2018 Gilas Beats Luzon All-Stars

Terrence Romeo broke the record for the highest point-output by a player in a PBA All-Star Game by scoring 48 points to lead Gilas Pilipinas to a victory. The previous record was held by James Yap at 44 points. Terrence Romeo was named the Best Player of the Game.

While an All-Star game is generally seen as a game which lacks defense, Terrence Romeo actually had to face a lot of different defenders from the Luzon All-Stars but not one of them was able to stop him. A healthy Terrence Romeo is probably the closest thing the PBA has ever had to a Kobe Bryant. Romeo was guarded by the likes of LA Tenorio, Calvin Abueva, Alex Cabagnot and even had an almost-scuffle with Arwind Santos. The Luzon team even tried to put Japeth Aguilar in front of Romeo, in the same way that Phil Jackson would put a Scottie Pippen on the opposing team's point guard, but it did little to stop Romeo's offense. Ironically, Japeth was the highest scorer for the Luzon team. He reached 41 points.

It would have been interesting to see Coach Austria assign the one player who I think could have guarded Romeo, Stanley Pringle. But Pringle barely got any playing time, and I didn't see him go against Romeo or vice versa. Since both players used to be teammates on Global Port, they've probably guarded each other during scrimmages and Pringle would have had an idea on how to slow down or stop Romeo. And it would have completely settled the argument on who the better player was once and for all in the minds of the fans and Global Port management.

Despite an 8-man rotation, Gilas managed to pull-off a win. The combination of Romeo, Pogoy, Rosario, and Fajardo proved to be deadly with occasional substitutions from Norwood, Jalalon, and Belo. Maliksi was injured early in the game. The Romeo, Pogoy, Rosario trio is similar to the Cabagnot, Lassiter, Santos support of Jun Mar in San Miguel. I wrote an earlier article on how TNT has copied San Miguel's system. They might actually win the 2018 Commissioner's Cup since the only piece of the puzzle missing is Jun Mar Fajardo. If they could acquire Fajardo and bring him over to TNT, then this game is what it would look like. And the Commissioner's Cup is TNT's chance to prove that this system works, since they can acquire a big import to simulate the presence of Fajardo in the middle.

It is also ironic that Leo Austria was the coach of the Luzon All-Stars. If the Luzon team won, then it means that Austria could win without Fajardo. But could Phil Jackson have won without the MVP of the NBA during his time - Michael Jordan? (He won with Kobe Bryant who was also the dominant player of the league and very similar to Michael Jordan). Perhaps Austria is trying to prove that San Miguel can win without Jun Mar Fajardo, which is why he is favoring Standhardinger in the end games of SMB. But Standhardinger has yet to prove he can become a PBA MVP. Jun Mar might be getting old, but I think the reigning MVP still has a lot of years in him, so why not play him while he is still at his peak?

Also, Austria should stop trying to make the Fajardo Standhardinger simultaneous combination work. It slows down the team, lessens the 3-point options and mobility, and ruins the spacing of the team. It reminds me of a Kelly Williams Mo Tautua combination. And we know that SMB won that matchup against TNT. So if TNT is copying your winning strategy, why are you trying to copy theirs?

Romeo sheds some light into how SMB can get back into it's winning form. SMB shooters should hit their 3-point shots when they are open. Let Jun Mar worry about rebounding and put backs. SMB shooters should just play loose and find their magic touch from the outside. Santos has it as he has shown in this game. Lassiter has it from time to time. But Cabagnot seems to have lost his consistency from beyond the arc. I would rather Coach Austria give minutes to Pessumal and Heruela and even Chito Lanete so that he can maintain 4 shooters on the floor. Standhardinger can sub Fajardo, but Fajardo should still be your primary option for the center position.

Sorry if this has turned into an SMB rant. I just want my team to get back to it's winning form before it reaches a point in this conference which is too late for them to recover and get to the Finals. But if they don't make it, I hope TNT wins the Commissioner's Cup championship. We'll just have to see if either of them end up at the top this year.

SMB Excessive Experimentation Leads to Loss

For an SMB fan like me, it was painful to watch their debut last night in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup. Experimentation led to their downfall.

As if it wasn't enough that an import changes the dynamics of their rotation, they had to give a lot of playing time to their rookie Christian Standhardinger. Unfamiliarity resulted in a lot of turnovers. And having some players in your core play out of their natural positions could also have contributed to their loss. Even the veterans seemed like they were out of place. Their spacing was really affected by having two slow bigs in Standhardinger and Gillenwater.

Standhardinger doesn't seem to have a post up game like Fajardo. And he can't finish on a fast break with a dunk like Matt Ganuelas-Rosser. Why, then, should you be given so much playing time when you are not yet a potential offensive threat?

I personally wouldn't mind experimentation if SMB wasn't chasing after a grand slam. As a fan, the grand slam chase is more important than a top-pick rookie getting playing minutes. Hopefully, SMB's coaching staff will set their priorities straight. Sharing the ball and fluidity on both offense and defense should prioritized. But their import and their rookie were ball hogs in critical moments. Instead of looking for the open man, they were looking to score and prove their worth.

When Matt Ganuelas-Rosser was acquired by SMB in a trade, they did not immediately integrate him into the rotation in that conference. He had to sit it out for a bunch of games. I think he only started getting some minutes in the succeeding conference and he has successfully been integrated into the core. Perhaps the same process can be applied to Standhardinger.

As for their import Gillenwater, he is no Charles Rhoades. SMB should either acquire a defensive import to stop the likes of Onuaku. Or if they are confident Standhardinger can do that (which clearly last night he showed he could not), they can imitate Tim Cone and go after a guard/forward who can finish the fast break with dunks, shoot the three, and is reliable at the free-throw line just like Justin Brownlee. Too bad this guy is already a staple import for Ginebra.

But Rhoades, if you are reading this, the fans need you so that opponents "Get out of the way!"

With too much tinkering, you break things that aren't broke. Having 4 guys that can penetrate or shoot the three and a reliable center is still SMB's strength. Deviate from that formula, and you might end up in the bottom of the cellar and not even defend your crown. Just look at TNT, they are copying SMB's formula for success and are currently at the top of the conference standings.

The time will come when SMB might want to play a three or four-headed monster (think point-guard with Fajardo, Standhardinger, Santos and Import). It might even be a five-headed monster if MGR's point guard skills improve. But this combination's effectiveness is probably very limited. It might only work against Ginebra if they play their four-headed monster. But having more point guards in your rotation means that the ball get's passed to the open man as soon as possible or that the open three is made.