PBA GovCup Finals: Game 7

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(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

It's not every conference that fans are treated to a classic, winner-takes-all game seven in the PBA Finals pitting the conference's best and second-best teams. Somewhere along the course of the excruciating playoffs, one usually bows out to exhaustion and pressure, allowing a darkhorse to come out of the woodwork.

First seed Petron Blaze Boosters versus the second seed San Mig Coffee Mixers for the right to be called the 2013 PBA Governor's Cup champions.

There are no darkhorses here.

If anything, we've learned from the first six games that the boosters' Junemar Fajardo is for real. Dominant and able with the basketball, looking more and more like a franchise cornerstone ready to take the next step. We've also learned that Mixers head coach Tim Cone et al will let Fajardo get his numbers for as long as every other Booster is kept in check.

Something's got to give.

We have already made our prediction, picking the Boosters to win owing to their superior manpower. The Mixers have superstars (2x PBA MVP James Yap, PJ Simon, Marc Pingris) and role players while the Boosters have superstars (PBA MVP Arwind Santos) and stars who are either knocking at greatness (Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Fajardo) or fighting to keep their spot (Cabagnot). For all of Cone's coaching acumen, he is facing a hungry upstart in Gee Abanilla who is backed by a legit NBA mind in Todd Purves.

It doesn't get any better than that.

To win, the Boosters need to work inside and out and not fall into the Mixers ploy to simply keep going to Fajardo "inside and inside." This is how they lost three games, when the offense became predictable, when their bevy of wings couldn't get the touches they needed to get in rhythm. For all the Santos drama, they need to incorporate Lassiter, Lutz, Tubid and Cabagnot more from the perimeter. Elijah Millsap carried them last night in Game 6, the locals need to do their part this time around. The Boosters need to set Fajardo up early, then mix it up with some outside plays and slashing forays to keep the Mixers on their heels.

For the mixers, it is about keeping everyone but Fajardo in check. Cone has done a great job in choosing not to double Fajardo in the paint if only because it helps put a body on everyone else. That's how much trust Cone has on the hard fighting Pingris. You say Fajardo is putting in God-like numbers, we say the kidnis fighting hard for those points and in turn, burning up a lot of shot clock time which is exactly what Cone designed (leaving the Boosters' wingmen to simply catch and shoot, unable to set up). 

So in reality and simplicity, this has turned into a game of high octane, potent offense versus well executed half court defense.

Normally we'd stick to the adage that "defense wins championships." 

But you just know that the Boosters have the personel to clamp down on the Mixers just as hard.

Something's got to give.