Don’t miss the Finals

If you haven’t watched the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) games lately, you’re missing a lot.

Those of you who were PBA fans of yesteryears when Bogs, Atoy, the Big J and El Presidente ruled will be pleasantly surprised to know that the league is once more glowing with excitement.

Of course, there’s a difference between the excitement then and the excitement now. Fans from way back insist that in the past, the PBA had no room for sissies because physical contact was more the rule than the exception. I remember Chip Engelland wore a boxer’s protector cup when playing a game because enforcers made it a habit to punch him in the groin. There were ugly brawls that sometimes spilled into the stands. The action wasn’t only fierce–it was hazardous to one’s health–and the fans loved it.

Today, the game is still physical but in a refined sort of way. Handchecking isn’t allowed so that takes away a lot of discretion on a referee making a contact call. But it doesn’t mean the action is less physical. It only means judgment calls are less subjective and calls are more consistent–at least, in theory.

Basketball was, is and will always be a contact sport. It’s in the nature of the game. If a referee blows his whistle on every bump and touch, incidental or not, every player will probably foul out.

What makes today’s game different from yesterday’s is it is played at a higher level. Today’s players are bigger, stronger, more skilled and more attuned to the technical advances of the game. There is a better appreciation of what it takes to win a game–teamwork, precision in execution, anticipation, scouting, mental toughness, matchups, strategy and tactics.

That’s why it’s difficult to compare the games of before and today because they were played at different levels. There’s no question that the game before was a quality game just as the game today is a quality game. But the degree of sophistication, skill and mental challenge is what makes one level different from the other. A paradigm shift is evident in today’s game.

Take, for instance, last Sunday’s games at the Big Dome. If you didn’t watch the games, you’ve only yourself to blame.

In the first game, San Miguel Beer leaned on a Danny Ildefonso jumper with less than a second left to eke out a pulsating 88-86 decision over Red Bull. That closed out their best-of-5 semifinal series with the Beermen clinching in four.

San Miguel had a 12-point lead in the final three minutes but Red Bull wouldn’t give up and knotted the count on back-to-back treys by Warren Ybanez and Junthy Valenzuela.

What would’ve happened if Enrico Villanueva hadn’t gotten his nose crushed in the first period? Villanueva left the court on a stretcher and was rushed to the hospital. What would’ve happened if Jimwell Torion played last Sunday? He sat out the game because of an injury sustained in the previous contest. What would’ve happened if San Miguel didn’t replace Chris Burgess with Ace Custis?

In the second game, Talk ‘N’ Text also closed out its semifinal series with a hard-fought 96-91 overtime win over Shell. Like the curtain raiser, the nightcap was a heart-stopper and had its share of ups and downs.

Shell came back from 19 points down and could’ve won in regulation if only Ajani Williams’ step-back jumper connected on the Turbo Chargers’ last possession. Then, with 1:40 to go in extension and the Phone Pals up by three, a back-breaking offensive foul sent Williams to the bench for good with his sixth personal and sealed Shell’s doom.

Shell team manager Bobby Kanapi was understandably upset by the call that robbed the Turbo Chargers of the chance to tie or trim the gap to a point with lots of time remaining.

What would’ve happened if Jerald Honeycutt, not Williams, was slapped with the foul on that pivotal play?

There was so much drama in those games that no telenovela could’ve rivaled the plots in terms of suspense, intrigue, controversy and tension. The what-ifs that were unanswered after both games only made the outcomes more dramatic, if not debatable.

So in the end, Talk ‘N’ Text and San Miguel Beer advanced to the Finals. Both deserved it. They finished 1-2 at the end of the classifications and were the only teams to earn outright semifinal tickets. Their duel for the crown jewels should be one for the books. Now, that’s something you definitely can’t afford to miss.

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