PBA Finals: New vs Old School of Pinoy Basketball

Whichever guard dictates early,
wins the Finals

On one side, you have a team brimming with talented, high basketball IQ athletes who can run the full 48 minutes without whining about fatigue or off nights. They are cerebral, gifted and clutch. They can score in many ways both inside and out and do not rely on one guy alone to win basketball games. They are the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters.

On the other end of the floor, you have a team of over-achievers whose frontline would finish dead last in a league-wide 5k dash. What they lack in athleticism, speed and vertical prowess, they make up for with craftiness, excellent positioning and crisp passing. They have two guys who can go toe-to-toe with the league's best and even win them a game or two in Paul Lee and Jeffrei Chan, but most nights they just win because they share the wealth and find open guys. These are the Rain or Shine Elastopainters.

This is the dream PBA Philippine Cup Finals; a match-up that brings what the PBA is all about these days versus what it was an era or so ago. Coach Norman Black and the Texters preach ball movement anchored on disciplined defense. Coach Yeng Guiao and the Elastopainters say F the playbook, put up shots and make stops. The Texters have athletes while the Elastopainters have, uhm, girth. If you're the Elastopainters, how would you play the Texters? They can run (they have the fastest guy in the whole league looking to be 100% healthy in Jayson Castro), and thanks to Black, can also play (and thrive) in grind-it-out, ugly, halfcourt basketball.

Would you give the edge to the Elastopainters because of their unpredictability? The "pick your poison" approach and just hope that the other guys start misfiring (that didn't work out too well for San Mig Coffee BTW)? We don't see it happening, the Texters helping off of their respective assignments much like the Mixers did to try and trap Chan and Lee. They have guys built for that. Just like how the Elastopainters had Jireh Ibanes for James Yap.

Jimmy Alapag/ Jayson Castro/ Pamboy Raymundo vs Paul Lee/ Chris Tiu/ TY Tang
This is going to get ugly. Whichever pointguard rotation gets off to a quickstart and controls tempo, will ultimately decide the series. Alapag will obviously slow things down for his team and do his usual pull up threes, but he'll be bullied into submission by the craft and heavy Lee who is looking to bounce back  from that horrendous San Mif Coffee series. Alapag doesn't have Mark Barroca's speed, which is Lee's Achilles' heel. On the flipside, Lee's too slow to guard Castro; who's pretty much "Paul Lee on gym membership." They're both crafty, power point guards who can orchestrate, drive and shoot. Let's not even go to Tiu and Tang. This will be about Alapag and Castro versus Lee. And you know what, it doesn't take a math wiz to know that 2 > 1.

Adv. Texters

Larry Fonacier/ Ryan Reyes/ Aron Aban vs Jeffrei Chan/ Ryan Arana
Somewhere (probably in Dubai), SMART Gilas head coach Chot Reyes is grinning ear-to-ear. Fonacier and Chan are his top snipers, and they are going head-to-head. At first glance, they look to be equals-- skinny snipers who have reliable dribble drive moves when the need arises. But at a closer look, Fonacier has the edge because of his under-rated defensive chops. While Chan, like his idol Allan Caidic, is a scorer through and through. While their match-up will make headlines, look for a guy who has been on our Gilas wishlist for years- RYAN REYES to steal the show. Either baby-faced Reyes sticks to Lee or he goes out and bullies Chan relentlessly and locks him up. Arana will need to step up in this series and have Chan's back and maybe put Reyes in early foul trouble. This one's too close to call.

Adv. Tied

Jarred Dillinger vs Jireh Ibanes/ Gabe Norwood
The two guys who we desperately wish were traded for each other are going head to head: Norwood vs Dillinger. Dillinger can score, but Norwood can play defense. Fortunately for the Texters, Norwood's not much of a scorer so Dillinger won't be exposed as much. But he won't be scoring big either. They can easily cancel each other out as both are traditional big point guards back in the US (with Dillinger more of a scorer). Ibanes, if he puts up and hits his threes, could be the difference. He's big and agile enough to play and own the SF spot to allow Norwood to play the PG versus Alapag when needed. It would be interesting to see if Ibanes checks Fonacier.

Adv. Elastopainters

Ranidel de Ocampo/ Harvey Carey vs Jervy Cruz/ Larry Rodriguez/ Ronnie Matias
It's Mr. Inconsistent versus the rag-tag team we love calling the "Kargador Corps." RDO will own Cruz in their match-up, and we don't see the "Young Alvin Patrimonio" drilling jumpers all day on RDO's mug. But, they will force the many time National player to go to work defensively and stick to Cruz, Rodriguez and Matias who can all play inside the paint and knockdown jumpshots. They're a step quicker, specifically Matias, so they'll have no problems going around RDO and Carey. Of course, RDO can easily turn this match-up in his favor if he plays to his potential. In a seven game series, he only does that thrice- max. This, along with the Center match-up, will truly decide the series when the shots aren't falling for both teams.

As the great Pat Riley and those before him always say: "No rebounds, no rings."

Adv. Elastopainters

Kelly Williams/ Ali Peek vs Beau Belga/ JayR Quinahan
Holy bloody hell. This is the epitome of the "New vs Old School" philosophies of Pinoy basketball. On one end you have the ultra electric, athletic, "jump-right-out-of-the-gym" one time PBA MVP Williams going up against the uhm, "jump two inches off the floor (combined ha)" combo of Extra Rice Inc. Seriously, Williams had a blast being the scoring option for the Texters in the series versus Alaska. He put Sonny Thoss, the so-called "Best Center in the PBA" (really, by whose standards?), to shame by pretty much drawing him outside and either beating him to the rim or knocking down jumpers. To say that Belga and Quinahan would have a harder time keeping in step with Williams would be an understatement. Fortunately, what these two lack in Grade A athleticism and mobility, they make up for with court savvy. Let Williams have his, but make him work on the other end as well. Punish him, put him in the meat grinder and go inside. Get the fouls and make Williams sit on the bench. That will leave Peek on the floor and we'll put our money on the younger, beefier duo over the grizzled, muscular 90s veteran. This is not the time for Extra Rice, Inc. to be throwing up threes, then again, it allows them to go back playing defense faster (since they only have to run 2/3 of the floor as compared to the whole stretch of it). If Williams attacks early, the Elastopainters will have a big problem. Either they switch Extra Rice, Inc. on RDO and have Kargador Corps take care of Williams, or they're going to lose this series.

Adv. Texters

Fearless forecast: Texters in 5, Elastopainters in 6/7.