In praise of Ryan Gregorio, and other thoughts on Purefoods vs. San Miguel

Posted by Jaemark Tordecilla on February 22, 2010 at 09:53 | Comments (21)

Purefoods coasted to a very, very impressive victory over San Miguel last night, winning the last three games in the series comfortably. The team will be making its third Philippine Cup finals appearance in the last five years, an impressive feat by any measure, so even if I wanted to make fun of Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, there’s just nothing to hang it on. The man deserves his due.

I specifically enjoyed his move to do away with physical practices for his team, going instead with video sessions and light walkthroughs, to conserve his players’ legs. It’s a technique that some coaches such as Mike D’Antoni have used to great effect, and it worked for Purefoods.

At this point, I have complete faith in Ryan Gregorio’s coaching. If, in the finals, he decides, “You know what, I’m not even going to go to the arena to coach, I’ll just text my instructions to Coach Ronnie during the game,” I’d be totally behind it. Papasahan ko pa siya ng load.

While we’re at it, here are some thoughts on the Purefoods-San Miguel semifinals:

Was there supposed to be a game 7 in the script? Ryan Gregorio must not have received the email from SMC. They really should call to make sure.

I’ve kept reiterating this on this site, but it’s true: the San Miguel Beermen are a bunch of frontrunners, and players like Jonas Villanueva and Mike Cortez are more likely to play better when they have the lead. They don’t really know how to play when they’re behind. In the last three games of the series, San Miguel did not taste the lead for even a second.

San Miguel has great depth, and they are a good team. Still, I don’t get the way announcers wet themselves when they call the Beermen roster ‘full of superstars’. Are we calling Jay Washington and Denok Miranda superstars now? In this series, two of the three best players were playing for Purefoods.

Also, for all the depth San Miguel has, it’s just a terribly-constructed roster, isn’t it? They have only one small forward in the rotation (Arwind Santos) and only one shooting guard (Dondon Hontiveros). They have four point guards and one combo guard, none of whom could apparently contain Roger Yap. They have three guys who play power forward in Danny Seigle, Danny Ildefonso, and Jay Washington, but none of those guys can rebound and defend consistently, so Siot Tanquingcen is forced to play Santos at that spot.

This also means either Hontiveros or one of their midget guards has to play small forward. Their centers, Dorian Pena and Mick Pennisi, can clog the lane and score a little (Pena on layups, Pennisi on jumpers), but they’re both phone booth rebounders who are easy pickings for an athletic frontline such as the Purefoods crew. San Miguel just got killed in the paint, on offense, on defense and off the boards

I’ve said before that Marc Pingris plays exactly like Hanamichi Sakuragi. Here’s something interesting: Purefoods hasn’t missed the finals in every conference wherein Pingris wasn’t injured. In the 2005-06 season, after acquiring him from Air 21, Purefoods made the finals both times. The next season, Pingris had a nasty ankle fracture, causing him to miss the end of the team’s Philippine Cup campaign and a significant chunk of the Fiesta Conference. In the 2007-08 Philippine Cup, Purefoods made the finals again with Pingris healthy, narrowly losing to Sta. Lucia in seven games. But the team traded him to San Miguel in between conferences for Enrico Villanueva, and Purefoods hasn’t made it back to the finals until they re-acquired Pingris prior to the start of the current season.

It’s not a coincidence, and it’s not Pingris being a lucky charm a la Bolado. The success of Purefoods with Pingris in the roster underscores the significance of frontcourt length and athleticism in today’s PBA. More than that, Pingris is a difficult matchup for other frontcourts because of his motor, which is a rare commodity. Another guy with extraordinary motor, Rudy Hatfield, enjoyed similar success in the PBA. After the 2009 draft, Tim Cone said he took a flyer on unheralded prospect Michael Burtscher because of the young guy’s motor.

Speaking of frontcourt length and athleticism, one way the Purefoods big men affected San Miguel’s game was on the break. The Beermen’s M.O. is predicated on leaking out and getting cheap points on the fast break, but Purefoods’ bigs were crashing the boards hard, forcing San Miguel’s guards to lay back and help out on defensive rebounding. I’d be interested in seeing how many fast break points San Miguel got off rebounds in the last three games of the series; it couldn’t have been much.

