PBA: Air 21 Express Philippine Cup preview

Last Philippine Cup: It was a tough outing for the former Shopinas.com Clickers franchise on its maiden campaign. Although they fought hard and were a pesky opponent for teams, they ended up winless in the Philippine Cup, finishing 0-14. Coach Franz Pumaren utilized every ounce of talent he could get out of the Clickers, but success in the Philippine Cup was not meant to be for this squad. Offseason Moves: Give credit to the Air 21 Express, they got creative in acquiring players to help strengthen their upcoming line-up for the season. They were dealt a difficult hand by having no first round picks in the Draft, but they still ended up with Yousef Taha at #11 overall, and Simon Atkins at #21. Taha might still be raw at this point, but he’s a big body and can help shore up their very thin frontline. Atkins is a heady point guard who can provide spot minutes off the bench, and Pumaren has knowledge of how to utilize him from their days at De La Salle University. The best wheeling and dealings for the Express came from trade acquisitions, as they got Noy Baclao, Rob Reyes, John Wilson and KG Canaleta in a three-team trade with Petron and Barangay Ginebra. And while tragedy struck when Eric Salamat went down with a partial ACL tear in a preseason game, they recovered nicely by getting Bonbon Custodio from Alaska for a second round pick. Three keys to being successful in the Philippine Cup 1. Let it fly - Three out of the five new guys are here for one reason: to shoot the heck out of the ball when they have the chance. KG Canaleta at this stage of his career is almost exclusively a perimeter scorer right now, and he’ll join veteran Renren Ritualo in bombing away from three-point land. John Wilson is a fine defensive player, but when given the opportunity, can be a very sneaky-good scorer for his team. Bonbon Custodio is the real intriguing factor here, having struggled at times to fit into a very rigid Alaska offense, but here in Air 21 he’ll have opportunities to create for himself and his teammates. His PBL and San Miguel days showed that he’s at his best when he has freedom to operate on the outside. He’ll have plenty of chances for that with Air 21. 2. Baclao or bust - For almost two years, netizens have been crying on social media to free Nonoy Baclao from the oceanic depths of Petron, as he was stuck on the bench behind his veteran teammates. And with the offseason trade, everyone has gotten their wish: Baclao will be the focal point of a defense that had a lot of holes last year, and will be asked to do everything short of being the waterboy for his teammates on defense. Can he do it? Past performances have shown that when given the minutes, Baclao can impact the game with his defense, timing and long limbs. Think of this marriage as Tyson Chandler on the Knicks: a defensive-minded big with offensive-minded teammates who’ll funnel every player towards him. Sounds like a recipe for a Baclao block party. 3. Sum of the parts should be greater than the whole - Last year when the former Clickers went 0-14, we all looked at the team and gave them a little sigh, as if to say, “It’s okay, you’re the new guys and you’ll get ‘em next year.” Now, that time has come. They have added firepower in the aforementioned new guys, a year of seasoning and chemistry under their belt, and kept a great coach with a proven system to lead them. Now, it’s all about the mindset of the players on the floor. It’s about giving the extra pass to Ritualo for the open trey. It’s about Baclao sacrificing his body to take a charge on a fast break attempt by the opponent. It’s about players like Mark Isip, Wynne Arboleda and Ritualo, veterans who have seen it all in the league, be good “kuyas” to their younger teammates and show what it takes to get the job done. This team on paper may not have the best scorers and defenders, but a team can always be the better prepared. That’s the mentality the Air 21 Express should exhibit in every game to stay competitive. What’s the one thing that scares Rain or Shine fans? The worst thing that a team that isn’t as talented as its opponents can do is to stop trying. And for Air 21, if they lose focus and confidence after a few early losses, then that mindset coupled with bad habits could snowball into another epic meltdown, which is what happened in last year’s 0-14 campaign. It shouldn’t happen this year, because this team, from top to bottom, has more talent on the floor. Time will tell though, if that talent translates to wins. How this will likely play out: Mathematically, one solitary win would make this conference a success compared to last year’s Philippine Cup campaign. But the Air 21 Express is composed of proud veterans who will surely battle to the very end. Armed with Baclao and Reyes on defense and reinforced with firepower from Canaleta and Wilson, this team will compete to rise higher in the rankings. If they play hard every single game, they might end up in ninth or eighth place in the Philippine Cup. And in a league boasting of parity from top to bottom, that would be a tremendous achievement. - AMD, GMA News