PBA: Retro diary of Petron vs San Mig Coffee - 2013 Gov. Cup Finals game three

Nothing beats the atmosphere and crowd of a PBA Finals game, especially in a series pitting two of the most popular teams in its rich history against each other: the Petron Blaze Boosters versus the San Mig Coffee Mixers.

This was going to be a good one.

[Related: No Cabagnot, no problem for Petron, as Boosters dump San Mig Coffee for 2-1 lead]

When watching a game live, what really brings an experience over the top are the people that you enjoy the match with. This evening, I was with future wifey (FW) and her good friend (FFW), who go way back from high school. It had been awhile since future wifey had been to a game, so I was ready to answer all questions she had about the PBA's new breed of superstars, and just what was going on with Junemar Fajardo’s hair. So when she turned to me and asked her first question, I was ready:

FW: Yung mascot ba ng Petron, lalaki o babae?

FFW: Lalaki yung katawan nya, pero his features are very feminine. Tingan mo o, may curves!

I did not expect to be speechless after one question. We’re off to a great start!
 

1st Quarter:

10:33 - After Elijah Millsap, starting at point guard in place of the injured Alex Cabagnot, previously scored on a drive to the basket, Marc Pingris makes the adjustment and swats away Millsap’s layup attempt.

Today is Pingris’ birthday, and Vic Sotto, his father-in-law, is in the stands cheering him on. You don’t know what pressure is until you see Bossing watching you like a hawk. No wonder Sakuragi always plays with fire.

9:30 - Ronald Tubid, on an out of bounds play, removes his necklace and throws it to the ground. Not sure if this means anything right now, but noting this for future reference.

7:56 - Tubid drives in for an easy la—BLAKELY REJECTS HIM AND LANDS BUTT FIRST ON TUBID’S FACE. THE HORROR. The necklace was the source of Tubid’s powers! Someone look for it quick!

5:15 - Mark Barroca grabs an offensive rebound and lifts a hook shot over the combined efforts of June Mar Fajardo and Elijah Millsap. This is one of the underrated facets of Barroca’s game. He’s one of the best point guards at following the trajectory of a shot and tracking it down. He sticks his nose in there, just for the chance that it hits the rim funny and lands in his hands. It’s one of those you-can’t-teach-this skills that players possess, and Barroca is really special at it.

4:00 - Fajardo seals his defender, spins to the basket and scores on an and-one play. Fajardo’s game has evolved from conference to conference, and one of the skills that he’s learned as a big fella is how to seal with that big booty of his. In the past, Fajardo would call for a pass with a defender draped over him. This conference, one of Coach Gee Abanilla’s tweaks has been to swing the ball and isolate Fajardo on the weak side against his defender alone, where he’s basically un-guardable. He’s a special player that will only get better, and that booty will only get bigger and harder to stop.

3:24 - A pick and roll with Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter is successful, as San Mig Coffee defender James Yap runs into a bone-crushing Kraken screen that lays out Big Game James on the floor, giving Lassiter a free lane. What’s evident here is that the Mixers aren’t communicating, which is why Yap was sprawled on the Big Dome floor. The Mixers were successful in game two as a defensive unit because they were scrambling around, while still in total sync with each other. That's not happening now, with Boosters going anywhere they want on the floor.

Speaking of getting anywhere on the floor, Marcio Lassiter has scored seven points in a variety of ways: a three-point shot, a baseline drive to the basket and a pick and roll. As good as Fajardo is for the Boosters, they’re basically unbeatable when Lassiter (and Chris Lutz) are active participants on offense. Lassiter is one of the most unassuming players on the floor, but he has superstar written all over him. On a team comprised of a lot of superstars, he hasn’t been able to stand out. But don’t mistake him for being just one of the guys. He’s a stud.

0:46 to 0:06 - We’ve got a shootout! Dennis Miranda enters the game and is given roughly five feet of open space to launch a three-pointer, which he makes. On the other end, Alex Mallari comes in and hits his own trey to respond. On the next play, Miranda gets the ball again from beyond the arc, and still has time to prepare his shooting form, order a frappucino from Starbucks, and tell Coach Abanilla to give him more minutes before releasing and hitting another trey. Mixers fans were hoping that with Cabagnot out, the perimeter scoring of Petron would take a dip. But if Miranda continues to stroke the trey, it's going to be a long night.
 

 

2nd Quarter:

8:55 - FW: Is Mallari there because’s a good defensive player?

Me: Well, yeah. But he’s more of a shooter, especially from three-poi--

Clang. Mallari shoots from at the exact moment I say that, and kills a lizard.