Dondon Hontiveros is a great basketball player, and in so many respects, he is much better than James Yap; he’s a better ballhandler and passer (especially on pick-and-rolls), he’s a better defender, he’s a better rebounder off loose balls (although Yap might be a better rebounder when the ball is up in the air), and he’s a more accurate shooter when open (Yap is better when shooting with a hand in the face). But Yap has one big edge, an explosive first step that allows him to get to the ring easily, and makes him impossible to defend one-on-one. Hontiveros doesn’t have that explosion, so when he tries to take his man off the dribble, more often than not, he has to take the ball back out and settle for a jumper. This makes Yap infinitely more dangerous than Hontiveros, and allows him to have a much bigger impact on a basketball game.

You could see this in play in the fourth quarter last night, when San Miguel started double-teaming Yap whenever he had the ball in the perimeter. Purefoods usually swung the ball to Roger Yap, who scored on a couple of drives in the clutch that put the game at bay off these plays.

By the way, the Roger Yap bandwagon? I’ve been driving it since the year 2000. Welcome, everyone! Glad you could join us.

Also, Cesca Litton mentioned in her report last night that James Yap was distracted because his wife, Kris Aquino, was in the hospital after slipping in the bathroom and suffering a concussion. I’m sure everyone’s glad she’s ok, but it makes me wonder: How much better would he be if he didn’t have to deal with, uh, being married to Kris? I mean, crap like Dr. Margie Holmes writing a lengthy article on Pep discussing the couple’s married life. Doesn’t he deserve a medal, at this point?

While we’re on the subject, Kris Aquino tweeted last week treated that she her cast mates to some food for her birthday. You know what she brought to the set? Cupcakes! I wonder where she ordered them.

Next up, a post on Alaska.

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Comments

#1 Jeff Tagle on 2010-02-22 10:17 (Reply)

off to a good start! :P

#2 jdsanjuan on 2010-02-22 10:44 (Reply)

Yep mali talaga ung tawaging "team of superstars" ang SMB. Talented nga ung roster nila pero ung mali talaga ung pagkakabuo ng lineup nila.

Nung matalo sila ng dalawang sunod sa game 4 at game 5, kitang kita naman na rebounding ang problema nila at apektado nito ang offense/defense nila. Pero dahil nga sa lineup nilang kulang sa malalaki at mahustle na players, di nila magawang mag-adjust. In short, walang flexibility.

Matchup problem ang lineup ng Purefoods at masasabing nagpeak o magpipeak sila sa tamang oras. Sayang kung nagbuwaya sana ule si Kerby nagkaron pa siguro ng chance matalo sila. Hehe

Kudos to Purefoods. Sayang mukhang snub na naman si Arwind sa BPC. I feel sorry for the guy, nasisisi siya ng ibang SMB fans sa pagkatalo e di naman niya kasalanan, it's really more of Purefoods playing way better than SMB.

Goodluck sa Purefoods vs Alaska. Mas mahirap i-zone defense ang Alaska dahil mas marami at mas consistent ang shooters nila. Magiging magandang laban ito sa finals. :D

#2.1 Joey_Escalera on 2010-02-22 12:44 (Reply)

A team of superstars is good if the coach knows how to deal with them. Unfortunately, Coach Siot does not!!!!
SMB now stands for not for San Miguel Beer but Siot Makes Blunders!!! LOL

#2.2 jaemark on 2010-02-22 13:39 (Reply)

i dunno where all the arwind hate comes from either. he's the only guy on San Miguel who could hang with the Purefoods front line.

#2.2.1 jdsanjuan on 2010-02-22 14:29 (Reply)

Dahil siguro akala ng ibang SMB fans na si Arwind ang magdadala ng team sa championship ala Gabe Freeman.

Magaling si Arwind at may puso kung maglaro pero ung laro talaga niya ay masasabing pang "tambay". Ung tipong malakas at mabilis tumalon at mahilig sa fastbreak pero kulang sa basketball fundamentals lalo na sa dribbling. He gets a lot of steals and blocks because of his athleticism pero mahina din talaga siya sa basics ng defense.

Masyado sigurong nag-expect ang mga SMB fans na yon kay Arwind pero di nila masyadong kilala ang laro niya.

