Dondon a marked man

The last time that Alaska and San Miguel Beer faced off in a PBA Finals was in the 2009-10 Fiesta Conference. Tim Cone was the Aces coach and calling the shots for the Beermen was Siot Tanquingcen. Gabe Freeman was San Miguel’s import and squared off with Alaska’s Diamon Simpson.

Alaska won the series, 4-2, getting off to a 2-0 lead. San Miguel fell behind, 1-3, took Game 5 but lost in Game 6, 102-88. Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos are the only San Miguel players still in the fold. One of the San Miguel veterans Dondon Hontiveros is now with Alaska. As for the Aces, the holdovers are Tony de la Cruz, Sam Eman, Sonny Thoss and Cyrus Baguio. Some of Cone’s players were Larry Fonacier, Reynel Hugnatan, L. A. Tenorio, Joe De Vance and Jeff Cariaso. The San Miguel players included Joseph Yeo, Danny Seigle, Danny Ildefonso, Denok Miranda, Mick Pennisi and Jay Washington.

Hontiveros, 37, has been a PBA fixture since his rookie season in 2000-01. He singlehandedly lifted Alaska to a pulsating 79-76 win over Rain Or Shine in Game 6 of the semifinals last Sunday, clinching a ticket to the Last Dance. Hontiveros hit 15 points on five triples in the payoff period, including the last two to end the contest.

“Dondon’s a marked man,” said San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria. “We know what Dondon is capable of. He’s a true professional. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing against a former team or not. Of course, it’s extra motivation for him to play hard against San Miguel because he came from that team. He’s always been known as a great three-point shooter ever since his MBA days.”

Austria said he’s impressed with how Alaska coach Alex Compton has honed the Aces into a defense machine. “Everybody’s stepping up,” he said. “Alex is doing a good job getting his players to respond positively to his system. They’re well-organized. They had a lot of turnovers in the Rain Or Shine series because of the tempo. I watched every game in that series and how well Alaska executed its offense and defense.”

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Compton said the Aces can’t afford to throw away possessions against San Miguel like they did in the Elasto Painters series. “Turnovers drive you crazy, especially the sloppy kind,” he said. “Our 24 turnovers in Game 6 against Rain Or Shine were ridiculous and not acceptable. We’ve talked about it as a team, we discussed our decision-making. Obviously, we can’t turn the ball over that many times against San Miguel because they’ll make us pay with guys like Arwind (Santos), Chris (Ross), Alex (Cabagnot), Ronald (Tubid), Marcio (Lassiter) and Chris (Lutz) who can hurt you by scoring off transition.”

Austria said he’s not concerned about Alaska’s 66-63 win over San Miguel in the eliminations. “We missed two big guys Rico (Maierhofer) and Doug (Kramer) in that game,” he said. “We weren’t complete. But I remember even if we played so poorly, we were up by three or five in the last minute. We could’ve won. JuneMar (Fajardo) was fresh from playing for Gilas in Spain and Korea so he still wasn’t used to our system. Alex wasn’t with us yet. We handled their trapping defense well, I don’t think that will be a factor against us. I think we lost the ball once or twice because of their trap but that wasn’t why they won.”

In that encounter, both Alaska and San Miguel Beer shot 29 percent from the floor. Fajardo was held to 10 points on 4-of-10 from the floor. San Miguel hit a lowly 11 percent from three-point range as Lutz, Santos, Lassiter and Tubid were a combined 2-of-20. The Aces had more bench points, 28-15 and knocked down more free throws, 25-of-37 to San Miguel’s 16-of-23. Alaska’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 12:18 compared to San Miguel’s 13:20. The result was typical of the way the league’s top two defensive teams play.

Austria said Maierhofer is doubtful for Game 1 tonight. “Rico wants to play but I’m not sure if we’ll force it,” he said. “There’s no fracture in his foot, just a contusion. His foot is still stiff. He hasn’t practiced a week but wants to play. We’ll decide before the game begins.”

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Compton said no matter what happens in the Finals, he’ll be proud of the Aces. “I’m a rookie coach with 1 1/2 conference experience,” he said. “Now that we’re in the Finals, I can’t say I’m in seventh heaven. There’s just no time to process my emotions. We just finished with Rain Or Shine and now we’re up against San Miguel, the toughest team in the league. Maybe, when the series is over, my emotions will kick in and I’ll realize what just happened. But right now, my only feeling is we’ve got to work even harder to win. I’m so proud of the guys, for the effort they’re showing.”

San Miguel is the league’s No. 1 defensive team, allowing only 80.3 points and 38.3 percent from the field. Alaska ranks second in both departments, giving up 81.3 and 38.7 percent from the floor. In rebounding, Alaska is No. 2 with 51.4 a game and San Miguel No. 3 with 50.3. Barangay Ginebra is No. 1 with 56 an outing. Five players are averaging in twin digit points for San Miguel----Fajardo 19.2, Santos 15.6, Cabagnot 15.1, Lassiter 10.9 and Lutz 10.7 while Alaska has only two----Calvin Abueva 15.8 and Vic Manuel 10.5. But seven Alaska players are averaging at least eight points compared to six for San Miguel. Five Beermen are logging at least 30 minutes a game and not a single Alaska player is averaging at least 30 minutes, indicating a more balanced distribution of court time with the Aces. In a long series, the bench will play a vital role in keeping fresh legs on the floor.

San Miguel could wrap it up in four or five but Alaska will get tougher to close out as the series extends. Neither Austria nor Compton has won a PBA title so the winner will get his first taste of a championship. It should be a heckuva series.