Bataan Bomber needs a sidekick

Panginoon, pakibalik po ung laro ni Lassiter para sa Game 2

Last night's PBA Pinoy Cup Semis Game 1 Powerade Tigers loss to the Rain or Shine Elastopainters further cemented what many already know: teams need more than a superstar (no matter how great) to win.

Gary David displayed yet again just how good a scorer he is (and lately, consistently as opposed to the previous years, 20 points one game, 10 the next) and just how better he is offensively than some of the overhyped, flashy guards in the league. Problem was, despite his 30 points (17 in the first half), there was nothing the Bataan Bomber (KKS will keep using this monicker until it sticks) could do to stop the balanced RoS avalanche.

This is not a knock on David, but he is and will always be a scorer. Already in his 30s, don't count on him to add a post up game or develop a drive-and-kick 5 assists per night mentality. That's not who he is, and that's not something he should bother with.

The real problem here is Marcio Lassiter's abysmal 1 for 7 shooting. The usually reliable, do-it-all Scottie Pippen to David's Michael Jordan failed to live up to the hype and probably had a case of rookie semis jitters.

Was he saving up his energy for defense? That's doubtful. Not with RoS rookie counterpart Paul Lee exploding for 25 and marksman Jeffrei Chan for 27. Jayvee Casio tried to put up a fight with 12 markers, but his lack of creativity goes beyond the 9 assists that he norms per outing (that's what playing beside sharpshooters would do for your stats, ask the Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo who is a great player in his own right, but you'd be joking to rank him over Chris Paul and Deron Williams).

RoS' gameplan was run to perfection: let the Bataan Bomber run amock, but keep everyone else in check. On the flipside, the Tigers couldn't figure out which player they wanted to really stop to disrupt the RoS offense because of the latter's spread out, "call your own number if you're open" philosophy. Yesterday it was Larry Rodriguez. Don't be surprised if Ronnie Matias, Jervy Cruz or even Ryan Arana break free in the coming games.

Against the BMeg Llamados, they went up against a team that was a bit too overconfident and loose and enjoyed an insane shooting clip from David, Casio and Lassiter. With RoS, the Tigers will need more than just the Bataan Bomber to advance to the Pinoy Cup Finals.