Sta. Lucia v. Purefoods – The Deserving Team Won!
Gary Mercado March 3rd, 2008 (Visited 1826 times) Tags: championships, dennis espino, dennis miranda, james yap, joseph yeo, kirby raymundo, marlou aquino, PBA
I admit I'm not the best person to review the Sta. Lucia Purefoods championship. That honor is reserved for John Dacanay my partner in crime. However, it's still basketball, so I'll give it a shot:
- The series' title might as well be 'Young and Hungry vs. Talented and not - so hungry': Yes Purefoods fans are gonna eat me alive for this, and yes, I agree Peter Jun Simon's performance is far from 'not-hungry', but as a collective, Sta. Lucia appeared far more energetic and fluid than Purefoods which appeared staid and old - inspite of the fact that man for man, I'd give Purefoods the upper hand anytime of day.
- James Yap is the Philippines' best player (depending on Purefoods).: The man has a stroke like genius and is unstoppable when he gets going, but that doesn't mean he's also gonna win championships. This has been the case from his UE days till today. He is God's gift to Philippine basketball in every sense, fantastically gifted, tall and good-looking to boot. He is the perfect salesman for whichever team he's playing for. In signing him up, Purefoods not only gets a great talent, but also a model for their products. He is the complete package. But can he bring championships? For sure he'll work himself to the bone trying, but definitely the challenge is on management and coaches to put him in a situation where he can best deliver wins. And that's a tall order, almost as hard as finding gems like him. It's a case of having a superstar but not maximizing his worth, a situation oft-repeated in highly competitive leagues.
- Same goes for Kirby Raymundo. If we had up to ten guys with the same skillset plus height and heft of Kirby, then we'd be preparing for the Olympics right now, mark my word. A big man good for 3 positions is rare in our part of the world, and there he is right there. Which brings us to the next topic:
- Why didn't Purefoods win? First of all, there was no reason why they couldn't. In fact, I find no reason why they'd not even sweep the Realtors if they wanted to. The key words of course being 'if they wanted to'. At the end of the day, I don't think they wanted to as much as the Realtors. They are supremely talented, but the Realtors looked like they were having so much more fun, were so much more 'together', and played with far more excitement that belied their smaller frames and lack of an inside presence. Which I can tackle more with the next question:
- Why did the Realtors win?: Mainly because I think they had more fun playing together. It seems to me that there's no specifics to put your finger on. It just felt like it was just the right 'formula', the correct 'mix' of players and coaching style that made that team work. I first felt that a few months ago when I saw a Ryan Reyes feature, where I saw what he could do and realized he was playing along guys like Joseph Yeo and Dennis Miranda. First, you think that they're obviously overloaded in the same position. Then, you take a minute or two and realize that hey, it must be fun playing in a team like that. You're all the same age and skillset more or less, so practices must be fun. I know that 'having more fun' sounds lame compared to more substantial reasons like 'taller ceiling' or 'better shot percentages' and other things like that, but I'm sticking to that reason because it makes sense to me. Players attitudes and overall work ethic rely a great deal on chemistry and the camarederie that goes on in the locker - room. This is all an assumption of course, but it certainly looks that way when they play.
- I don't believe the Press about Marlou's and Espino's contribution as the veterans: The papers are taking the 'veterans helped rookies' angle, saying that Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino helped motivate their younger mates by sharing their wisdom or something like that. I don't believe that for one second. I've a low opinion on proven underachievers, and while Dennis played well, I think both of them are just along for the ride that was started by Kelly Williams and the other young guns. Sorry, but Marlou and Dennis were the 'sabit' in this situation. They're lucky to be on this team than the other way around. I just can't picture them as the wise sages they're being sold to be.
Again, pound for pound I would've bet money on Purefoods. But again, as all sports shows, you never rely on just what you see on paper. That's what makes playing and observing sports exciting in the first place (and assures that I'll always have something to write about forever).
This last series is just another example, and it was very exciting once you realized each team's personality was distinct from one another. I'm sorry for James et al, especially for Simon who played his heart out. But Sta. Lucia played more like a team, and Purefoods inspite of their obvious strengths were not gelling as well as they should have.
In the end it was a great series to watch and I'm very glad for the PBA. Not only because they packed the Araneta but more so because the deserving party won - and that's a rarity in the Philippines in sports or in other fields.
March 4th, 2008 09:47
you're correct in several respects, Gary. The Realtors played with a lot of fire, played with a lot of purpose, and played like a well-oiled machine. I'm impressed with the Realtors' backcourt duo of Ryan Reyes and Denok Miranda. They were, I think, the primary reasons why the Realtors are the 2007-08 Phil Cup Champs. The leadership and the energy they bring each game is what makes Sta. Lucia a tough nut to crack.
Purefoods made the series quite interesting after falling behind 0-2 and could have been champs otherwise, if only they managed to sink their shots in the endgame.
The series was tight and both teams, I think, deserve to win. It came down to the last 12 minutes (the team who dominated the fourth canto have won in each of the seven games in this series) and the Realtors' heart and determination (bigger than the Araneta Coliseum) prevailed over the Giants.
March 13th, 2008 13:49
March 13th, 2008 13:55
bayad yun kaya ganun nangyari! ask encarnado...
March 14th, 2008 18:18
isa lang masasabi ko kung wala si idol sa Sta. Lucia hindi sila magchachampion. Kelly was good but he is not consistent. Dennis Espino "IDOL" is consistent in terms of scoring, rebounds and the leadership he gives to the team
November 18th, 2008 09:11
[...] Reyes - I am not going to take anything away from Reyes. I thought the world of him when Sta. Lucia won last March, and I still mean every word. But let me be frank. We're talking MacMac Cardona here. That's 18.2 [...]