True to form

PBA teams go through the draft to address problems that caused pain in the previous season. They pick up rookies or trade draft picks for key pieces that will fortify their fences in the next campaign.

In last Sunday’s game between Rain Or Shine and Alaska, there were glaring gaps that seemed to indicate the Aces need to go back to the drawing board. The Elasto Painters crushed Alaska, 87-74, at the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City.

Stats gathered from the previous Philippine Cup where Alaska bowed to eventual champion Talk ‘N’ Text in the semifinals showed red marks for the Aces in the rebounding, assist and fastbreak departments. The Aces were dead last in those three categories. On the positive side, Alaska was No. 1 in turnover points, three-point field goal percentage, least fastbreak points allowed (8.3) and least assists allowed (17.4).

When analyzing what went wrong in the previous season, it’s enlightening to look at the Philippine Cup stats of a team because they’re not camouflaged by the performance of imports. They’re the bare bones stats that reveal where a team is strong and weak. Presumably, teams use those stats as the bases for making trades and recruiting rookies and/or free agents.

Alaska opened the last Philippine Cup on a sour note, starting at 0-2, then woke up to win five in a row. Four straight losses followed before the Aces finished the eliminations winning three consecutive games. In the quarterfinals, Alaska brushed off Meralco in two straight in a best-of-three series. That set up Alaska to face the Tropang Texters in the semifinals. The series was tied at 2-all when Talk ‘N’ Text broke away to clinch. The Texters won Game 5 by four and Game 6 by five. Alaska’s overall record was 12-10. In the Commissioner’s Cup, the Aces posted an 18-4 mark and captured the crown via a 3-0 sweep of Barangay Ginebra in the finals. In the Governors Cup, Alaska was eliminated by San Mig Coffee in the quarterfinals where the Aces had a twice-to-beat disadvantage. In sum, the Aces registered a 35-20 record the entire season.

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Like Alaska, Rain Or Shine went to two semifinals last season but didn’t win a title, coming close in the Philippine Cup where the Painters were blanked by the Texters in the finals. Rain Or Shine’s record for the first conference was 15-12. For the season, it was 31-26. The Painters’ Philippine Cup stats reflected coach Yeng Guiao’s philosophy – they were No. 2 in defense, No. 2 in fastbreak points, No. 3 in rebounding and No. 1 in least turnovers. The red mark was in field goal percentage where Rain Or Shine was No. 9 with a .398 clip.

In the offseason, Guiao collared rookies Raymond Almazan, Alex Nuyles and Jeric Teng. They were chosen for a purpose. Almazan is supposed to improve the Painters’ field goal percentage because he’s an inside scorer. Additionally, he gives Rain Or Shine an intimidating rim protector and a natural center to go up against the likes of Greg Slaughter and JuneMar Fajardo. Nuyles is a physical and rugged guard, a bit like Roland Tubid, so he’s a fit in Guiao’s system. Teng is a floor spacer who can stretch the defense with his outside shots. If he develops as a combo guard, Teng could be a deadly reliever for Paul Lee or Jeff Chan.

For Alaska, coach Luigi Trillo brought in rookies Ryan Buenafe and Ping Exciminiano and free agent Leo Avenido – all guards. On paper, they should be able to help in jacking up the Aces’ assists and fastbreak points. Rebounding, however, is an issue that wasn’t addressed in the offseason probably because Trillo couldn’t be happier with Sonny Thoss, Calvin Abueva and Gabby Espinas.

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In the Davao game, Rain Or Shine capitalized on its strengths in mowing down Alaska. The Painters had more fastbreak points, 15-1, more assists, 19-14, more rebounds, 54-49, more offensive rebounds, 19-14, more turnover points, 18-8 and more second chance points, 12-8. They also had less turnovers, 11-20, and held Alaska to .343 shooting from the floor. Alaska faltered in the same departments where they were vulnerable last season.

Rain Or Shine was unforgiving in defense, packing the paint to take away Alaska’s pick-and-roll and forcing the Aces to put up outside shots under time pressure. Thoss couldn’t find the space to operate at the post and finished with a quiet three points on 1-of-5 field goals and 1-of-2 foul shots. Another key to the Painters’ defensive effort was breaking Abueva’s concentration. The Painters played Abueva physical, sometimes too physical for comfort. Abueva lost his focus, tried to get back at his tormentors singlehandedly and forgot to play team ball. Abueva wound up fouling out with no assist and shooting 2-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-10 from the line.

Guiao was in control of the game from start to finish. Trillo, recently named Coach of the Year, learned valuable lessons that night from a master tactician and for sure, won’t make the same mistakes again.