RAYMOND Almazan and Brandon Bates have been taking turns in defending Christian Standhardinger, definitely an unenviable task as Meralco looks to clinch a finals spot against Barangay Ginebra in the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup.
Almazan and Bates hope to do a good job in stopping - or at least limiting - Standhardinger yet again on Friday in Game Seven of the semifinals at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.
“I try to be aggressive kasi I’m defending Christian eh,” said Almazan, who also shared he is no longer focusing on offense since his other teammates can do the job.
“’Yung offense, sila na bahala siguro. I don’t care about my offense anymore. Basta may libre akong tira, tinitira ko. And then ‘yung defensive rebounds, I need to be aggressive nga.”
Tough times for Almazan
Almazan has been playing through foul trouble for most of the series including Game Six where he had five. The Meralco big man, however, then had his best outing the semifinals by hauling in 11 rebounds and scoring seven points.
The 34-year-old defensive anchor was also instrumental in containing the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger, at least in the first half, where the latter was limited to only four points.
Almazan, though, acknowledged that defending the Ginebra pivot has been difficult - and made even more so as he tries to stay away from fouls.
“To be honest, it’s hard to contain Christian the whole game. You are going to stop him tatlong beses, pero hindi mo alam kung sa susunod, maii-stop mo siya. ‘Yun ang trabaho namin ni Bates eh, to defend him talaga,” he said as he also had five fouls in two other games.
“Mahirap sabihin ‘yan (not to be in foul trouble) if you are guarding Japeth [Aguilar] and Christian. You need to put a body on him, especially Christian. Nakakapagod talagang bantayan,” said Almazan.
Even if he will be in foul trouble, the 6-foot-8 center stressed that it is going to take a village to contain Standhardinger.
“I don’t care about my fouls kasi may six fouls ako. May six fouls si Brandon. May Toto Jose sa bench, meron pa kaming Kyle Pascual, may Norbert [Torres] pa kami. Team effort siguro (ang kailangan),” he said.
Baptism of fire for Bates
Bates, meanwhile, has also been asked to measure up to C-Stan in just his rookie year. The task is unenviable, but it is also an opportunity to learn.
“Have you seen his numbers? You can do as much as you want, but he is a very good player,” said the No. 8 pick in the Season 48 draft.
“It’s difficult. You have to be prepared (to form) a wall, basically. They call him ‘The Bulldozer’ for a reason.”
Still, the 6-foot-9 youngster has been holding his own as he is averaging 6.8 rebounds heading into Game Seven.
While it has been a thankless job, Bates is grateful to have been given the chance to prove himself during the semifinals, and looks forward to playing in the winner-take-all match.
“It’s my rookie season. I didn’t think I was gonna be given an opportunity like this, but I’m very grateful. I just want to prove the coaches right. I want to prove that the trust they have in me is vindicated,” he said.
“I’ve never been to a big series like this especially against Ginebra. I know there’s going to be fans all for Ginebra. I’m nervous, but I’m a little bit excited. Nervous trepidation."
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