The war continues

Two flagrant-1 fouls were called in Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals between San Miguel Beer and Alaska at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Friday night. There were at least six interruptions of play, thrice for technical fouls. Arwind Santos took an elbow on the forehead in a rebound battle and walked away with blood trickling down his face. He trooped to the dugout for a quick patch-up job in the third quarter and came back to play in the payoff period, announcing his re-entry with a booming triple. Santos later went to the hospital where he had three stitches to sew up the cut.

The league’s leading scorer JuneMar Fajardo left the game with a sore back in the fourth quarter and went straight to the dugout for treatment. San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla said Fajardo got banged up but he’ll be fine for Game 3 at the Big Dome this afternoon. Assistant team manager Danby Henares said aside from the three stitches, Santos was given tetano toxoid shots.

Ronald Tubid picked up a flagrant-1 for a wayward forearm on Calvin Abueva’s gut while Vic Manuel was also tagged with the same penalty for wrapping an arm around David Semerad’s neck. Semerad and Dondon Hontiveros had their own encounter, both winding up sprawled on the floor. Players and coaches rushed to pacify the two who were locked in a mixed martial arts kind of ground duel. The referees called a double foul. Coach Alex Compton drew a technical for entering the court and Abueva a technical for confronting Chris Ross.

Things got heated up as Abueva and Santos tried to unnerve each other. Curiously, both are provincemates from Pampanga. Santos said Abueva told him not to take it personal. “Sabi ko sa kanya, siya nga ang nag-pepersonal sa laro,” said the Spiderman. “Hindi ko siya kaibigan but okay lang kami.” Abueva took at least 10 knockdowns in the game, displaying the intensity he’s known for.

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In Games 1 and 2, the referees had their hands full trying to keep things under control. Abanilla took his first-ever technical foul for complaining about the referees ignoring an apparent disconcerting motion while Fajardo attempted a free throw in the series opener. “I don’t really know why I got a technical because all I did was ask coach Leo (Austria) why the referees didn’t call disconcerting when someone contested JuneMar’s foul shot,” said Abanilla. “I didn’t even talk to the referees.”

The fierceness of the competition is par for the course in the Finals. The referees, however, must do a better job of making sure the action doesn’t deteriorate into a Pier 6 brawl. The physicality is expected because nobody ever said basketball is a non-contact sport. The referees will allow contact for as long as there is no advantage or disadvantage caused and it is incidental. PBA commissioner Chito Salud himself has said there is no place for hooliganism and cheap shots in the league – dirty play will never be tolerated.

Salud has summoned eight individuals for a talk-down at 2 this afternoon, three hours before the Game 3 tip-off. In the invitation list are the San Miguel utility man who appeared to make physical contact with Abueva in the sidelines, Tubid, Manuel, Semerad, Hontiveros, Abueva, Santos and Alaska associate head coach Louie Alas. Salud is expected to deliver a strong warning to his invited “guests” to be at their best behavior the rest of the series or else.

In Game 2, Austria made the right adjustments in leading the Beermen to a 100-86 victory to level the series at a win apiece. He used 11 players in Game 1 and 13 in Game 2, stretching his rotation and keeping fresh legs on the floor throughout the contest. Two Beermen logged at least 40 minutes in Game 1 while no one played as long in Game 2. Austria rotated his players skillfully with special attention to Fajardo who clocked 47:29 in Game 1 and was clearly exhausted down the stretch. In Game 2, Fajardo played 35:47 minutes and had enough in his tank to score seven points in the fourth quarter before retiring to the dugout for back treatment.

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San Miguel cut down its turnovers from 26 in Game 1 to 23 in Game 2 but more importantly, generated multiple possessions with 22 offensive rebounds to Alaska’s 13 last Friday. San Miguel focused on controlling the boards so the Beermen could set the tone for Game 2. San Miguel had more rebounds, 52-30, in Game 2 and took away Alaska’s pace to make it a high-scoring affair. Before the Finals, Alaska gave up an average of only 81 points a game. In Alaska’s six losses this conference, three came when opponents scored at least 100. The Aces have not beaten a team that has hit at least 100.

Compton sped up the tempo in the third period to avoid Fajardo establishing his position on defense. For a while, the ploy worked as Alaska scored nine fastbreak points to San Miguel’s two in the quarter and the Aces closed out the period trailing by only two. But it meant playing up-and-down and engaging San Miguel in a foot-race, straying from the defensive formula that worked for Alaska in Game 1. As a result, the Aces ran out of steam in the fourth period and San Miguel’s fresh legs took over with Ross and Fajardo combining for 17 points in the last 12 minutes.

Alaska finished Game 2 with more bench points, 37-29, but the disparity was a lot less in Game 1 where the Aces relievers had a huge 61-20 edge. In Game 2, there were five San Miguel players in double figures compared to four from Alaska. Semerad came off the bench to contribute a career-high 10 points. The Aces lacked the aggressiveness to attack the basket and had only 6-of-8 free throws to San Miguel’s 20-of-25.

Hontiveros and Chris Banchero combined for 31 points in Game 1 but only for 15 in Game 2. Abueva wasn’t his usual self and finished with a quiet 11 points, a far cry from his 22 in Game 1. Clearly, Abueva must be at his best for the Aces to win and that means playing with high energy. Abueva should stand his ground and not allow emotions to distract his focus. He’s too valuable a player to tone down his intensity.

It’s Alaska’s turn to make adjustments in Game 3. Compton will want the Aces to attack the basket with more conviction, to go for rebounds with more ferocity and to play defense with more teeth. Alaska will try to keep the scores low as it did in Game 1 and avoid an offensive engagement. The series is down to a best-of-five affair and the team that wins Game 3 today will take a major step towards claiming the title.