WITH the PBA Commissioner's Cup taking a pretty lengthy break before the semifinals to give way to Gilas Pilipinas' final FIBA Asia Cup Qualifying games, it gives a chance to look back at all the teams that were axed this conference.
We'd be highlighting the semis bound teams like NorthPort, TNT, Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine soon, but it's time to put the spotlight on these teams, what they went through this conference and their outlook for the future before we totally focus on the PBA Final Four.
Converge
3rd seed, 8-4 - lost to Rain or Shine in three games
What happened? All eyes were on the Converge Fiberxers entering this conference as after a very impressive run in the Governors’ Cup, they went ahead and added sharpshooting playmaker Jordan Heading, and versatile Justine Baltazar to the team.
Whether they lived up to expectations or not, I’ll leave the judgment to their bosses and fans as they once again fell in a KO match in the quarterfinals, this time to fellow independent juggernaut Rain or Shine.
What makes the future promising for this team is… well just take a look at their line-up. This is a very young core compared to other playoff teams, and they’re only going to get better as they play continuously and stay healthy.
READ: Jordan Heading rues the worst time to get injured
It will be interesting to see… the FiberXers in the All-Filipino conference and how they’d fare while parading one of the most competent rosters in the league.
With Baltazar and Heading now spending more time with the team, the FiberXers will certainly be more cohesive come next conference, add to it the continuous growth of Alec Stockton, Justin Arana and Schonny Winston and you have a team that may be young, but already has a certain level of expectations given their talent.
The Philippine Cup is the perfect barometer for championship aspirants like Converge, and it could very well answer the question if this is a team they want to keep, or whether they’ll start eyeing veterans to beef up this young core.
They don’t even have to win a championship to prove that this is a core for keeps, but another quarterfinals finish next conference might just have the FiberXers big bosses start considering their next move.
Team patron and Pampanga governor Delta Pineda recently stated that he doesn’t see the point of trading this current core for now with the way they’re playing, and I agree.
READ: Delta Pineda says Converge is done trading - for now
But considering how serious this team is in proving themselves as contenders, and how they seemingly have the resources and the appeal to attract players into their fold, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them move sometime down the line if their rise becomes stagnant.
Meralco
5th seed, 7-5 - lost to Barangay Ginebra in three games
What happened? Injuries happened, that’s what. From the onset, Meralco dealt with injuries, from the likes of Raymund Almazan, Chris Banchero, Allein Maliksi and the like but despite the depleted line-up, the Bolts still hung tough and kept themselves within striking distance of a twice-to-beat advantage.
But an injury to Akil Mitchell late in the season proved costly, as a string of losses relegated them to a best-of-three series with archival Ginebra and history doesn’t favor them one bit in this match-up,
While they fought valiantly, Ginebra once again had their number as they bowed out of the conference at a familiar executioner’s hands.
READ: Alfrancis Chua chides Trillo after Ginebra win over Meralco
What makes the future promising for this team is… Chris Newsome, battling injuries and fatigue himself this conference, has truly embraced the role as this team’s go-to guy. With Mitchell obviously not himself in the quarters, Newsome elevated his game once more putting up averages of 22 points, three rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Newsome, at 34, still has plenty of good years ahead of him but….
It will be interesting to see… if the team still feels that they can win with this core surrounding Newsome.
While they are still the defending Philippine Cup champions and probably have one of the top, if not the outright best, defenses in the league – a lot has changed since that time.
Ginebra’s retooled with Troy Rosario, Stephen Holt, RJ Abarrientos and the returning Jamie Malonzo.
Converge is a totally different team from last season. San Miguel, while it hasn’t resulted in wins so far, is a younger and deeper team now on paper than it was when it lost to Meralco in that six-game classic.
Meralco’s still good. But is it ‘championship contender in the future’ good? Guess we’ll find out.
Magnolia
8th seed, 6-6 - lost to NorthPort in one game
What happened? After a generally inconsistent conference, the Magnolia Hotshots put together an impressive run late in the elimination round to book themselves a KO match for the final quarterfinal spot against the NLEX Road Warriors which they won.
They almost extended the series against top-seeded NorthPort into a decider, but ultimately allowed a Batang Pier comeback in the second half to exit in the quarterfinals once more.
READ: Victolero offers no excuses as Magnolia falls at the first hurdle
What makes the future promising for this team is… Zavier Lucero, Jerom Lastimosa and Jerrick Ahanmisi. Both Lucero and Lastimosa showed significant strides in this conference, with Lucero being their top local scorer and Lastimosa showing that he’s so much better now after a sad ACL injury ended his collegiate career.
And yes, I included Ahanmisi in there because even though he saw limited minutes this conference after such an excellent Governors’ Cup, I believe he remains integral to the Hotshots’ future.
It will be interesting to see… if Magnolia will now hand the keys to the aforementioned young trio and start building towards the future.
Veterans Mark Barroca, Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang are all still very very good, but is the composition of the team good enough to battle out for championships?
The point of comparison now isn’t only with the teams from the major blocks like Ginebra and TNT, but also against on the rise independent teams like Converge, Rain or Shine and even NorthPort ‘cause for the second consecutive conference, they’ve lost to independent teams in the quarters.
There’s an innate value in letting your young guns take the lead this early, and exposing them to difficult situations at this point of their careers will certainly make them grow up faster - but with that comes the risk of more losing conferences. Decisions decisions for Magnolia.
