From the Stands - Ginebra vs Alaska gets personal (part two)

Two of the talented dudes from the From the Stands podcast, Chuck Araneta and Polo Bustamante, spent the days leading up to the start of the Commissioner's Cup Finals emailing back-and-forth in anticipation of what is expected to be an epic series.

Araneta is a die-hard Alaska fan, while Bustamante rolls with LA Tenorio, which means he's part of the Barangay for this series at least. In part two, the duo dish on the import match-up, the coaching battle, and give their predictions.

Part one has Chuck and Polo discussing how both teams reached the finals, as well as the match-ups between the locals.

The Imports:

Polo Bustamante: Vernon Macklin is loud and proud. He's a lightning rod for all the Ginebra fans. His vicious dunks pump up the crowd and grease the wheels of the Barangay cheering machine.

While this may seem like a wash, Macklin has to outplay Dozier on both ends of the court for Ginebra to be able to win. Macklin's the only one on Ginebra long and strong enough to match-up with Dozier. This is why it's going to be important for Macklin to keep Dozier off the boards and play good honest D.

On offense, Macklin has to be able to vary his moves. TNT definitely exposed his limited post game. A good sign for Ginebra fans is that Macklin's learning to go left on his drives and spins. That has to vastly improve because Alaska will be shutting down the right side all night for Macklin.

One last thing: run the floor! Macklin does that better than any other import right now. He's gotta find ways to contribute if his offense is shut down. Finishing the break with big dunks will be one of them.

Chuck Araneta: Alaska has Robert Dozier, their silent and steady workhorse. Dozier's impact on the Aces is more understated; they rarely run any plays for him to finish unless they desperately need his scoring. He is a monster on the glass, and anchors the best defense of any of the teams that made these Playoffs. His unselfish nature has made him beloved in the eyes of Gatas Republik.



The Coaches:

Chuck: Luigi Trillo has proven that their success in the Philippine Cup is no fluke. They started off the conference at the top of the standings, and were first to make it into the Finals.

More than their record though, what has really impressed me about Trillo is his preparation for each game. Alaska has not lost two straight games the entire conference, and that's due to the adjustments that Trillo and his coaching staff do, game to game.

Against Ginebra, Trillo will be ready. Ginebra plays at a much faster pace than Alaska (93.77 to Alaska's 82.82), and that's the biggest issue that the Aces will try to address. Alaska played a slow, drag it out pace against the Mixers, and that's what they're going to try and impose on Ginebra. For the talented backcourt of Ginebra, Trillo knows that they are going to bomb away from outside.

But the reality is that the Gin Kings are shooting 29 percent from the outside in these playoffs. If you ask me, Trillo's experience on the bench as assistant coach for Tim Cone, as well as coaching stints in the D-League and UAAP has prepared him for this series. His style of nasty and rugged basketball has been imparted onto his players, and they're responded accordingly.

Polo: Clearly, when it comes to the X's and O's, Trillo has the advantage.I've always believed that Trillo is one of the best at timing his adjustments in-game.

But coach Alfrancis Chua has made his entire team feel invincible. They're playing loose, they're playing free. I expect Coach Chua to change nothing in his game plan. He's going to impose his pace on coach Trillo and Alaska will have to adjust to Ginebra's game.

Chua's unpredictable and I fully expect him to inject a little bit of chaos into this series. It's rolling with the Time Machine, or freeing Urbiztondo, or maybe playing a three-guard line-up that will be hard to adjust to.

The pressure is all with Trillo. He needs to motivate his team, keep his squad focused and free from complacency. That's hard to do when you're the immense favorites coming into the series. For Chua, nothing changes. They're the underdogs. They have to play hard. There is no other choice but to. Ginebra will continue to play Ginebra basketball.



The Predictions:

Polo: The Aces are the deeper and healthier team. But they're not the hungrier team. This is a Ginebra team starving for championship. Only the hungriest team can claw their way from seventh place, outlast more talented teams, to make it to the Finals. They've made it this far, hindi na bibitaw tong mga 'to.

Everyone in the team elevated their games in the past few weeks. There's no way they back down now that the stakes are this high. It will take five games but when the smoke clears, LA Tenorio will be vindicated, the loyal Barangay will be rewarded and Ginebra will live out the story-book ending they deserve.

Chuck: My prediction is Alaska in 4 games. The Aces are deep in all positions, and they are ready to add another championship to the rich history of the Alaska Aces.

Actually, let me rephrase that: Alaska NEEDS to win. They are desperate to recreate their own image as one of the dominant teams in the PBA again. Post-Tim Cone. Post-LA Tenorio. From the head coach to the ball boys, the Aces are ready to declare that they are back.

And it starts right now, against Barangay Ginebra. - AMD, GMA News