More than bragging rights

Barangay Ginebra hasn’t won a PBA title since the 2007-08 Fiesta Cup so if the Kings beat B-Meg at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight, they’ll be shooting for their first championship after a drought of nine straight conferences. More than just bragging rights, Ginebra and B-Meg are fighting for a place in history as the survivor advances to battle Rain Or Shine in a best-of-seven series for the Governors Cup trophy starting Sunday while the loser licks his wounds in an unwanted vacation.

But looking forward to the finals isn’t something on Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen’s mind at the moment. Right now, his exclusive focus is to upend the Llamados in the do-or-die knockout game. It’s a classic win-or-go-home situation.

In the semis, Ginebra won four of five, the only loss an 82-70 setback to B-Meg. The Kings have won five of their last six but they’re up against the team that cracked the streak in the playoff to decide the Elasto Painters’ adversary. Ginebra hasn’t beaten B-Meg in two tries this conference. The Kings lost a 96-88 decision in the elims. To prove its worth as a championship contender, Ginebra must get by B-Meg. If not, the Kings don’t deserve to play in the finals – it’s as simple as that.

What’s going for Tanquingcen is his new-found success formula. Forget about playing politics and allocating limited minutes to keep everyone happy. Forget about trying to just outshoot the other team in a running battle. For Ginebra, it’s now all about defense. The Kings held opponents to an average of only 79.5 points in their four semis victories. In Ginebra’s 73-71 win over Talk ‘N’ Text last Wednesday, Tanquingcen used a basic rotation of eight key players with Cedric Bozeman, Mark Caguioa and Rudy Hatfield the only mainstays with at least 30 minutes. Jay-Jay Helterbrand logged 21 minutes, didn’t score but delivered seven assists. Hatfield put in 33 minutes, scored only four points but grabbed 11 rebounds. The Kings played according to what was expected of them in their roles and delivered.

It’s not coincidental that in Ginebra’s four semis wins, Bozeman never scored in the 20s, averaging 14.8 points with a high of 19 and a low of 13. The ex-UCLA guard is concentrating on his role as a stopper and facilitator. He’s taking minutes away from Mike Cortez and Helterbrand at the point guard position but nobody’s complaining. Somehow, Tanquingcen has been able to weave Cortez and Helterbrand in the flow just the same. While Caguioa is the undisputed leader of the pack, Kerby Raymundo’s re-emergence as a key contributor has been vital for Ginebra. In the elims, Raymundo averaged 9.2 points but in the semis, his clip improved to 13.6. Another cog is Willy Wilson who played tough defense in a 23-minute job against the Texters last Wednesday.

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But B-Meg isn’t about to hand the finals ticket to Ginebra on a silver platter. Coach Tim Cone is fresh from taking the Llamados to the Commissioner’s Cup throne and his battlecry is to win back-to-back. It’s incredible that B-Meg has been able to keep head above water despite missing Joe De Vance the entire conference and J. C. Intal the entire semis. That only establishes B-Meg’s incredible depth and Cone’s coaching ability.

Against Rain Or Shine last Wednesday, the Llamados fell behind early and had to scramble down the stretch to make it close before eventually succumbing, 92-82. Cone must get B-Meg off to a strong start tonight because it’s suicidal to give Ginebra the early advantage. In losing to the Painters, B-Meg struggled from the three-point arc with Marqus Blakely, James Yap and Josh Urbiztondo sputtering to a combined 0-of-10. The Llamados were outrebounded by six, had 12 less fastbreak points, gave up 14 more free throw conversions and committed two more turnovers. B-Meg’s efficiency was hampered by Rain Or Shine’s unforgiving defense and relentless rebounding. The Painters had more offensive rebounds, 18-9, and that edge led to nine more field goal attempts. Obviously, B-Meg has to do a better job under the boards, defending in transition and limiting free throws if the Llamados hope to make it to a second straight finals.

The Blakely-Bozeman matchup is one for the ages. They’re both versatile imports. Bozeman is a tougher on-the-ball defender while Blakely a more explosive scorer. Bozeman, 29, has NBA experience with the Atlanta Hawks and earned his spurs in four years at UCLA. He had stints in Belgium and China so playing overseas isn’t new to him. Blakely, 23, is on his first foreign assignment and his youthful exuberance is reminiscent of Denzel Bowles in the previous conference. He didn’t play for a high-profile NCAA school like UCLA but at Vermont, compiled better numbers than Bozeman did with the Bruins.

Aside from the import face-off, the other intriguing mano-a-mano confrontation is Yap versus Caguioa. They’re two of the top locals in the league and it’s only fitting that in the game to decide the second finalist, one of them will make it.

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The simmering rivalry between the Philippines and Japan is the theme of promoter Bebot Elorde’s main event featuring unbeaten Cris Paulino against Hokkaido’s Hayato Yamaguchi for the WBC Youth Intercontinental flyweight title at the Flash Ballroom in the Elorde Sports Center on Sucat tomorrow night.

“We’ve been under the gun so far this month with Silver Lopez and Sonny Boy Jaro losing in Japan,” said Elorde. “Then, Michael Farenas was frustrated in a technical draw, also in Japan. Now, we’re bringing the rivalry to our home country. Cris is out to avenge Silver’s and Sonny Boy’s losses.”

Paulino, 19, has an 8-0 record, with 2 KOs, and is one of the country’s brightest world title prospects. Yamaguchi, 22, is making his overseas debut and totes a 7-3-1 mark. In the main aperitif, two undefeated fighters Bryan Macamay of Leyte and Alfred Deano of Sarangani dispute the vacant WBC Youth bantamweight crown. Macamay, 21, has a 5-0-2 mark, with 4 KOs, and is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins. Deano, a 5-8 southpaw, boasts a 9-0-1 mark, with 7 KOs. He had six fights last year and has already done four this year. Five of his last six outings ended inside the distance.