Heaven’s wisdom saves Barako Bull

MANILA, Philippines - Barako Bull coach Bong Ramos said Divine Intervention lifted the Energy Cola to a 92-90 upset win over previously unbeaten San Mig Coffee at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Tuesday night and thanked the heavens above for the wisdom to make key adjustments down the stretch.

Starting the fourth period down by 16, Barako Bull tied the count at 78-all with a combination of Willie Wilson, Carlo Lastimosa, Willie Miller, Mick Pennisi and Joshua Dollard. The Mixers were silent for six minutes as the Energy Cola gave San Mig Coffee a dose of its defensive medicine. It was tied at 90-all when Lastimosa’s sub Ronjay Buenafe was fouled in an inbounds play, time down to 7.2 ticks, and hit two free throws. San Mig Coffee’s Mark Barroca drove in for the tying basket and missed an unmolested shot with Miller opting not to contest at the buzzer.

“It was wisdom from up there,” said Ramos pointing his finger to the heavens. “I started Willie (Wilson) in the fourth period because of his offensive rebounding and energy. Then, I put in Ronjay who’s an offensive player. We got lucky.” Miller and Dollard played decoy on the inbounds play as Wilson threw in to Buenafe cutting baseline. The trick caught the Mixers off-guard.

San Mig Coffee entered the game with a 3-0 record, leading the defensive standings in points allowed at 76.3 and field goal percentage allowed at 35.4%. Barako Bull was last in defense, giving up an average of 104.8. But the Energy Cola turned the tables on the Mixers, hitting 46.2% and limiting San Mig Coffee to 42.9%.

“We just wanted to give San Mig Coffee different looks,” said Barako defensive assistant coach Koy Banal. “We know how fluid San Mig Coffee is. They run the triangle so efficiently because everyone is so familiar with each other. We played zone until James (Yap) got hot then switched to man-to-man.”

Barako Bull coaching consultant Siot Tanquingcen said it was a huge win, coming on the heels of three straight losses. Before moving to Barako Bull, Tanquingcen had worked with San Miguel Beer/Petron and Barangay Ginebra. “I’m just happy to still be working in the PBA,” he said. “I’ll contribute in any way coach Bong wants me to. He’s calling the shots. My role is to be available when I’m consulted. We played well against San Mig Coffee. Coach Bong, coach Koy, everybody did a good job.”

Miller waited near the basket when Barroca disengaged from his defender to drive to the hoop as time ran out. Instead of challenging Barroca, Miller just stood his ground. “I didn’t want to foul him and risk a three-point play,” said Miller. “We were up by two and if Barroca scored, we would just go into overtime. But if I challenged and fouled, we would have lost on a three-point play.”

Best Player of the Game honors went to Miller who finished with 19 points, five rebounds and 10 assists in 31 minutes. He sank a triple to become only the eighth player in league history to bury at least 800 in a career behind Allan Caidic, Ronnie Magsanoc, Al Solis, Jimmy Alapag, Dondon Hontiveros, Yap and Pennisi.

Buenafe said Ramos designed the inbounds play during the timeout just before the execution. “Willie (Miller) and Josh were the decoys,” he said. “Coach wanted me to run baseline and I got the inbounds pass. Luckily, I made the two free throws.”

A big adjustment was Dollard deferring to involve his teammates in the offense early. But in the fourth period, Dollard stepped up and unloaded 13 of his 32 points including a dagger triple that staked the Energy Cola to a 90-88 lead. “Useless if Josh scores 50 and we lose,” said Miller. “Late in the game, he got tired so I told him to just stay where he’s comfortable and I’ll get him the ball.”

Dollard, the shortest import in the league at 6-4 9/16, said size has never bothered him. “When I played at Auburn University, we had the shortest starting five in the entire NCAA Division I for two years but that didn’t stop us from playing hard against guys like Glen (Big Baby) Davis and Al Horford, guys who are bigger than us,” he said. “I might be shorter but I’m never outmatched. I go out there playing with a lot of heart.”

Dollard said the PBA is tough and even more physical than some European leagues. “I’m enjoying my stay, the people are wonderful and I love my team,” he said. “I get along with all the guys like Dorian (Peña). My wife’s pregnant back home in North Carolina so she can’t come out. At Auburn, I played just two years then left because of family issues. My mom was pregnant with twins and she’s a single mother so I wanted to be close to home. I’m the oldest of six.”

From Auburn, Dollard transferred to the University of South Carolina at Aiken then played in Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Colombia, Turkey, Greece and Finland before finding his way in the PBA.