The PBA will end its 39th season with a bang at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. Balloons are falling from the rafters for sure but what color is a question mark. If San Mig Coffee wins, a sky of blue will descend and if Rain Or Shine prevails, it will be a sea of red.
This is the moment that players live for and fans dream of. It’s winner-take-all. Game 5 of the best-of-five PBA Governors Cup Finals to decide if San Mig Coffee captures a Grand Slam or not. There were 17,217 fans for Game 3 which the Mixers took, 78-69, and 18,168 for Game 4 where the Elasto Painters dodged a killer’s bullet to win, 88-79. The series is all squared at two wins apiece and now, it’s down to the last game, a fitting climax to a thrilling season. It wouldn’t be surprising if attendance exceeds 20,000 tonight.
There’s no secret formula to victory in the Finals. Both coaches know that in a sprint conference like the radically shortened Governors Cup, pacing is essential because players are close to burning out. Even in a Game 5 where there’s no tomorrow, you can’t push players beyond their physical limits. It’s a 48-minute game and rotation is critical to generate maximum mileage for every pair of legs in a team. Continuity is critical as the first unit rests for the shock troopers to take over. Consistency in playing both ends with intensity from quarter to quarter will get you through.
In Game 1, seven San Mig Coffee players finished in twin digits, compared to four from Rain Or Shine, and the Mixers prevailed, 104-101. In the fourth period where the outcome was settled, San Mig Coffee scored more bench points, 18-5. Rain Or Shine’s prolific import Arizona Reid tried to win it all by himself and fired 14 of his 35 points in the payoff period but not even his superhuman effort could turn the tide.
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In Game 2, it was Rain Or Shine’s turn to spread the wealth. This time, Reid didn’t try to play hero. In Game 1, he took 27 shots and 17 free throws and collected 12 rebounds and only one assist. In Game 2, Reid took 24 shots and six charities and had 17 boards and four dimes. The Painters’ relievers had more bench points, 29-23. James Yap scored all of San Mig Coffee’s seven points in overtime and Rain Or Shine won, 89-87. Once more, the principle of equal distribution proved to be the winning dictum. Yap logged 33 minutes and Marc Pingris 38. In Game 1, Yap had 24 minutes and Pingris 26. The Painters buckled down to business and played physical defense to hold San Mig Coffee to only 38.5 percent shooting from the field, down from 48.7 percent in the opener. A missing element in the Mixers’ brew was Joe De Vance who was scoreless in 33 minutes.
In Game 3, Rain Or Shine forgot what made the Painters win to knot the series. The Painters went to Reid almost exclusively like in Game 1 which they lost. Reid wound up with 31 points and no other Painter was in double figures. Paul Lee and Gabe Norwood shot two points apiece on a combined 0-5 from beyond the arc, 0-3 from the free throw line and 2-of-6 from two-point distance. In contrast, San Mig Coffee had four players in twin digits, including reserve Ian Sangalang with 13. It was no shock that the Mixers bench had more points, 27-22 and San Mig Coffee posted a more efficient assist-to-turnover ratio of 20:12 compared to the Painters’ 17:15. In the fourth period, the Mixers bench trounced the Rain Or Shine relievers, 12-2, and that finishing kick was decisive.
In Game 4, it was San Mig Coffee’s turn to backslide. Mixers import Marqus Blakely took matters into his own hands and couldn’t get the job done. In the second period where Rain Or Shine surged to take a 20-point lead, Blakely accounted for 15 of San Mig Coffee’s 17 points. In the second and third quarters, Blakely hit 22 of the Mixers’ 34 points. That kind of one-man show won’t cut it for San Mig Coffee which thrives in team play and an equal opportunity system.
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In the end, only two Mixers were in twin digits, Blakely with 21 and Yap with 12. San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone managed Yap’s minutes carefully. Yap played only 27 minutes, down from 33 in Game 2, and shot 3-of-10 from the floor. Mark Barroca had one more attempt than Yap. Pingris logged only 26 minutes, down from 38 in Game 2, and went 1-of-4 from the field. With about four minutes left, Cone lifted his starters off the floor and stayed with Alex Mallari, Barroca, Yousef Taha, Justin Melton and Allein Maliksi. He took a step back to preserve his mainstays for Game 5.
Rain Or Shine went from flat in Game 3 to fiery in Game 4. Norwood banged in nine points in a 12-2 Painters run that stretched the lead to 20 at 53-33 in the second period and the Mixers never recovered. The lead dwindled to six at 53-47 and seven at 73-66 but San Mig Coffee couldn’t come closer. A 7-0 Rain Or Shine burst brought the gap to 18 at 87-69 and Painters coach Yeng Guiao got his wish for a do-or-die showdown. Five Painters finished in double figures and Jeff Chan, who had only two points, wasn’t one of them. Guiao had to be happy with the win which came without Chan’s usual output. Fil-Am Jonathan Uyloan, an undrafted guard from 2009, provided a huge lift off the bench with eight points, all in the second period. That surprise delivery was right down Guiao’s alley. He’s known for pulling rabbits out of a hat.
The Painters’ physical defense was back in high gear, too. They were a bit soft in Game 3 and it showed in how the Mixers got their way. If Rain Or Shine hopes to turn San Mig Coffee’s Grand Slam dream into a nightmare, the Painters must play the same kind of unforgiving defense in Game 5.
In reviewing the numbers from Games 1 to 5, only one statistic stood out as the key common denominator for the winners – field goal percentage. It’s the figure that reflects the more precise execution in both offense and defense. And it’s the figure that will determine the color of the balloons dropping from the rafters tonight.