Petron refuels in time, wins Governor's Cup title

Remember last conference when the then newly renamed Petron Blaze Boosters were pretty much hated on by every single San Miguel (and even non-SMB fans) for trading some of its core pieces in hopes of staying as a contender in the next three years?

Or how everyone wanted Ato Agustin's head on a plate because of his questionable rotations and lack of in-game adjustments?

Well, all is now forgiven.

While people will undoubtedly be writing about how Petron denied Talk 'n' Text's Grand Slam bid, let's concentrate on how special the team that won the Governor's Cup title is. Even if they had to win it by plugging in gaping holes with names like Paolo Hubalde and one-time UAAP UST hero Jojo Duncil.

1.  A shorter rotation means a fixed rotation
Arwind Santos no longer had to share air and floor space with athletic yet not-so-polished Jay Washington whenever he freelances in the paint. Denok Miranda was a lock at the PG while Alex Cabagnot slipped into the SG spot where he may not be as effective a scorer, but great as a ball handler and is another guy who keeps the ball moving. And whenever Danny Ildefonso is healthy, he is the best center in the PBA bar none (Espino's injuries have slowed him down the last five years, and Sonny Thoss is still a solid system player but not a star). Yes, they were depleted, but man for man, Petron had the healthier players and it showed. TNT's guards weren't running or driving as hard and were easy covers for bloodhounds like FEU stalwarts Santos and Miranda, and TNT's bigs are BIG but tissue soft in the paint and allergic to banging (which is big considering they had Peek, Carey and De Ocampo but were all schooled by Ildefonso).

2.  More playing time for Denok
It's no secret. And it has always bothered me that Alex Cabagnot played more minutes than Denok Miranda. Of the two, Miranda has the titles to back his claim for more minutes. Us fans, from his days back with FEU, to Viva and Santa Lucia all know and recognize that his game has more substance than Cabagnot. Now, it's so fulfilling to see him finally getting the playing time and "running with the ball" so to speak. Once Petron gets their SGs back, who knows if Miranda will still be playing this many minutes but if this series is any indication, he is arguably one of the league's better and headier guards (and he can now shoot too!)

3.  Ato Agustin goes all "Release the Kraken!" with star Arwind Santos
How did Agustin utilize the Swiss army knife greatness of Santos? Simple, let him run amock. Santos was pretty much all over the floor, showing that he is the best Filipino basketball player out there (and that's not media hype. Media hype would be Mico Halili et. al.'s love affair with Jay Washington). It's not like Agustin didn't have a prototype in how to handle a guy like Santos too (re: Calvin Abueva with the San Sebastian Stags who is someone that I'd love to see Santos play against, one-on-one). Santos had the series that LeBron James had versus Chicago. He covered everyone from Kelly Williams, Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo, Maurice Baker all the way up to Jayson Castro and blocked the shit out of them each and every time. Hell, if Ato Agustin asked Santos to guard Marc Agustin from the police, I wouldn't be surprised if Ato's temperamental son made it out of the country undetected! Every time TNT missed a shot, Santos was almost always sure to grab the rebound. And like the great Pat Riley would say, "No rebounds, no rings."

4.  Vintage Danny Ildefonso
Kick Ali Peek's ass? Check. School Harvey Carey? Check. Make a mockery of Ranidel de Ocampo? Check. Sweet jumpers from all corners? Check. Flex for fans? Check. This was "Demolition Danny" at his best in years (before injuries and that stupid 100 million Peso Tanduay offer got in the way).

5.  Anthony Grundy

Re-united and it feels so good doesn't it?

What would've happened had TNT's Ryan Reyes not been injured? I say, Grundy would've worked a lot harder on offense (ask James Yap, Willie Miller, etc.). Instead, Grundy was a walking mismatch. First, he was shooting TNT's import Scottie Reynolds face off. And when Mo Baker came in, Grundy shot his face off once he figured out how to work around the slower TNT replacement import. It also didn't help TNT's cause that Mark Yee had to grab so much attention to how Baker was being defended with that "up yours" episode of his.

All in all, I feel that the biggest difference was when Petron started throwing elbows and handing out hidden physical plays that TNT just wasn't used to/ ready for. TNT was running on fumes, and being hit time and again took the fight out of them. Credit goes to Ato Agustin for coaching this series "Old school" realizing that while he had a shortage in talent, he had an abundance of healthy guys ready to hand out ass-whoopings Stone Cold style.

The minute Denok Miranda played more than 10 minutes with his buddy Arwind Santos, the complexion of the series titled in favor of Petron (and brought in legit title hopes and nostalgia of their winning ways in the amateurs) who are now your Governor's Cup champions.