Good Defense > Good Offense

Big Game James' new well-rounded
game trumps David's electric scoring

Yesterday's "semis-positioning" game in Legazpi City between the BMeg Llamados and Powerade Tigers proved not only to be entertaining on all fronts, but the adage that "good defense will always triumph over good offense." The Llamados won in overtime, 110-98, but it was more than just a Wild Wild West shootout.

Granted, both teams scored in amazing fashion with the score locked at 90 a piece at the end of regulation. But once we hit OT, the Llamados buckled down to work defensively and crashed the boards while the Tigers were starting to shoot blanks-- with season Most Valuable Player frontrunner Gary David, the Miracle Man, obviously tiring out.

With scoring apostle PJ Simon back in the starting line-up and looking stronger with each game, the Llamados were able to go back to their strengths which is the perimeter game. Import Maqrus Blakely and 2x MVP James Yap completed the troika, with some timely sniping from Josh Urbiztondo. Though they were never really threatened early, the Llamados seemed content in engaging the Tigers in their own run-and-gun game.

While the Tigers got ample contributions from David (34 points), hard working import Omar Sneed (21) and rookie JVee Casio (23), they weren't controlling the game at all even when they made runs. It was more of the Llamados taking their foot off the gas rather than the Tigers doing anything special.

On TV, it looked awesome: a shootout for all the fans who trooped to the Legazpi City gym. In reality, it wasn't even close. Then again, you can never count out three point shooters specially when they're pretty much given the green light to keep on shooting no matter the percentages (David had an early horrendous stretch just jacking up wild threes without Coach Bo Perasol reining him in).

The match-up between Sean Anthony (Marcio Lassiter's replacement) and Yap was so bad that, the Negros Occidental native was pretty much making the crack Fil-foreign wingman his play thing the whole game. How MJ always said, "you reach, I teach." Yeah, it was that bad.

But the blame shouldn't be placed on Coach Bo. There's only so much D you can squeeze off Casio and David (scorers), Anthony (energetic but raw) and the mercurial and inconsistent Rabeh Al Hussaini (immature).

High-scoring offenses will win you games every now and then, and credit should go to Coach Bo for masking his teams glaring weaknesses-- defense, by running up the scoreboard. But against Coach Tim Cone and his mighty Llamados who are all rounding back into Playoffs shape, you need discipline to win.