Lessons from Shanghai

Before we start gloating over our twin wins over the visiting Shanghai Sharks and conjuring visions of crushing China at the FIBA-Asia Championships here on Aug. 1-11, let’s keep in mind that Yao Ming’s squad played without several mainstays, including top scorer Liu Wei, Chinese-Taipei star Tseng Wen Ting, 6-10 University of Hawaii forward Ji Xiang and gunner Liu Ziqiu.

Liu Wei, 33, averaged 21.3 points for the Sharks in the last Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season where Shanghai finished 14th of 17 with a lowly 10-22 record. Shanghai wasn’t even close to making it to the playoffs. Liu Ziqiu, 31, averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Both Lius were in town for the Sharks games against Gilas last Monday and the PBA Selection the day after but never saw action. A team insider said they were both down with bum stomachs, a curious coincidence.

The Lius would’ve certainly made the Sharks more formidable. Wei, a 6-3 point guard, is a three-time Olympic and World Championship veteran while Ziqiu is a 6-5 wing. Without Wei, Shanghai coach Wang Qun relied on Meng Lingyuan and 19-year-old Zhang Yuan to quarterback the Sharks.

Shanghai’s main man was 7-3 Zhang Zhaoxu who played for China at the London Olympics last year. He averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the CBA last season. No question, Zhang is no Yao Ming. He’s also a poor substitute for Wang Zhizhi or Yi Jialian. He’s lean and not beefy. Against the PBA Selection, Zhang was pushed out of his comfort zone by Beau Belga, almost a foot shorter but probably weighs more than the stratospheric center.

Zhang compiled 17 points and 12 rebounds against Gilas, 23 points and 14 rebounds against the PBA Selection. He logged 31:36 minutes and was exhausted down the stretch when the Sharks needed his inside presence in losing to the PBA Selection. At the FIBA-Asia Championships, he won’t play major minutes for sure.

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Although the Sharks played with a depleted lineup, they didn’t back down. The Sharks didn’t come to lose. The PBA Selection’s Doug Kramer said three Sharks were constantly trash-talking. One of them Cal Liang, wearing No. 1, called Kramer a pussy. Kramer diplomatically barked back, ‘You’re just as soft as ice cream.” But it was clear that the Sharks were an inferior team and poorly coached.

Chris Tiu said it was evident that the PBA Selection players’ skill level and basketball IQ were far superior. In one play, Paul Lee made a jaw-dropping, ankle-breaking crossover to escape his defender and penetrated the lane to hit a bank shot over Zhang’s outstretched arm. Nobody from the Sharks could match that kind of move. The PBA Selection’s outside shooting was also a notch higher, delivering 10-of-27 to the Sharks’ 5-of-21. In the second half, the Selection buried five triples to Shanghai’s one with KG Canaleta knocking down three.

The key to the Selection’s victory was pressure in the backcourt, a coach Franz Pumaren trademark. The PBA Stars didn’t even need to trap the Shanghai ballcarrier – just on-the-ball defense was enough. Mike Cortez, Tiu and Lee hounded the Shanghai guards, forced turnovers and ran transition to leave the defenders behind. They showed that the antidote for lack of height is quickness.

“I would’ve wanted to play Liu Wei,” said Cortez. “I know he’s their leading scorer. We did what we had to do out there, we didn’t want to lose at home.” Assistant coach Tonichi Yturri said the Selection didn’t even practice and just showed up for the game, relying on instinct and their familiarity with each other as PBA players.

Putting pressure on the Sharks playmakers meant extending the shot clock, delaying execution and not giving enough time for Zhang to power his way to the hoop from a post position. The tactic worked like a charm and it’s something Gilas can build on, looking forward to the FIBA-Asia Championships.

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Shanghai coach Wang Qun’s inadequacies were also exposed in the games. At a crucial stage in the fourth quarter against the PBA Selection, he sat down his two point guards Meng and Zhang Yuan. The result was disastrous as the Sharks’ offense disintegrated in confusion, leading to a poor shot and a critical stop by the Selection. Right after the failed experiment, Wang brought back Meng but it was too late to save the situation. Zhang Zhaoxu also disappeared in the waning minutes when Shanghai bled for points. He was either too tired to impose himself or too banged up. Once, Zhang complained to the referee for a hard hack on his arm by Belga. And whom did Cai Laing call a pussy?

There were lessons to be learned from the Sharks. Against a team with a dominant center, the key is to derail or deny the entry pass – delaying the set-up in the halfcourt by exerting pressure on the ballcarrier is a useful trick. Once the ball is in the post, the defense must collapse and apply a double-team to take away the center’s strong side. In offense, shooters must always be in place to receive a clear kick-out off the penetration. Rebounding by committee is necessary to neutralize the height advantage of the opposing team. If the defense is using length to blanket the elbows and box with a zone, the offense must counter with quick ball rotation and movement without the ball.

But while there were positives from the Gilas and PBA Selection’s performance, we must be tempered in our celebration. The opposition will be a lot tougher than the Sharks at the coming FIBA-Asia Championships.