Clash of the titans

It was the first-ever confrontation between Air 21’s 6-9 Asi Taulava and Petron’s 6-10 JuneMar Fajardo with both giants out to prove their mettle as the PBA’s most dominant big man today. Their paths never crossed when they played for San Miguel Beer in the ABL last season with Taulava checking in after Fajardo left so their encounter was highly anticipated at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday.

Taulava, 40, reported for duty against Petron averaging 8.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 blocked shot and 35.3 minutes. In six games this conference, he took an average of only seven attempts from the field, indicating a redirection away from offense to concentrate on rebounding and defense. Taulava averaged only five points in his last four outings after a 21-point explosion where Air 21 lost to Globalport, 114-100.

Since MacMac Cardona’s activation, the Express has somewhat turned things around. Without Cardona, Air 21 dropped three in a row on an average losing margin of 20 points. Heading into the Petron game, the Express was 1-2 with Cardona in harness but the two losses were cliffhangers, a 92-83 double overtime defeat to San Mig Coffee and a 97-91 overtime setback to Alaska. The breakthrough was Air 21’s 92-77 crushing of Barako Bull last Dec. 7.

Petron, in contrast, has been on a tear and showed up to face Air 21 with a 5-0 record. What’s remarkable about the Blaze Boosters’ jackrabbit start is how they’ve managed to win despite a rotation shortened by injuries. Coach Gee Abanilla has sent in only nine players in Petron’s last four games. Against Barako Bull, Abanilla even brought in rookie free agent Sam Marata who played for UP and La Salle in the UAAP.

Petron’s limited rotation was evident in how four key players are averaging at least 37 minutes – Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos, JuneMar Fajardo and Chris Lutz. Over the long haul, the grind will take its toll and Abanilla must generate more minutes from his relievers. Lutz even sat out the Barako game so you can just imagine how his absence told on Abanilla’s rotation.

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Against Air 21, Abanilla welcomed Alex Cabagnot back. It was his first game this conference.

Still out of commission was Ronald Tubid. Chris Ross missed the last three contests and was reactivated. Yousef Taha played just one game this conference and remains day-to-day. At least, Taha suited up last Wednesday, ready to play if called on.

The big story was Fajardo against Taulava. Fajardo, 23, checked into the game averaging 13.6 points, 17.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.8 blocked shots and 37.8 minutes. In the dressing room before the tip, Fajardo was briefed by Petron assistant coach Peter Martin on how to defend Taulava. The expectation was Taulava would attack from the elbow to the interior. Fajardo promised to hold his own even as he knew it wouldn’t be easy, what with Taulava’s bulk and experience.

As it turned out, Taulava played aggressive offense from start to finish. He took 21 shots, a far cry from his average of seven, and finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds in 40 minutes. Fajardo compiled 13 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots in 39 minutes. The Rock played his heart out but in the end, Fajardo showed he had a little more gas in his tank. In the fourth period, Fajardo delivered seven points and Taulava only two.

The game was nip-and-tuck with seven deadlocks and 17 lead changes. Anyone who said Air 21 isn’t competitive this conference ate his words. The score was tied, 88-all, with 20.2 seconds left and Petron in possession. Air 21 had no timeout left. Abanilla called for a clear-out to spread the floor with Lutz in the corner and Cabagnot dribbling the ball. Fajardo provided a ball screen for Cabagnot who used the pick to move away from Bonbon Custodio. Alas, Taulava didn’t switch, sticking instead to Fajardo whom he probably thought would roll to the basket. Custodio couldn’t go over the pick because Fajardo and Taulava were in the way. So in the confusion, Cabagnot was free to take a seven-foot floater with no help from the other Express players because they were stretched to the corners to cover the shooters. Cabagnot’s floater went in and Air 21 couldn’t get off a decent shot with about three ticks to go from an endline throw-in.

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For Cabagnot, the ending reaffirmed the legitimacy of his moniker the Crunchman. He did something similar at the end of the half, burying a buzzer-beating triple. He did it again to seal the deal for Petron. Cabagnot ended up with 10 points, three rebounds and seven assists in 27 solid minutes off the bench. Abanilla extended his rotation to 10 players and got double figure points from six players. Chris Lutz led the charge with 25 points in 38 minutes. The key was defense. Although Air 21 had more offensive rebounds, 19-9, Petron scored more second chance points, 11-4 because the Blaze Boosters wouldn’t allow put-backs. Petron compiled five blocked shots to none for Air 21. Defense also triggered Petron’s unforgiving transition attack which led to 27 fastbreak points to Air 21’s seven.

“The win proved what we can do as a team,” said Abanilla. “I wanted Alex with the ball on the last play to get back his confidence.” Petron collected 22 assists to underscore Abanilla’s point on teamwork.

Air 21 proved once and for all it’s no pushover. Although the Express is languishing in the bottom of the standings, its last three losses could’ve easily gone the other way. Coach Franz Pumaren is slowly generating chemistry with a team whose only holdovers from the previous Philippine Cup are Niño Canaleta, Wynne Arboleda, Custodio, Simon Atkins and RenRen Ritualo. It’s almost a brand-new lineup that Pumaren is molding into a crack unit and the Express is coming together with new hires Cardona, Eric Camson, Elmer Espiritu and Ronnie Matias.

On a final note, Fajardo’s moniker The Kraken owes its origin to English poet laureate Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem about the mythological sea monster with long tentacles. The poem was written in the 1800s and starts off like this: “Below the thunders of the upper deep; far far beneath in the abysmal sea, His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep, The Kraken sleepeth.” In the PBA, The Kraken is wide awake and dominating.