7:55 - Tubid makes his presence felt, as he gets in Barroca’s face and forces an offensive foul. Wait, that’s not Tubid, that’s Paolo Hubalde! Okay Petron fans, am I the only one who can’t tell Tubid apart from Hubalde? They both are covered in tattoos, have the same hairstyle and both rock cool high-sock looks. It’s like they’re doing it on purpose so that maybe Coach Abanilla will actually put Hubalde more in the game. I’ll just call the two of them Hubalbid from now on.

6:19 - Millsap hits a three-pointer, and San Mig Coffee immediately sues for time. The Petron bench, however, is pumped. Rookie Jason Deutchman runs up to chest-bump Millsap, but upon seeing Millsap’s intense snarl, Deutchman settles for a shoulder tap instead. Earn the right to chest-bump, rook!

4:44 - James Yap splits two free throws, as the Mixers are desperately trying to hang on. Yap seriously has huge hands. In his hand, it looks like he’s just holding a ping pong ball. Check out his grip on isolation plays. The longest I’ve ever gripped a ball is around five seconds, before my sweaty palms drop it. Yap, though he’s struggling thus far, is one of those players that make difficult tasks look simple

1:46 to 1:27 - San Mig Coffee just cannot score against Petron. With Cabagnot out and replaced by Lassiter, the Boosters are big, mobile and nasty. They cover so much ground that Barroca, normally a low turnover guard, coughs up the ball multiple times in pick and roll situations. It doesn’t help that the ball swings and ends up with Yancy De Ocampo, whom Fajardo willingly gives up a clanging jumper to.

On the other end, De Ocampo just can’t do anything against Fajardo tonight. The Kraken is bigger, faster and stronger than YDO, as he scores on an easy basket. Seriously, Fajardo isn’t even 22-years-old. If he can stay healthy and be bros forever with Danny Ildefonso, his mentor in Petron, he’s going to own the league for the next fifteen years.

33.2s - Joe Devance has the best hair in the PBA. That’s all I have for San Mig Coffee.

Halftime: 55-30. The horror.
 

 

3rd Quarter:

10:00 - Ronald Tubid makes a trey, and jogs back on defense. It’s just one example of the legendary Takbong Mayaman players of the PBA today.

You know what Takbong Mayaman is - it’s the walk or run immediately after a made jumper when a player exaggerates the movement of his shoulder, and acts like it ain't no thing. Sometimes I pay more attention to this, rather than the made shot by a player.

In no particular order, my top 5 Takbong Mayaman players in the PBA are:
 

• James Yap- Legendary, especially with his expressionless face after a made jumper
• Ronald Tubid- The Saint glides after he makes a jumper, as if he’s celebrating in Heaven
• Beau Belga- I love Belga’s reaction after he makes his tippy-toe treys: “Nagugulat pa ba kayo na nagagawa ko ‘to??”
• Jimmy Alapag- When you make daggers against Korea in FIBA Asia, you BETTER have a great Takbong Mayaman
• KG Canaleta- Sort of a James Yap-lite, in that he hits five straight three-pointers and pedals back without a hint of smile. This man is a killer.

9:24 - Fajardo scores over Ping and Blakely, prompting a fan beside me to scream, with all his might, “Bakit ang laki mo Fajardo??”

Bakit nga ba?

6:21 - The lead balloons to more than 20 points, and the Mixers yet again sue for time. In the huddle, I see Tim Cone with an expressionless face, stare at each player one by one. It’s the kind of look my dad gave me when I failed an exam in high school miserably. The Mixers are a proud group of veterans that Cone trusts immensely, that’s why it’s doubly disappointing and embarrassing that this is the effort they bring out tonight.

On the way back to the floor, Devance asks Cone if he’s guarding Lutz.

Cone looks at him and shrugs his shoulders.

5:17 - Marc Pingris tries to engineer a comeback, and scores over Kramer and Miranda, complete with a staredown.

FW: I love him.

Pingris already has a silver medal from FIBA Asia, is married to the lovely Danica Sotto and has been on the Ryzza Mae Show. Now future wifey thinks he’s cute. The world is unfair.

A few plays later, San Mig Coffee has trimmed the lead down to 23 before Millsap hits another trey. As he backpedals, he looks at the San Mig bench and mouths “not happening.” That’s a bad, bad man.

Timeout, 1:35 - The classic t-shirt slingshot game is played during the break, and all I can remember is Carlo Pamintuan’s story about John Wilson. Ask him about it on Twitter, his handle is @carlo_pamintuan. Tell him I said hi.

