UV's Giant(s)

UV’s conquest of UC in winning its ninth straight CESAFI championship will no longer be known as the win of the one giant in Greg Slaughter over the other, Junemar Fajardo. It will and should be recognized as the conquest of UV the giant dominating UC in every aspect of the game.

While many expected the finals to be a Slaughter-Fajardo show, Coach Boy Cabahug did a great job of easing pressure of his big man and instead relied on his entire team to win his ninth straight title. And this is what basketball giants do so well. They’ll somehow lead people to believe that Slaughter is the only show on the team, then pull a surprise on all with the excellent performances of everybody else who were always hidden behind their giant. At the end of the day, UV’s cast of little giants were the real giants of the CESAFI Finals.

If one is to look for one key factor that contributed to the UV championship, it would have to be the excellent play of the Lancers’ backcourt. The Lancers, anticipating that UC was essentially a four-guard, one-center set-up, also fielded a similar match-up with the rotation of Chris Diputado, Harold Cincoflores, Ritchum Dennison, Phil Mercader and Emman Calo taking the 1-2-3 spots to complement Slaughter. They’re all natural point and off guards who are all stand shorter than six feet. While UV needed a bigger set of players against other CESAFI teams, the five-guard rotation was just perfect for UV against UC. In fact, there were times when four guards were on the floor along with Slaughter.

The playmaking of Diputado and Cincoflores was crucial in the win, especially in Games 3 and 4 where they totally dominated UC. They broke the press consistently, and distributed the ball perfectly among their teammates on the floor for easy baskets. In Game 3, both combined for 16 assists in running the UV offense. Calo was the surprise package in offense, benefitting from the feeds of Diputado and Cincoflores. It seemed like UC never took Calo seriously (maybe a lack of scouting?), as the rookie was all over the place making easy lay-ups in transition and drilling triples when left open. The irony of it all is that after Calo scored 15 points in Game 3, he came back stronger with 21 points in Game 4. Wasn’t he scouted at all?

Many people have raved at how Boy Cabahug and Al Solis did a great job in pushing the right buttons in UV’s player rotation. They aren’t scared to make substitutions that somehow don’t make sense only to come out making the right decision. In Game 4, UV didn’t start out well in the first quarter and decided to call on Boycab’s son, Mykee. In an instant, Mykee drilled two out of UV’s five triples which served as the only points made in the quarter. Mykee never saw action again, but his instant offense impact was greatly felt. In the box scores, he tied Slaughter’s six points, but this came in only five playing minutes.

Another surprise strategic decision from UV was their three-point shooting. UC is widely known as being one of the better (if not the best) three-point shooting teams with Janssen Abella, Kelvin Juliane, Kevin Quilantang, Rommel Luceño, Robinson Muhammad, Kim Gomez and Mark Tano serving as a perfect multiple choice of players who can shoot the trey. But the CESAFI finals was a different story. UV surprised everyone with their three-point shooting. Case in point was Game 4. By the third quarter, UV had drilled ten triples against two of UC. Cincoflores, Calo, Dennison and Mykee Cabahug reigned from the outside, thus spreading the UC defense to open up the inside. Tano made three straight 3’s in a UC fourth quarter rally, but these weren’t enough to turn the tide.

But that wasn’t it. A few may not have realized that Junjun Lasala was sitting on the bench due to his five-game suspension. And instead of getting worried, UV’s deep bench stepped up. While the five-man guard rotation took care of the 1-2-3 spots, Ralf Olivarez, Mark Manigque and Edrian Lao manned the power forward spot in Games 1 to 3. Lasala was back in Game 4, but it hardly mattered. UV would’ve won even without him. Now I know why Boy Cabahug didn’t have any qualms when Lasala was suspended.

Another crucial department where UV completely dominated UC was in mental preparation. Buoyed by eight years of championships, the Lancers were focused and determined to win it all, while UC was inconsistent. They were often tentative and their killer instinct was gone when UV would mount big leads in the game. This mental preparedness had the entire team coming out with confidence in every game, making them more relaxed and at ease to execute their game plans.

Now that talk is already pointing towards a tenth straight title, UV looks like they’re up to the challenge. Slaughter is expected to be back for one last hurrah (or is he headed elsewhere?). UV also has another 6-5 Fil-Am who’s reportedly on board and practicing with the team already. Cincoflores, Mercader and Calo will be back while everyone else who’ll leave will be replaced by players coming from UV’s deep bench of reserves in Team B. Deep indeed is this giant.

We have always said since the pre-season that UV was still the reigning champ and their belt will have to be taken away (by force). They aren’t a nine-time champion for nothing and they will defend their titles at all costs. It will take more than a giant to take them down.

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Time-out: As we commemorate All Saints’ Day today and All Souls’ Day tomorrow, let’s all join hands in praying for all the souls who have departed. You can reach me at [email protected]