#2.2.1.1 kevo on 2010-02-22 18:07 (Reply)

nice call on the "tambay" game of arwind.. i really believe that he gets away with a lot of things because of his length and athleticism.. but he really has poor hands, bad handles ,he isn't much of a rebounder and he takes a lot of bad 3 pt shots.. i didn't like his game when he was in feu/air21/bk and up to today i still don't

san miguel lost the series because they couldn't contain pf's bigs on the boards.. reavis has continually tortured smb with his length on both offense and defense (kahit sa gsm-smb finals last conf).. and the pingris trade came back to bite them in the butt.. watching game 6 last night was painful because they just let pingris have his way.. after a pf missed shot his defender would leave him instead of boxing him out.. sabi na may bv ako nung nasama c pingris sa arwind santos deal.. oh well

purefoods' bigs have length but most importantly they are athletic and quick.. they can show on pick and rolls and be quick enough to recover to their men.. that has been a problem for smb dating back to last conference's semis with bk and finals with bgk.. even with freeman and pingris with the team.. they don't have a mobile center who can rebound with the best of them.. pena and penissi can rebound but they are dinosaurs.. slow on rotations and can't really get off the ground.. and like jaemark said opposing big men have continually exploited that.. and when coach siot is forced to play danny i or j-wash at center they lose height and rebounding..

also their backcourt couldn't get the job done.. hontiveros had to defend james yap so his offense suffered.. cortez dribbles to much and only found his shot in game 6, miranda can defend but is a liability at the offensive end.. can't shoot from outside and can't even shoot a ft.. what happened to his feu days?? he had a pretty respectable mid range shot and ft%... olsen is well.. old and jonas disappeared in the series.. and lordy tugade their OTHER sf.. a guy who could've helped them stretch the defense was injured.. their guards didn't have confidence shooting the mid range j and on the other end got burned by roger yap

san miguel has a "deep" lineup but it really isn't as star-studded as analysts claim it is.. purefoods had the 2, maybe 3 best players on the court and it really showed.. with the return of gabe freeman for next conference i expect smb to do better but for now kudos to the giants and aces for a job well done.. and hopefully they can have a hell of a series that will reach 7 games.. so they'll have little time to rest for the next conference... bwahahahaha.. just kidding

#2.2.1.1.1 jaemark on 2010-02-22 18:15 (Reply)

this is a great comment... i really wish there were more comments of this nature on this blog.

one thing i would take issue with about your comment Arwind Santos, though, is his rebounding. the guy just has a nose for the ball, and he's impossible to box out because of his frame. this is why he'd been putting up dominant rebounding numbers at every level.

i agree, he's a flawed player, but the guy can clean glass. can't take that away from him.

#2.2.1.1.1.1 kevo on 2010-02-22 18:34 (Reply)

haha just frustrations of an smb fan.. well i was kinda thinking gabe freeman/marc pingris/harvey carey/kelly williams/freddie abuda like rebounding.. wherein they rebound like their lives depended on it.. and i don't think arwind quite fits that category.. in fairness to him he does put up good rebounding numbers for his size.. but i feel he occasionally takes plays off.. plus i have memories of gabe freeman totally owning him in the boards in last conference's semis.. but then again gabe is a import.. with that said it would be fun to see those two play at the same time in a small lineup for smb.. they can wreak havoc with their length but at the same time drive you crazy with the amount of silly fouls they tend to commit haha

#3 Nikki! on 2010-02-22 11:23 (Reply)

"They don’t really know how to play when they’re behind. In the last three games of the series, San Miguel did not even taste the lead for even a second."

The key to beating San Miguel all along was scoring the first basket? :p

"I’ve said before that Marc Pingris plays exactly like Hanamichi Sakuragi."

Ever since you mentioned that, I've been seeing a LOT of parallelisms! The too-strong passes that his teammates could barely reach, the power rebounds, the dives to save the basket. Kulang na lang yung dasal na magmintis sa free throw yung kalaban! :p

#3.1 jaemark on 2010-02-22 13:43 (Reply)

pati yung mga jumpshot na patay ang butiki, kuhang-kuha din

#4 vinzanity on 2010-02-22 11:48 (Reply)

nice blog kuya jae. pwede ka na atang pumalit kay kots ryan. haha.

add ko lang dun sa nabanggit mo about DH and JY is ung defense.. JY's defense against dondon in this series if not decent is simply amazing.

ika nga ni andy jao, JY's defense is notable for a player who's only known for offense.

