In one of my previous post entitled "Ginebra Lost: But I Don't Feel Bad" I emphasized on the good things my fave team's loss could mean to the league in general. I opined that a young and rising team like Blackwater beating a powerhouse club could mean balance and unpredictability to the league. Somethings the league significantly misses in the past several seasons, so for me that first loss of my Team does not seem too bad at all.
But that first defeat was succeeded by 2 consecutive loses against Alaska Aces and Phoenix Fuel Masters. And I must say that I am starting to feel a bit anxious. It's been a while since the Baranggay had a streak of defeats. In this Tim Cone era I am quite used to the Kings getting back on track through an emphatic win after a loss. But this time, I am not sure.
So what's the problem? Easily we'll hear about Greg Slaugther's absence in BGK's last two outings as the reasons why we're losing lately. With out Greg we're playing with an automatic handicap of minus 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assist. Check out the figures below from PBA.ph.
From that point of view, have we identified the root cause? Maybe, but not quite. Just like an old adage says - a great team wins as team and loses as a team. No one man can carry a team - specially a team like Ginebra which is ran by a system. So what gives? I'd say it's the team's defense that appears to be missing. In the first 2 games that we won we held Magnolia and Global Port at at average of 87 points. But the last 3 campaigns that we lost we're allowing our opponents to finish the game with 92 points. More things about defense or the lack of it in our last 3 games, check table below. Also we need to manage possessions wisely, as turnovers is on upward trend.
Is that all? Hmmm I'd say not yet. I'd like to also point out that if Greg will continue to miss games plus the production we also miss from Joe Devance we'll need other folks to step up - consistently. And one ray of hope we're seeing is Scottie Thompson. Though we did not win in the last 3 games, Scottie posted 2 double double performances (points / rebounds) talking about filling the void in rebounding and points left by Greg.
In closing BGK needs to remember who they are, borrowing coach Tab Baldwin's words to his Eagles. Philippine Cup is a conference where we can silence our critics who calls us out of being a Justin Brownlee depended team. Still it's quite early in the tournament and there's a lot of basketball left. We can still recover for sure. Ika nga ang bida nagpapabugbog muna tapos biglang aarangkada sa dulo - it's our Never Say Die brand anyway!
***Stats from PBA.ph
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