark Caguioa, who sizzled for nine points in the third period, was on the floor.

Miller elected to drive down the baseline in a bold effort to challenge Santos’ length. With time running out, the referees did well not to blow their whistles. They let the players decide the outcome. There was some contact as Miller tried to sneak in a shot but it was negligible. Santos soared to block Miller’s attempt and the game was over.

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It was Ginebra’s third loss this conference and third by a solitary point. The loss snapped Ginebra’s streak of six straight wins where the Kings walloped their opponents by an average winning margin of 16 points. For San Miguel, it was the Beermen’s eighth win in their last nine outings and pushed coach Ato Agustin’s personal record to 8-1 this conference, the only loss a 110-107 decision to Rain Or Shine last Nov. 7.

Despite the loss, Ginebra remains the league’s No. 1 defensive team, allowing only 75.2 points a game. No other team is yielding less than 80. San Miguel slid from No. 1 to No. 2 in offense, averaging 92.2 points, but stayed on top of the standings with an overall record of 9-2.

Last season, Ginebra ranked No. 6 in defense, giving up 93.1 points a game. So the Kings’ showing this conference is a dramatic turnaround in terms of limiting the production of opposing teams.

The way I see it, Uichico orchestrated the turnaround with the help of three key men – Hatfield, Tubid and assistant coach Siot Tanquingcen. Hatfield epitomizes the blue-collar worker, ready to give it his all on the court. Tubid is a pesky defender who thrives in getting under your skin. Like Hatfield, he is unforgiving on the floor and never eases the pressure. Tanquingcen provides the framework for everything to come together.

Now that Uichico has shown it’s easier to win if the team plays tough defense, the other Kings are responding. Hatfield has given new meaning to the word “sacrifice” and the Kings are enjoying playing as a unit. Ginebra is No. 1 in the league in assists, averaging 20.4 a game, and also No. 1 in assists allowed, 15.0 an outing. In other defensive stats, Ginebra is No. 1 in field goal percentage allowed (.367) and fastbreak points allowed (7.3). Last season, Ginebra gave up .411 in field goal percentage and an average of 10.0 fastbreak points a game. The improvement is glaring.

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Ginebra has reason to be optimistic of its title chances because the Kings were able to rack up a 7-3 record even as J. C. Intal has sat out the last five games and Eric Menk is still struggling after being sidelined for five contests. Jay-Jay Helterbrand hasn’t hit his stride offensively (although he isn’t looking to score as much as to set up teammates) and Menk is far from peak form.