No need to panic

Props to Romeo Catap for the artwork

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, it's legion of fans at that, need to chill with all the panicking, heckling, critiquing and whatever drama rises out of the woodwork. The team is just fine folks, nothing to see here. Nothing worth blowing Twitter up about or calling for head coach Siot Tangquincen's head to be served on a silver platter... at least not yet.

With the acquisition of elite point guard L.A. Tenorio and high-flying rookies Chris Ellis and Keith Jensen (who's proving to be more of a knockdown shooter than dunker), expectations were insanely high. After all, there's reigning PBA MVP Mark Caguioa looking healthier by the day, old reliables like Jayjay Helterbrand, Billy Mamaril, Willy Wilson, Kerby Raymundo, Rico Maierhofer and Rudy Hatfield. Plus the rising Espana Express duo of Allein Maliksi and Dylan Ababou among other names (teka, si Elmer Espiritu na lang ata di ko nabanggit) to fill up the roster.

The first time out versus the hapless Global Port Batang Pier, Ginebra looked poised to win the title (and more). They were a dominant, run and gun team that were always in control thanks to Tenorio's quarter-backing and never had dry spells on offense because of Caguioa and Maliksi. But then, they started playing more games against better competition. Scouting reports were made, and teams were able to solve the razzle-dazzle style of play.

Ginebra was no longer running like they did in the first game, they could barely get the ball to the guys that they wanted. Maierhofer's freelancing ways like he did in the Global Port game seemed like a thing of the past, ditto with any easy driving attempt at the rim. Cortez got hurt, Tenorio slowed down, and before anyone knew it Ginebra lost four straight games.

First to take the blame (form fans anyway) is Coach Siot, whose style is an odd cross between trying to put an emphasis on playing faster and smarter. Basketball Gods have been just with that one, you can either run, or you can be smart. Can't be both unless you have a guy like Steve Nash at the helm (okay, so they have Tenorio, but the guy's been playing endlessly since the offseason and is bound to be burned out by semis).

Then there's the lack of firepower coming from former PBA MVP Helterbrand. He's being used sparingly yes, even as a 3rd string point guard, but can you really blame Coach Siot on that one? Tenorio's too good to sit. Cortez is younger and seemingly healthier, so someone needs to sit down. You could argue that Helterbrand should play the 2 spot from time to time (which he has in the past), but then you'd move a promising kid like Maliksi out of place since he's not really a traditional wing man who looks to run and defend (he wants the ball to score just as much as Caguioa).

Another factor that people have been pointing out is the absence of a legit big man. We honestly don't see where this argument is coming from since Mamaril has looked like a stud but okay, we'll agree with them for now. Perhaps a better rebounder is in order? Rico Villanueva is not the answer there folks, never was, never will.

While we sit here and read posts about how the team had a heart-to-heart convo this morning to try and get to the bottom of their losing ways, we believe that it's simply too early to really start panicking about Ginebra's chances. Remember, this is a team that is trying desperately to incorporate at least 5 guys into their system- Tenorio, Maliksi, Jensen, Ellis and now a returning from injury Ababou. It's not like they're being put into games slowly like Coach Olsen Racela did with Marcio Lassiter over at Petron, no, they're expected to contribute right away.

Give this team some time to work out the kinks and they'll be fine by second conference. Our suggestion, if any, is for this team to lose some of the wings in a trade for a solid big (there's only Alaska's Sonny Thoss and Barako Bull's Doug Kramer to choose from really).