Where's the D? (In Retrospect 21)

IT may be too early to foretell how things will pan out in this year’s Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup, but certain patterns are gradually emerging and may be indicative of more serious problems.

In particular, my pre-tournament picks to clinch the classification round’s top spot, the Barangay Ginebra Kings, may be in a relatively good position at 2-1 by splitting their games this week, but coach Siot Tanquincen’s wards aren’t playing good defense.

The stats may show otherwise, but the Kings, who had to rally from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 98-93, struggled in their defensive sets. While Ginebra can be credited for alternating between the 2-3 zone and man-to-man defenses, it seemed as if the players had problems rotating and spacing, particularly in the zone.

The Realtors hit 11 three pointers not because they set effective picks to free up shooters, but because the Kings and the two perimeter defenders in the 2-3 zone couldn’t choose whether to sag in the paint to prevent an inside incursion or give up the paint and challenge the shooters.

In their 77-59 loss to San Miguel, the Kings had problems rotating within the zone, failing to stretch to the corner, which is the closest outside shot to the basket, and oftentimes the zone breaker.

Tanquincen is a master tactician and the Kings are a talented team. They ought to be playing better defense.

Meanwhile, a team not known for playing defense, the Air21 Express, has to realize that to a certain extent, a balance between running the break and tightening up on defense must be struck. While the Express managed to outgun the Talk N Text Phone Pals, 105-102, they gave up 22 fastbreak points, which made the game closer than it should have been. Prior to that, the Pals scored just 3 points off the break in their opener against Ginebra.

In their heartbreaking 102-100 defeat against the Realtors, Air21 allowed Sta. Lucia to put up conference-highs in points scored and field goal percentage, aside from letting Kenneth Duremdes tear them up with 30 points in the first three quarters of the game.

Although the reintroduction of high octane basketball has become a source of excitement for fans and even players alike, it is, once again, not an excuse for failing to lock up on defense.

In the week’s other games, Fiesta Conference champions Red Bull broke into the win column with a 99-87 win over Alaska. The Bulls were simply unstoppable on the offensive end, hitting a team season-high 55.3 percent from the field, while the Aces, on the other hand, did not manifest a desire to win, something that was very evident in last conference’s disastrous outing.

The Coca-Cola Tigers remain on the top of the heap, being the only undefeated team in the league through an 80-72 triumph over Purefoods. Despite top guns, John Arigo and Ali Peek being silenced on the scoring end, the Tigers showed everyone how efficient defense can result to wins. This is one team that can alternate between a 2-3, man-to-man and even 2-3 matchup zone to stifle opponents.

Stats of the week: After giving up 102 points against Sta. Lucia, Air21 has yet to keep opponents below the century mark this conference... Red Bull has shot above 50 percent in both their games in the Philippine Cup... Dennis Espino of the Realtors recorded his third straight double-double with a 24 point, 12 rebound performance... Barangay Ginebra was just a point away from tying the league’s all-time scoring low in a game after their 59-point performance versus San Miguel.