Today's game showed the Texters at their worst, indecisive and uncharacteristically statuesque in both offense and defense. If anything, the players looked exhausted and seemed to have been waiting for one of their own to step up and carry them through (a role usually played by Jayson Castro who was playing hurt and even sprained his good leg's ankle in the 2nd half).Here's a shortlist of what I see caused TNT's downfall this series:
1. Hurting backcourt
For all the negativity, Jimmy Alapag still played one hell of a season (Best Player of the Commissioner's Cup) before doing a "Miami Heat's LeBron James in the NBA Finals" from game three onwards. Yes, there are solid claims that he was playing hurt, but we failed to see that same fire and fight in the "Mighty Mouse" on several occasions. Jayson Castro played like an MVP and has nothing but titles and accolades on his future. Unforunately, as good as he is, no one can put up HUGE numbers while playing with an MCL tear, let alone a sprained ankle on the other leg. Ryan Reyes, another key contributor on both ends of the floor with his outside sniping and defensive hustle, was also hurt. In case you haven't been paying attention all season long, these three are the backbone of TNT's uptempo style of basketball.
2. If Ranidel de Ocampo's your go-to-guy, you're not going to win big
This series showed why, despite all the positives from Mico Halili and other color commentators, RDO will never live up to his potential. He is arguably the best big man in the series, yet opted to shoot from deep when he could've taken it into the paint. The only player on the Petron end that could stop RDO was Arwind Santos, and that guy was busy locking Alapag and Castro down. So what does RDO do? Spot up for threes. The turnover that sealed TNT's fate best captures his take on the game and the disappointment us fans of homegrown Pinoy big men have felt over the years.
3. Chot Reyes' bullish arrogance/ loyalty to his rotation
The difference between TNT and Petron who both had "depleted" line-ups but on different terms? One adjusted on the fly, the other didn't or couldn't. Yes, Reyes made the genius move of changing imports mid-Finals. But he bullishly believed that he still had enough talent on his roster, injuries and all, to beat Petron. On the other side of the fence, since Petron coach Ato Agustin had little to work with, he knew where to go and who should be on the floor at all times (Miranda, Santos and Ildefonso). Reyes could've brought in Jarred Dillinger (who has been buried as a 4th option at PG) to provide some spark whenever Castro, Reyes, Alapag and even the inconsistent Larry Fonacier were off but he didn't. He wanted to put an emphasis on defense, when all he really needed was more firepower.
4. No answer for Arwind Santos
There was a time when Kelly Williams was seen as Santos' equal-- superior even. But then Santos kept working on his game (and putting on some good muscle), while Williams suffered some blood disorders and what not before being traded to TNT and made to do the dirty work. Santos made an impact on pretty much the entire series be it on offense or defense, which I will write on my Petron entry up next.
5. Lack of ceiling/ muscle
What if Ranidel de Ocampo played exclusively in the paint and drew in defenders and kicked out to Alapag, Reyes, Fonacier and import Maurice Baker? What if Ali Peek were three inches taller, to at least see eye-to-eye with Petron's Danny Ildefonso? Sadly, TNT's shortage in legit post-up bigs caught up to them in this series. Once their guards went out the door with various injuries, TNT went from Fully Loaded, to "Pasaloaded."
Again, this loss doesn't mean that TNT didn't play well this series or the whole season, it just so happened that even the best fall down to age, injuries and a more driven team.
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