PBACC The Finals So Far

Angas ng Tondo
(Photo credits to the owner)

The PBA Commissioner's Cup Best-of-Seven Finals between the Rain or Shine Elastopainters and the Talk'n'Text Tropang Textes has been highly physical thus far in three games, but surprisingly much of the action (and brutality) has come from the once "cookie-cutter" Texters' side of things.

Up two games to one, the Elastopainters have been on the receiving end of some unfortunate hits from Texters' import Ivan Johnson. In Game 1, which they lost 92-99, spitfire backup guard Jonathan Uyloan suffered an injury when he took a hit from Johnson. Last night, it was Paul Lee's turn when he was inadvertently hit by a wayward Johnson elbow right smack on the mouth-- resulting in him losing a tooth and 3 more  that's been pushed back into his gums.

Ouch.

When was the last time we ever heard news of the Texters dishing out pain and physicality towards their opponents? Isn't that the Elastopainters' calling card? Their bread-and-butter? Their actual, field of concentration?

It's going to get ugly from here on out.

Here are the stats in three games so far:


Rain or Shine
Wayne Chism 32 ppg 15 rpg 2 apg
Paul Lee 17 ppg 3 rpg 4 apg
Raymond Almazan 6 ppg 4 rpg 1 apg
Gabe Norwood 8 ppg 6 rpg 3 apg

Talk'n'Text
Ivan Johnson 24 ppg 13 rpg 4 apg
Jayson Castro 26 ppg 14 rpg 4 apg
Ranidel de Ocampo 18 ppg 7 rpg 3 rpg
Larry Fonacier 11 ppg 8 rpg 3 apg

We know what you're thinking. Where the hell did Larry Fonacier come from? Wasn't this supposed to be Matt Ganuelas Rosser's time to shine? Where's Kevin Alas? Jeff Chan was pretty decent, and so was Belga, so where are their stats?

For the Elastopainters are being led by a balanced attack though they are "top heavy" with Chism and Lee leading the way. Chism has been doing it all for the team, scoring inside and out. When the Texters guard him with a local, he simply goes into the paint. When it's Johnson, he takes his time playing face-up in the post or pretty much pulls the beefy Texters' enforcer all the way outside the three point line. Lee, now missing a tooth, has also been superb playing both guard spots. The Texters' have slowed him down a bit with specialist Aaron Aban, but the beauty to Lee's game is that you can stop him from scoring, sure, but he can still facilitate and make plays for others.

Then there's Norwood's improved shooting and confidence from the three point line (he's probably challenged with the rookie Rosser who has been dubbed as Norwood 2.0, or pretty much the "better" winger), Almazan's steady presence in the post, Chan's shooting and quality minutes from Ryan Arana, Chris Tiu and Jericho Cruz. What we haven't seen thus far is any impact from the Extra Rice duo of JayR Quinahan and Beau Belga. Seriously. The Elastopainters' have already suffered two casualties while Jayson Castro continues to blitz his way to the rim with hardly a hack or karate chop to the arm.

Have the Extra Rice duo gone, gasp, soft?

All in all, since they are leading the series 2-1, the Elastopainters have done a fantastic job sharing the ball on offense and working as a cohesive unit on defense. They understand that Castro is otherworldly, so they have put their best defenders (Jireh Ibanes, Norwood) on the floor to help slow him down. They have also realized that putting a local on RdO is as useless as asking Belga to lose weight, so they put Chism on him. The local bigs are taking turns on Johnson as a result, but you'll let Castro and Johnson beat you rather than all three (with RdO) combined.

It's going to be interesting how good Lee will be in the next games, if he'll play out the entire Finals, or if he'll call it a night and get some dental work if things turn out serious (can't blame him). If Lee goes out, and Chan's still battling his nagging foot problems, well, we don't see them winning any more games.

On the flipside, for the Texters, it's been all Jayson Castro, some Ivan Johnson and friends.

Who are these Texters and why are they running so much isolation plays, none more so than in Game 2 when Castro went off for 44 points?

What has Coach Jong Uichico done to this team, adding a hooligan like Johnson (though he's been at his best behavior going into the Finals) and tolerating all the "hits?"

In Game 1, the Texters played true to form by sharing the wealth and just going to their strengths-- some Castro, some Johnson and plenty of RdO. Once the Elastopainters committed to stopping RdO, it seemed as if Coach Jong basically ran out of a post option and played exclusively out in the perimeter-- hasn't worked so far in both Games 2 and 3.

Basically, the Elastopainters made the Texters play Elastopainters-perimeter, face-up basketball.

To win, the Texters need to do a much better job in playing Castro OFF the ball. This is where the absence of both Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes comes into play, with the rookie Kevin Alas "not yet ready" to command his veteran teammates.

If Castro plays off the ball, the Texters become unpredictable. Maybe Larry Fonacier to set the offense? He's been having a great series, just when we are about ready to write him off (and co-sign in that Alas-Fonacier for Kia's 2015 pick rumor). Castro can run through more screens instead of just bringing up the basketball straight up. RdO can move around freely as a result, since guys will be wary of where Castro is. Johnson can also set up shop wherever he pleases.

This series is surprisingly being fought on an even level despite the Texters' advantage based on individual talent. The Elastopainters are doing it as a team, and are rallying around one another to win their 2nd championship.

The Texters, in the infancy of the Castro Era, need to do the same to make sure that they are off to a rousing start of another multi-title dynasty run.