Kung inaasawa sya ni dondon, inasawa nya na rin. Kaya siguro nanuod na ulit ng games ng SMB si valerie, para bantayan.. haha.

#4.1 jaemark on 2010-02-22 13:51 (Reply)

James gets a bum rap about his defense. the thing is, he isn't exactly a lockdown defender like Dondon, but he's not exactly awful. he has particular trouble guarding smaller, quicker guys (e.g. Cyrus Baguio, Sol Mercado), but he has no problems with guys like Dondon who just come off screens and take jumpers.

which leads us back to each guy's impact on the game; Dondon has to expend so much energy trying to guard James that he's pretty much reduced to being a spot-up shooter on the other end. on the other hand, James never really has to worry about Dondon beating him to the basket. James has a much, much easier job.

#4.2 jaemark on 2010-02-22 17:50 (Reply)

one more thing... tuwang-tuwa ako sa mga terms na old school ng basketball. yung mga inaasawa, sinusundan sa banyo, yung mga nagkakapalitan ng mukha. mas colorful yung laro.

#5 James Ty III on 2010-02-22 12:14 (Reply)

Valerie did NOT show up in the last two games of the semis. Another factor why SMB got jinxed.

#6 maeve on 2010-02-22 16:54 (Reply)

it's finals baby..yahoo..
hold your tongue against coach rg for 1 year jaemark.lol. sa game 1 sabihin mo saan ka nakaupo, hanapin ka namin.lol..
JY's defense is getting better. he might not be a good lockdown defender but his defense is commendable. i remember before, he and coach koy almost wrestle due to defensive lapses on his part. i keep on saying, JY's defense has improved this playoffs. thats a big help.
ping, oh ping. his energy radiates to the whole team. the hustles, the energy, the defensive duties, rebounding and all.
rico M, the young man is like ping in the making in terms of energy and hustles.
rafi, he is the head of the sampayan brigade of pf. with his defense together with ping, our shooters can shoot without hesitation coz somebody down low can snatch the ball if the shots are not falling.
the team is peaking at the right time. i expect an exciting final series as pf reaching the top at the end. =)

#7 Go Aces! on 2010-02-22 17:42 (Reply)

Purefoods tried their best to give that last game away.. bad shot selection and poor time management caused the game to be closer than it should have been.

With three minutes to go in the game and a tentative 7 point lead Kerby Raymundo was still firing three pointers. Yes, maeve, the tender beefy boys have faith in their rebounding. I just hope Coach Gregorio can get it through his players' heads that patience is a virtue.

Anyway I'm an Aces fan (really the fan of whatever team Jeffery Cariaso plays for and that goes back to his Tanduay days) but I have a bad feeling about this series. Purefoods' bench is deep.

Incidentally, jaemark, my wife and I have the same birthdays as Kris & James. Her birthday is Valentine's Day and mine is the day after. How cool is that?

#7.1 jaemark on 2010-02-22 17:47 (Reply)

i can live with the poor shot selection and bad time management for Purefoods... the truth is, the same things that make players like Roger Yap and Kerby Raymundo flawed are the same things that make them great. as a Purefoods fan, i'd rather they stay aggressive, even though it will lead to a lot of bonehead plays.

good luck to the Aces. pero baka dapat lumipat na kayo ng Purefoods because of the birthdays, hehe.

#8 Donnie Valenciano on 2010-02-22 19:17 (Reply)

now i can tell na mahal mo talaga si kris! hehehe.

#8.1 jaemark on 2010-02-22 19:26 (Reply)

hahaha... natawa ako dun, Donnie. syempre naman, binasa ko pa nga yung article ni Dr. Margie Holmes hanggang dulo.

#9 John Copada brigade on 2010-02-22 20:18 (Reply)

Assembling a bunch of talented players that only a team like SMB can afford has its downside and it shows in their series against Purefoods..they never learned from history ,their farm team in 1985 in the old PABL The Lagerlite team a virtual who's who in the amateurs then was stunned by Joe Lipa's team of unheralded players then ,Ronnie Magsanoc was still a greenhorn then.btw lagerlite was poorly coached in that series.San Miguel needs a coach who will be respected by their so called superstars.

#9.1 Legendary Skyflakes25 on 2010-02-23 09:21 (Reply)

lufet ng kwento mo. lol

ask ko kaya si Battle of Midway vet sa ibang details nyan. lol