Gunfight at Araneta corral

In the last Philippine Cup, rifleman Ren-Ren Ritualo was assigned a reliever’s role in Talk ‘N’ Text coach Chot Reyes’ rotation and started only once in 31 outings, averaging 17.9 minutes. Eight teammates logged more minutes than Ritualo whose scoring clip dropped to 7.9 points from his norm of 11.8 last season.

Back in 2005-06, Ritualo was at his peak, hitting 18.4 points a game and notching a career single-game high of 40.

This Fiesta Conference, Ritualo is averaging 5.5 points and shooting .318 from three-point distance. Four teammates are hitting a higher percentage from triple range, indicating a declining emphasis on Ritualo’s role as designated shooter. He’s also logging only 10.3 minutes an outing. Worse, Ritualo didn’t even play in the Tropang Texters’ 124-122 win over Alaska last March 27 and he’s tallied double figures just once so far.

Despite Ritualo’s dwindling numbers, he remains a serious threat in the perimeter. He’s sat on the bench a lot longer than usual lately because his buddy Mac-Mac Cardona has eaten up his playing time. All for a good cause, of course. Ritualo isn’t one to complain. What works for the team is what works for him.

Ritualo, whose jersey No. 4 is one of only three numbers retired by his alma mater La Salle (the others are Kurt Bachmann’s No. 33 and Lim Eng Beng’s No. 14), will simply do what he’s told because that’s what his father Florendo, Sr., a former PBA cager, taught him. Discipline is a trait that’s rare among stars and Ritualo, who earned a psychology degree at La Salle, is not a common player.

In Sunday’s Three-Point Shootout, Ritualo is out to prove something – that he’s still as deadly as ever.

It won’t be easy making a statement on the floor as Ritualo’s challengers are all lethal gunslingers, including two-time Shootout champion and Texters teammate Jimmy Alapag. The others are Alaska’s Larry Fonacier, Barako Bull’s Jeffrei Chan, Barangay Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid (subbing for injured Sunday Salvacion), Burger King’s Gary David, Coca-Coca’s Ronjay Buenafe, Purefoods’ James Yap, Rain Or Shine’s Don Dulay, San Miguel Beer’s Dondon Hontiveros and Sta. Lucia Realty’s Norman Gonzales (subbing for Joseph Yeo).

Here’s how the gunners shot from three-point range in the last Philippine Cup – Alapag .412, Fonacier .373, Gonzales .362, Hontiveros .418, Tubid .346, Dulay .300, David .264, Yap .326, Buenafe .342 and Chan .318. From the looks of things, Ritualo will be hard pressed to retain the crown.

Jumpshooters are favored over set-shooters in the contest because they won’t tire out as easily since their legs give a hefty boost to each release and their wrists aren’t as taxed. The danger is you expend a lot of energy jumping up and down to jack up shots so the exhaustion factor may be critical down the stretch.

In Sunday’s gunfight, each player will be given 60 seconds to convert as many shots as possible from five racks around the three-point arc. Each rack has five balls, the first four counting for a point and the fifth, a colored “advantage” ball counting for two points. The colored ball may be shot only after the first four in the rack are used.

The top three shooters from the single-round eliminations will advance to the finals, also a single-round affair. The highest pointer will be crowned the Three-Point Shootout King.

Sunday’s extravaganza will also feature the Obstacle Challenge, the Slam Dunk Competition and the All-Star Game climax pitting Powerade Team Pilipinas versus the North and South starters reinforced by imports Gabe Freeman, Anthony Johnson and Jai Lewis.

* * *

PBA operations manager Rickie Santos said the other day normal basketball rules will not apply in the Slam Dunk tilt. “Competitors can use two balls, they can run with the ball and do other things which would otherwise be prohibited in a regular game,” explained Santos. “However, a competitor must elevate without any assistance from either another person or by actions that have the desired effect like hanging on the rim with one hand while dunking with the other.”

The eliminations will feature two rounds with each player given one attempt per round. In case of a miss, he is allowed to re-dunk once. The grand finals between the winners of the locals and imports divisions will be a two-round affair.