Difficult journey begins

Shortly after steering B-Meg to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Sunday night, coach Tim Cone confessed he never planned to win a championship so quickly since moving from Alaska to take over the Llamados’ reins from Jorge Gallent at the start of this season.

Cone, 54, even took a punch on the jaw in his first conference with only his second PBA team in a coaching career that began in 1989. That was when B-Meg zoomed to the top of the Philippine Cup eliminations only to be unceremoniously booted out of contention by Powerade in the first round of the playoffs despite a twice-to-beat advantage. The Tigers, ranked No. 8, shocked B-Meg, 97-86, and 131-123 in overtime to register one of the biggest upsets in PBA history.

But Cone wouldn’t be denied his place on the dias in his second try on the Llamados’ bench. In the Commissioner’s Cup, B-Meg survived Meralco in the quarterfinals and Barangay Ginebra in the semifinals to arrange the showdown with Talk ‘N’ Text in the Last Dance. The Llamados could’ve been exempted from the quarters but lost to Ginebra in a playoff for the second outright semis ticket. B-Meg got off on the wrong foot in the Meralco series and lost Game 1, 103-81, before regrouping to clinch with back-to-back wins, 95-85 and 86-76, in the best-of-three series. In the best-of-five semis, B-Meg disposed of Ginebra in four.

In the finals, Cone leaned on defense to get the job done as B-Meg limited the Texters to an average of 79.8 points in four wins compared to 98 in three losses. In those four wins, B-Meg held the Tropa to less than 40 percent field goal shooting. B-Meg took Game 7, 90-84, limiting Talk ‘N’ Text to 39.5 percent shooting from the floor.  

It was fitting that the finals went the distance and took a five-minute extension to settle Game 7 which drew a crowd of 21,046. The average attendance in the finals was a whopping 16,403 with a low of 11,862 in Game 2 that was played on a Wednesday.

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“I had no timetable as to when to win a title when I joined B-Meg,” said Cone. “In fact, I felt no sense of urgency in winning a championship. I mentioned to management that it would take time to rebuild the team, to lay out a foundation for the future. So this championship was a blessing. I just don’t know if this is artificial because you can win one championship but the hard part is winning the second, the third and so on. That’s what makes a team like Talk ‘N’ Text so great. They’ve gone to the last five finals and won three titles.”

Cone said B-Meg is still in the process of transition. “I’ve had to improvise because there just isn’t that much trust yet in the triangle (offense),” he said. “We’re still working on it. But everyone’s committed. We’ve got players who work hard, who won’t give up.”

Before the conference started, Cone saw something special in import Denzel Bowles. “We’re lucky to bring in Denzel for a conference because I expect him to be in the NBA and we’ll probably never get him to play in the PBA again,” he said. “I watched Denzel play a couple of games with James Madison (University) but never spoke to him. It just so happened that he came from the school where my daughter is studying. I think he’s an extremely gifted athlete, definitely an NBA-type player.”

In two years at James Madison, Bowles emerged as the best player in the Colonial Athletic Association, averaging 17.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 32.2 minutes as a senior in 2010-11. Despite his glowing statistics, Bowles was ignored in the NBA draft. The knock on Bowles was his lack of defensive intensity.

Bowles’ immaturity was evident in some games during the Commissioner’s Cup. After all, he turned only 23 last May 1. In the Meralco series, he was outplayed by Earl Barron and Asi Taulava in Game 1 which the Bolts took handily by 22 points. Fans wondered if he was a choker particularly as in the playoff against Ginebra for the second outright semifinals slot, Bowles coughed up only 12 points and was outdueled by Jackson Vroman. But Bowles rebounded to bail B-Meg out of trouble in the quarters then hung tough the rest of the way.

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For a while, Cone questioned Bowles’ ability to play both ends. There was no doubt as to his scoring ability but as Cone knew B-Meg’s only hope to win the title hinged on defense, Bowles had to play big on the other end, too. In Game 7 of the finals, Bowles buried all talk of being a choker. He hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to force overtime and fired 11 of B-Meg’s 14 points in extension. Bowles finished with 39 points and 21 rebounds, both conference highs, in 50 minutes. He shot 16-of-29 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws. Bowles also had two assists, a steal and three blocked shots.

“That guy belongs in the NBA,” said PBA legend Jojo Lastimosa, working Game 7 on the TV panel. “You don’t find too many big guys who can dominate inside and shoot jumpers the way he does.”

B-Meg’s defensive orientation was the overriding theme in Game 7 as Talk ‘N’ Text failed to breach the 20-point mark in three of four quarters. The Llamados’ only hiccup came in the third period when the Texters hit 26 points, shooting 52.6 percent from the floor, as Jimmy Alapag went berserk with 14 markers, including 3-of-5 triples, in a no-relief, 12-minute job. But the effort took its toll on Alapag down the stretch. He limped off the court with cramps late in regulation after a courageous 29-point eruption.