The Final Score: Looking for Teeth in Tigers’ defense
MICO HALILI
11/21/2009 | 02:29 PM
For most teams, a strong finish is more important than auspicious starts. For the struggling Coca-Cola Tigers (1-5), however, a strong start is just as important as potent finishing kicks. Against Burger King last Nov. 18, Coca-Cola watched the Whoppers start with a 21-2 run. Coca-Cola’s frontline kept it close in the second and third periods. In the end, Coca-Cola’s defense, which allowed Burger King to lead by as many as 19 in the first period, faltered anew. Burger King outscored Coca-Cola, 36-22, in the fourth quarter. The Tigers also allowed Mark Yee, a player averaging less than six points per game, to explode for 17 markers in the final quarter.
Sounds familiar? It’s the same Coca-Cola defense that couldn’t stop TNT’s Mac Cardona (conference-high 35 points, 12-of-18 FG’s and 5-of-8 three-pointers), Sta Lucia’s Ryan Reyes (conference-high 21 points, 8-of-14 FG’s and 4-of-6 three-pointers) and Barako Bull’s Magnum Membrere (conference-high 14 points, 2-of-3 three-pointers) from having their best scoring games of the season.
Still reeling from a fifth loss, the Tigers have little time to sulk. Coca-Cola faces San Miguel in Cebu on Saturday, Nov. 21. If Coca-Cola intends to tighten its defense, this is the best, if not most compulsory, time to do it. San Miguel is on a six-game winning streak behind most valuable player (MVP) contender Arwind Santos (18.5 PPG, 11 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 33 MPG). San Miguel also beats opponents by an average of 16 points per game.
It hurts not to have Asi Taulava on the floor. Taulava has played just one complete game for Coca-Cola. Whatever exciting twin-tower ideas Coca-Cola had for Taulava and 14-year veteran Dennis Espino must wait. Minus Taulava, guys like Espino and Alex Cabagnot have filled the void. But is it really by design that Espino has taken 63 field goal attempts this season compared to Cabagnot’s team-high 82 field goal tries? Espino, as expected from an experienced, talented center, is shooting close to 50 percent. Cabagnot’s shooting clip, on the other hand, is at 39 percent (32/82).
Perhaps Cabagnot’s volume of shots isn’t so much a byproduct of personal choice as it is a result of team necessity. Cabagnot, Marvin Cruz, Wesley Gonzales and rookie Chris Ross are the only true penetrators on the team. The rest are either outside shooters or defensive stoppers. It must be frustrating for Ross who feels like a sprinter trapped in a team of deliberate, wide-bodied shot-put throwers. It must be doubly frustrating for head coach Kenneth Duremdes who probably feels it’s easier to win league MVP as a player than it is to score wins as a PBA coach. Hence, Coca-Cola’s short-term goal on Saturday is to snap San Miguel’s winning run while its long-term goal is to win games from start to finish. Unable to start strong this conference, the Tigers hope to start their uphill climb now, before they run out of games, before they run out of time. – GMANews.TV
Sounds familiar? It’s the same Coca-Cola defense that couldn’t stop TNT’s Mac Cardona (conference-high 35 points, 12-of-18 FG’s and 5-of-8 three-pointers), Sta Lucia’s Ryan Reyes (conference-high 21 points, 8-of-14 FG’s and 4-of-6 three-pointers) and Barako Bull’s Magnum Membrere (conference-high 14 points, 2-of-3 three-pointers) from having their best scoring games of the season.
Still reeling from a fifth loss, the Tigers have little time to sulk. Coca-Cola faces San Miguel in Cebu on Saturday, Nov. 21. If Coca-Cola intends to tighten its defense, this is the best, if not most compulsory, time to do it. San Miguel is on a six-game winning streak behind most valuable player (MVP) contender Arwind Santos (18.5 PPG, 11 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 33 MPG). San Miguel also beats opponents by an average of 16 points per game.
It hurts not to have Asi Taulava on the floor. Taulava has played just one complete game for Coca-Cola. Whatever exciting twin-tower ideas Coca-Cola had for Taulava and 14-year veteran Dennis Espino must wait. Minus Taulava, guys like Espino and Alex Cabagnot have filled the void. But is it really by design that Espino has taken 63 field goal attempts this season compared to Cabagnot’s team-high 82 field goal tries? Espino, as expected from an experienced, talented center, is shooting close to 50 percent. Cabagnot’s shooting clip, on the other hand, is at 39 percent (32/82).
Perhaps Cabagnot’s volume of shots isn’t so much a byproduct of personal choice as it is a result of team necessity. Cabagnot, Marvin Cruz, Wesley Gonzales and rookie Chris Ross are the only true penetrators on the team. The rest are either outside shooters or defensive stoppers. It must be frustrating for Ross who feels like a sprinter trapped in a team of deliberate, wide-bodied shot-put throwers. It must be doubly frustrating for head coach Kenneth Duremdes who probably feels it’s easier to win league MVP as a player than it is to score wins as a PBA coach. Hence, Coca-Cola’s short-term goal on Saturday is to snap San Miguel’s winning run while its long-term goal is to win games from start to finish. Unable to start strong this conference, the Tigers hope to start their uphill climb now, before they run out of games, before they run out of time. – GMANews.TV
