Two streaks in danger

Barangay Ginebra has two games left in its PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination schedule and with a 4-5 record, it’s still not sure if the league’s most popular team will qualify for the playoffs. Ginebra holds the all-time PBA record for most consecutive conference playoff appearances with 32, going back to 12 seasons, but the streak is under siege and will be broken if coach Tim Cone fails to push the Barangay into the quarterfinals.

According to PBA chief statistician and PBAologist Fidel Mangonon, the last Ginebra failure to advance came in the 2005 Fiesta Conference where the squad was ousted by Red Bull in the wildcard phase of the eliminations. Also in danger of being snapped is Cone’s personal string of 24 straight playoff outings. Cone has gone to the playoffs every conference since the 2009 Fiesta Conference where his first PBA team Alaska was booted out by Burger King in the eliminations.

With both streaks on the line, it’s no wonder Cone has made personnel changes over the last few days to fuel Ginebra’s push for the playoffs. First, Cone brought in veteran sharpshooter Jeff Chan from Phoenix and second, he welcomed Julian Sargent from GlobalPort. The acquisitions didn’t come on a silver platter. Cone gave up Ginebra’s 2018 first round draft for Chan and surrendered rugged guard Paolo Taha for Sargent.

The coming draft may include Bobby Ray Parks, Robert Bolick, Jayvee Mocon, Abu Tratter, Prince Rivero, Kobe Paras, C. J. Perez, Trevis Jackson, Vince Tolentino and Kris Porter. Fil-Am Jason Brickman, 26, would be a sure first round pick but he’ll need to go through 14 games in the PBA D-League and show a Philippine passport. A player won’t be required to enter the PBA D-League if he’s at least 28. A player who’s at least 21 on the day of the draft and who has played for the national team may also be eligible for the draft without passing through the PBA D-League so that will open the door for Paras. Right now, Paras is 20 but he’ll be 21 by Sept. 19 and the draft will be held in October. A player who’s less than 21 may be eligible if he’s a college graduate.

Sargent’s length is a coach’s dream. No doubt, Cone has in mind to exploit Sargent’s wingspan in defending players from one to three. It’s no secret that Cone’s winning formula is heavily defense-oriented. In Ginebra’s four wins so far, the team has held opponents to an average of 91.8 points. In five losses, Ginebra has given up an average of 100.8. 

Ginebra’s record will improve to 6-5 if the Barangay sweeps its last two assignments against Alaska on June 24 and GlobalPort on July 6. Six wins should be enough to get Ginebra at least a playoff for a quarterfinals berth. But even if Ginebra manages to advance, it could qualify as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed, meaning a twice-to-win disadvantage in the quarterfinals. 

Chan, 34, and Sargent, 26, will bolster Ginebra on two fronts. Chan is a pure shooter with range and a perfect complement to Ginebra’s interior attack. Sargent is a stopper and could be transformed into a Gabe Norwood type. At the moment, Ginebra is on a three-game win skein. Two of its five setbacks were in overtime so they could’ve gone either way. And three of the losses came with original import Chuck Garcia in harness. Since “resident” import Justin Brownlee’s return, Ginebra has gone 3-2. Brownlee, however, is undersized at 6-4 5/8 in the conference that allows imports up to 6-10. Next year when Art de la Cruz is activated, Ginebra should even be tougher.

Cone’s core of Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Sol Mercado, Kevin Ferrer, Joe DeVance, Mark Caguioa and Brownlee is formidable but the support group of Prince Caperal, Aljon Mariano, Raymond Aguilar and Jett Manuel still lacks consistency in providing impact. In Ginebra’s game against Columbian last Wednesday, Cone brought Tenorio, Thompson and Japeth off the bench and when the smoke cleared, the Barangay had gotten 71 points from relievers compared to the Dyip’s 23 in the 134-107 rampage.