Grudge Match: Rain or Shine versus San Mig Coffee

Simpleng sahod
sabay sorry by Papa Chris

The Rain or Shine Elastopainters successfully dispatched the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and their retarded coaching staff. Say what you will, but never did we doubt our earlier pick after Ginebra's over-rated "Never Say Die" performance in Game 2 of their quarterfinals match-up.

We're not hating on Ginebra, we're just as frustrated as their unwavering faithful that's all. This is a powerhouse team, they have the reigning PBA Most Valuable Player and arguable the league's best point guard the last year and perhaps the next three to four more. They feature an enviable combination of skilled wingmen and some All Star veterans who've won at every stop. They were playing against a team whose notorious bruisers were enjoying a rare off-series and a Negros Sniper whose been even more way off the mark.

Now we move on the a rematch of last season's Governor's Cup Finals. San Mig Coffee, this conference, has proven that they can now play at par with Rain or Shine in terms of physicality and street smarts. The hard fouls and extra motions don't faze them-- not anymore. Coach Tim Cone has made men out of the PBA's poster boys led by 2x PBA MVP James Yap and scoring apostle PJ Simon. Yancy de Ocampo is standing tallest among centers, Marc Pingris is his usual self and all the tutelage by way of Johnny Abarrientos has finally paid off for sophomore guard Mark Barroca.

BUT, they beat a Rain or Shine team this conference that was missing Rookie of the Year Paul Lee, first round pick Chris Tiu and defensive ace Jireh Ybanes. We don't want to sound bias here, but those three make Rain or Shine an entirely different team from all avenues.

There's bad blood between Yap and Ybanes, who are probably the closest thing we'll get to a PBA version of Kobe Bryant-Bruce Bowen. Ybanes has the smarts, speed and athleticism to stay with the "face of the PBA." This match-up alone completely stalls the San Mig Coffee offense and forces Coach Cone to look elsewhere-- usually to Simon, who's not exactly as intimidating as Yap (who's a big 6"2 guard while Simon's pretty skinny for his height and not someone you'd expect to back down a Lee, Ybanes or Ryan Arana who are as tough as they can get). So, let's move on with the match-ups:

Mark Barroca vs Paul Lee/ Chris Tiu
Kung si L.A. Tenorio nga, hindi gaano nakaporma kontra Kung Fu Kids, paano pa si Kapeng Barroca? Writing's on the wall, Barroca has the edge in speed, but Lee is going to attack him by using his height and heft. Answer here will be Jonas Villanueva, but for the love of everything that is holy, Coach Cone is just not a fan of the former FEU stalwart.

Adv. RoS

PJ Simon vs Jeff Chan/ Ryan Arana
What is wrong with Chan? Simon's explosiveness and scoring exploits will be needed in this series more than Yap's, primarily because it will force Chan to work double time on both ends of the floor. Arana can come in and play some physical defense to try and disrupt Simon, but as they say, "scorers score."

Adv. Tied

James Yap vs Gabe Norwood
Yap will get his numbers. How easily he does it will depend on which Norwood we'll see in this series. The good one that played like a St. Vincent-St. Mary skinny LeBron James in the Jones Cup, or the lethargic one that can't even post up guys half his size?

Adv. SMC

Marc Pingris/ Joe DeVance vs Jervy Cruz/ Ronnie Matias/ Larry Rodriguez
Pingris has a nice advantage in terms of athleticism and tenacity. Problem is, Cruz is playing like a young Alvin Patrimonio while Matias and Rodriguez can always drop an easy dozen points when left unguarded. Coach Cone will have to carefully examine this match-up, because Cruz' offense could lead to foul trouble for Pingris while Matias and Rodriguez-- under-rated slashers for bigs, will definitely pull Pingris out of the paint. That, plus the KKS Kargador Corps. are quite generous when it comes to elbows and fouls. DeVance's consistency throughout the series will be the key to this series because he gives them a different look as a huge point guard-- you know, the kind of PG Norwood likes to masquerade as. Only difference is, JDV has no problems going into the post and actually converting shots while all Norwood does down low is either kick it back out or just try to outjump his defender.

Adv. RoS (because of their depth, we don't see JC Intal wanting any piece of Kargador Corps)

Caption gold: remember the fat kid
in that Jollibee commercial dancing
"Isa pa, isa pang chi-cken-joy!" ?

Yancy de Ocampo vs Extra Rice Inc.
This is it. The Undertaker versus the Legion of Doom in a best-of-seven pinfalls handicap match. Seriously though, de Ocampo's been on a tear as of late and is looking really comfortable under Coach Cone's triangle offense. Of course, there are nights when The Postman looks sluggish and old on the court, but competition always brings out the best in players on the big stage. San Mig Coffee needs de Ocampo on the floor to keep Extra Rice, Inc. out of the shaded area-- this allows Pingris to work the glass while YDO plays the high post. JayR Quinahan, when taken out of the defensive shaded area, is as useless as they get. Beau Belga is just a little better. Of course, expect the RoS bruisers to negate whatever YDO brings to the table as they're not exactly a pair of foul-dishing patsies out there ala Wilmer Ong. If you're Belga, you'd want to force YDO to come out and guard you at the three-point line (where his patented pump fake three sabay Air Jollibee drives are unstoppable). We don't see Quinahan lining up threes here, not with YDO's outstretched arms covering him. This is Belga's series to win. Let's see if he delivers.

Adv. SMC (by three inches-- the difference between 6"9 YDO and 6"6 Belga/Quinahan)

Coaching wise, it would be fun seeing Guiao and Cone going at it. This whole series will be decided on how tightly/loosely the referees call it. If they swallow their whistles and let the guys play, then it's going RoS. If they call it tight early, specially on RoS' defensive aces Quinahan, Ybanes (if he's healthy), Arana and Tiu-- then it's going to be a quick one for San Mig Coffee. If we were Cone, we'd explore a series of pick-and-rolls with Barroca/Simon and YDO (pick and pop) with Yap as the fail safe scorer. For Guiao, we'd reverse the plays-- have Lee work the post while Extra Rice waits for the kickout threes alongside Chan. Norwood to slide up to 3 or 4 and work Yap and DeVance. Should be a fun series, but we're going with RoS in 5.