Will Ginebra stop ROS surge?

Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra made short work of their opponents in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals, taking care of business without going through the grind of a do-or-die game. ROS stunned San Miguel Beer, 113-104, and Ginebra disposed of Phoenix, 112-81, at the Ynares Center, Antipolo last Friday to punch their tickets to the semifinals. Now, the winners are up against each other in a best-of-seven series that could go down to the wire.

ROS got off to a 7-0 start in the conference then ended the eliminations on a sour note, losing three of its last five. SMB, in contrast, won three in a row before engaging ROS in the quarters so it looked like the Beermen were on track to survive and force a KO game. But ROS wouldn’t oblige. The score was tied entering the fourth quarter and SMB had momentum before a big crowd in Antipolo. Then, the roof caved in on the Beermen. Andrei Caracut took over in the final period, scoring 12 of his 29 points as ROS ran away with the win.

Instead of slowing down the pace to take advantage of matchups, SMB opted to outrace ROS and it backfired. SMC wound up with 21 fastbreak points and ROS, 22 but it meant the Beermen played to the Elasto Painters’ beat, not theirs. Down the stretch, SMB ran out of steam and ROS pulled away. Remember that 12 of SMB’s players are at least 30, compared to ROS’ seven, including Stanley Pringle who hasn’t played the entire conference and Beau Belga who has suited up in only seven games. Weary legs betrayed SMB when it came to winning time. ROS thrives in transition and leads the league in fastbreak points.  It’s a risky proposition if you try to outrun ROS.

Man for man, SMB is tougher than ROS with Bennie Boatwright, June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez leading the charge. But the danger of an ultra-talented lineup is when the going gets rough, players tend to forget their teammates. In last Friday’s duel, ROS finished with 32 assists and SMB, 19. The disparity had an impact on SMB’s field goal shooting which was .41.8 percent compared to ROS’ 43.3. In a close game, that could be the difference.

In the other battle, Ginebra had no problem showing Phoenix the exit. Defense was coach Tim Cone’s key as Ginebra held the Fuel Masters to 15 points in the second quarter and 10 in the third to settle the issue early. Ginebra’s execution was clinical on both ends. Phoenix could only score two fastbreak points as Ginebra dictated the tempo from the second period onwards. There was a slight hiccup in the first quarter which was high-scoring but when Cone shifted gears, Phoenix had no reply. In the semis, it will be ROS’ depth against Ginebra’s experience. Health is critical for Ginebra which relies on a short rotation. In a short series, Ginebra has the upper hand but in a long haul, ROS has the advantage.