NLEX
6-6, 9th seed – lost to KO match versus Magnolia
What happened? Robert Bolick and Mike Watkins carried the offensive load for the NLEX Road Warriors for the entire conference, and they gave themselves a chance in the end, as they got a KO match against Magnolia for the final quarters spot.
Watkins, the Best Import race leader, struggled heavily in that match while the Hotshots leaned on a resurgent Ricardo Ratliffe to move on to the quarterfinals.
What makes the future promising for this team is… Bolick is only 29 years old and he’s at the peak of his powers right now. In the PBA, there are only a few players who can create shots for himself and his teammates like Bolick, so now it’s really all about surrounding him with the right personnel.
It will be interesting to see… how coach Jong Uichico’s young guns would do in the Philippine Cup. Shooter Xyrus Torres saw a buttload of minutes in this conference but guys like Jonnel Policarpio and Enoch Valdez haven't seen much action for the Road Warriors this season.
The pair has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, but we’re yet to see them truly break out under their veteran champion coach.
San Miguel
5-7, eliminated
What happened? Well, four imports in one conference happened. A coaching change midway through the conference happened.
Those changes, distractions, lack of continuity or whatever you may call it are enough to cripple teams and stifle them at least for considerable stretches, even teams which parade many–time MVP June Mar Fajardo in their roster.
True enough the unthinkable happened for the SMC group’s flagship team as for the first time since 2015, there was no San Miguel in the playoffs.
What makes the future promising for this team is… well they’re still San Miguel. And San Miguel doesn’t stay down for long. It still has Fajardo, it still has CJ Perez, Juami Tiongson will continue to find his footing with the team, so this remains one of the most stacked teams on paper with several tradable assets (wink, wink) at their disposal.
Also the last time the Beermen missed the playoffs entirely? They went back with a vengeance by winning the next conference’s crown.
It will be interesting to see… what moves San Miguel will make after this failure. Yes. Not making the playoffs for a team in the Beermen’s stature is a failure and knowing how competitive this franchise is, I don’t think they’ll sit idly by after missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
Blackwater
3-9, eliminated
What happened? After a promising run in the Governors’ Cup, Blackwater brought back the prolific George King to the fold but it didn’t yield the same results.
Well mainly, because the imports are a whole lot bigger this conference – and it showed. The Bossing were last in points in the paint, second to the last in points in the paint allowed and they also sit at the bottom half of rebounds, and rebounds allowed.
It also didn’t help that Sedrick Barefield missed a ton of games for the Bossing, only playing four times this conference.
What makes the future promising for this team is… coach Jeffrey Cariaso has big aspirations for this team and has certainly made this team competitive if not with the number of wins, at least with how they handle themselves on the court, most of the time.
Barefield remains one of the most lethal perimeter players in the league today, Christian David and James Kwetkuteye have shown that they can perform in the pros, and for as long as they keep this trio, they have their building blocks.
It will be interesting to see… how Sedrick Barefield will operate as the main man for Blackwater. Now playing without George King, we’ll certainly see just how good Barefield can be as the Bossing’s undisputed go-to-guy.
Phoenix
3-9, eliminated
What happened? Phoenix just couldn’t find its footing all conference long, as it couldn’t find a consistent local outside of Jason Perkins to carry the fight alongside the impressive Donovan Smith.
What makes the future promising for this team is… the team isn’t really known for trading away their young guns (Except for JV Mocon’s trade but I’m not losing sleep over it), and that’s always a plus because that means they can always build through the draft.
They still have Perkins, and they’ve surrounded him with promising players like Kai Ballungay, Tyler Tio and Ricci Rivero. While the outlook still looks bleak in the Philippine Cup for the Fuel Masters – best remember, Converge was terrible as well before its rise.
It will be interesting to see… if Tyler Tio finally gets the lead guard role from RJ Jazul and RR Garcia in the next conference.
Tio has shown ‘lead guard’ qualities in the past, but his inconsistency has called the need for veterans like Jazul and Garcia to take over sometimes – and they’ve delivered.
If Phoenix were truly to rise and join the ranks of Converge and Rain or Shine as the battling independent teams, Tio will have to emerge as a consistent lead guard for this franchise while establishing himself as the legitimate Robin to Jason Perkins’ Batman.
Terrafirma
1-11, eliminated
What happened? This conference saw the complete decimation of the once-promising Terrafirma squad which made the quarterfinals not too long ago.
The writing was on the wall, and as expected Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig soon followed the likes of Stephen Holt and Isaac Go as they were sent to San Migue before this conference started.
As expected, the Dyip once again went through a whole lot of losing, before getting another win over TNT before the end of the elimination round which means, at least they’re up 2-0 vs. the powerhouse squad in this season. Moral victories, yes?
What makes the future promising for this team is… man, assuming they don’t get traded, Louie Sangalang and Mark Nonoy are showing plenty of promise. If they can land a bonafide star rookie in the next draft.. Well who am I kidding. Just prove me wrong Terrafirma.
It will be interesting to see… what they do with Terrence Romeo. Romeo played in the final games for Dyip but obviously, this isn’t the team he wants to spend his final run in the PBA with.
I mean Christian Standhardinger opted to retire instead, Vic Manuel is reportedly now contemplating a move to the MPBL. So what’s next for 'The Bro'?
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