When the game resumes,Millsap scores again, bringing his total to 28 points. It’s the most unassuming 28 points this season. Immediately, chants of “Best Im-port!” ring from Petroniverse, to a cascade of boos from the Mixers. As poorly as Millsap played in game two, perhaps trying to make a statement by forcing the issue, he has been magnificent tonight. It’s his delayed Best import showcase game. More importantly, he’s leading the Boosters to a 2-1 series lead.
 

 

4th Quarter:

9:27 - I spy Ken Bono, former UAAP MVP and a member of the San Mig Coffee Mixers in street clothes at the start of the fourth quarter, and I wonder if he could have done anything against Fajardo in this series. As soon as I think this, Fajardo scores on a nifty pick and roll set and all those thoughts are put to rest.

8:58 - Hubalbid scores!!!

8:18 - The Mixers send in Jewel Ponferrada. I think we’re almost done here.

During a timeout, I spot a man seated in front of me wearing a jacket with a vintage Swift Mighty Meaty Hotdogs logo sewn in the back. It’s an awesome reminder of 90s PBA basketball at its finest. It also gave me memories of another giant who terrorized the PBA: The man-mountain, Bonel Balingit.

Seriously, you had to see him up close and standing beside Alaska’s Poch Juinio to appreciate just how imposing he was. The difference between Fajardo and Balingit is that Bonel was just so much bigger than everyone else, and imposed his girth because no one else could move him in the paint. It’s like that scene from the movie Jack, when Robin Williams learns how to play basketball for the first time and is twice as big as everyone else.

Fajardo, on the other hand, is learning the fundamentals of the game that Balingit never picked up. Sealing in the post, making himself an easy target for post passes and a nifty spin and hook shot were moves that Balingit could only dream off pulling off.

Balingit does still have one advantage over Fajardo thus far: He was in a movie entitled “Ang Pinakamahabang Baba sa Balat ng Lupa,” starring Babalu and Paquito Diaz. Fajardo can only dream he gets to that level.

6:10 & 5:38 - The man formerly known as Hubalbid scores on a three-point shot and a gorgeous scoop shot over Ponferrada. When you can come off the bench and score seven points, you are Paolo Hubalde, no longer Hubalbid.

5:09 & 3:04 - San Mig Coffee waves the white flag and empties the bench with Lester Alvarez and Leo Najorda. A few plays later, Petron responds by sending in Danny Ildefonso. The crowd (both sides) responds with cheering and hollering, as he subs out Fajardo. On the way back to the bench, Fajardo looks at his mentor, and Ildefonso gives him a smile and a tap on the head for a job well done. Getting approval from one of the greatest centers in PBA history? That’s when you know you’ve had a great night.

End of game:

As the Mixers and Boosters make their way to center court, Cone goes straight to Abanilla and says “Great job,” which the Petron coach humbly accepts with a smile and kudos. It was almost a perfect night for Petron, and the job that they did, especially having to adjust to Cabagnot’s absence, was definitely great.

The Mixers’ team manager walks towards Fajardo, shakes his hand and taps him on the head. Fajardo looks at him with a mixture of wonder and awe. The name of the Mixers’ team manager is Alvin Patrimonio. In one dominating performance (19 points, nine rebounds and two assists), he has gotten the seal of approval from two of the absolute legends in the game. As great as Millsap was tonight, Fajardo was the man who left a mark on everyone, especially  on Patrimonio, and the San Mig Coffee Mixers.

Epilogue:

Yes, this one-sided Petron Blazed massacre and the Mixers looked helpless against Millsap and Fajardo. The final score, 90-68, didn’t tell the complete story of how dominant Petron looked tonight.

At the end of the day though, the Boosters are only up 2-1. The Mixers will not make excuses for their loss. Rather, they will look at their reflection in the mirror, lick their wounds and fight again. Many people have pegged this series at six or seven games, and despite how good Petron looked tonight, that still hasn’t changed.

Future wifey and I discuss the game as we leave Cubao heading towards EDSA. A devoted Spurs fan, she knows her share of basketball, and was really impressed by Fajardo and Lassiter’s toughness. As we discuss the game, the topics range from Junemar’s golden hairdo to whether or not Chris Lutz looks like Doug Kramer’s baby brother. Throughout the drive, we hardly talk about how Petron won by 22 points. These are the little moments that makes watching the PBA awesome, and why so many fans come back for more.

It’s why Planet San Mig will troop back to the Mall of Asia on Friday, and the reason Petroniverse will continue to scream their hearts out no matter the outcome. - AMD, GMA News