By CHRISTIAN MONTEFALCON, Basketball Republic
ONCE again, the rivalry of the alphas of the San Miguel Corporation and MVP Group collide. Many experts had predicted this match-up for this year’s finals.
TNT Tropang Giga started their onslaught at the early part of the season. They started 5-0 then struggled at the end of the eliminations on the way to the semifinals before securing their ticket to the finals. TNT dominated Alaska in the quarterfinals, but struggled to close out Phoenix in their semifinals matchup, where the fives games played were decided by 4.8 points on average. They managed to beat Phoenix three games to two behind Bobby Ray Parks' brilliant and steady performances.
Ginebra, on the other hand, was steady throughout the season. The Gin Kings were seeded No. 1 mainly because of the surprise contributions from Prince Caperal and consistent performances from Stanley Pringle and Scottie Thompson. In their quarterfinals matchup, the Gin Kings sent the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters packing early behind Japeth Aguilar's double-double performance. They were tested in the semifinals, but managed to get over Meralco by means of a Scottie Thompson game-winner.
In the eliminations, Ginebra beat TNT, 85-79. This game was highlighted by the double-double performances of Stanley Pringle and Japeth Aguilar. TNT surely struggled in this game, most especially Troy Rosario where he performed below his caliber, scoring only two points on 0-of-15 field goal shooting.
Now, the tale of the tape.
LA Tenorio vs Jayson Castro
The two Gilas legends will face each other in this heated matchup. Although LA's production has declined, still you can never count out his leadership and his ability to control the game even with him not scoring.
Jayson Castro has been steady all throughout his career. Despite him aging, Castro still performs and gets his usual numbers. Castro can still run circles around his younger defenders. With TNT applying some load management tactics, expect Castro to be fresh for this series.
Stanley Pringle vs Roger Pogoy
When Pogoy started his career, he was known only for his defense but the pride of Talisay City, Cebu managed to improve a lot. He is now a solid scorer and is very shifty. He has a reliable back-to-the-basket game when pitted against smaller guards. Pogoy can also defend bigger players when switches arise. During this bubble, Pogoy started hot, but eventually cooled down in the latter part of the eliminations and the semifinals. With his speed and height, he can surely make Stanley Pringle's life miserable in this Finals Bubble.
On the other hand, Stanley Pringle has been a steady presence for the Gin Kings. When the Kings struggle, they can rely on Pringle to do his magic and carry the Kings on his shoulders. In this PBA bubble, Pringle has been consistent. With Pringle's speed and athleticism, he will make Pogoy work on defense which in effect may hamper Pogoy's offensive production.
Scottie Thompson vs Ray Parks Jr.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. has been tearing it up the PBA Bubble. After scoring 40 points in his first game, Parks carried the struggling TNT squad on his broad shoulders. With his athleticism, shooting and heft, expect Parks to give problems to Scottie Thompson.
Thompson showed a lot of improvement in this PBA bubble. Right now, he has a better shooting percentage from deep compared to the previous seasons. Expect Scottie to be a beast on the boards once again - unless TNT find ways to stop him. If Scottie finds his stroke from deep in this series, Coach Bong Ravena and Mark Dickel should stuff themselves pain relievers for such scenario will give them a lot of headaches.
Japeth Aguilar vs Troy Rosario
This matchup depends on which Troy Rosario we are going to see in this series.
Troy started this PBA Bubble by having his usual numbers. However, after the game versus Ginbera where he only managed to score two points after missing all his 15 shots from the field, Troy's performance dipped tragically. In the semifinal series against Phoenix Super LPG, it was clear that when Troy got his touches, there was a lot of hesitation in his eyes. His confidence has diminished big time. But if Troy will manage to show the Troy Rosario that we saw in the Finals against SMB, then, BGSM is in for a very long series.
As for Japeth Aguilar, he started this bubble on limited minutes. As soon as Japeth got his wind, then he started to dominate games in this bubble. Japeth has been pretty consistent for BGSM Kings.
Poy Erram vs Prince Caperal
JP Erram will have a sigh or relief when facing Prince Caperal. I am not saying Prince is weaker compared to Justin Chua, but my point is Prince plays in contrast to the style of Chua. Prince is a finesse kind of player compared to Chua who is physical. All of us are witness to how Chua manhandled Erram in some plays.
Erram will have his opportunity to get back his confidence with this matchup. He can attack Caperal from the inside and out. Because of Erram being quicker than Caperal, Caperal's laterals will be tested against Erram.
However, Caperal, who is a strong candidate for Most Improved Player cannot be underestimated by Erram. When Caperal gets his shooting going, expect frustrations from the side of Erram.
This will be the first finals appearance for Erram. I expect him to be over aggressive and have some jitters during the start of this series.
THE OTHERS
TNT's bench is way younger compared to the Gin Kings'. Expect these fresh legs to be used by TNT to its advantage. I expect Kib Montalbo to be an X-factor for TNT. Expect him to annoy Pringle and Tenorio all-series long.
The Gin Kings have the advantage on experience. All of their veterans have a lot of finals experience under their belt except for prized rookie Arvin Tolentino. But despite Tolentino being a rookie, the kid showed a lot of courage during crucial plays, same goes for Montalbo on the side of TNT.
This bench battle will be a duel between the young guns of TNT and the old reliables of BGSM.
Tim Cone vs Bong Ravena
Tim Cone, who has 31 years of coaching experience as head coach and has managed to bag 22 championships under his belt, clearly has the advantage. His coaching staff has been with him for quite some time, and that years of being together will serve wonders for coach Tim.
On the other hand, Coach Bong Ravena only has two years of experience as head coach with no championships under his belt. But despite his lack of experience, compared to his counterpart, he still has a trump card under his sleeve in the name of active consultant Mark Dickel.
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