Share ko lang post ko kanina lang mahaba lang eh My friends as a San Mig fan, I knew this historic run is not yet sinking into our minds yet. I just wanted to share some of the facts on our teams previous 7 years when James Yap, Marc Pingris and PJ Simon came into the league either as draft picks or rookie free agent. From 2004 to 2011, prior to the arrival of coach Tim Cone, our team is already a good team but as a whole the team itself is underachieving. The reason why I said underachieving because this team for me is a championship level team but it didnt have a great coaching mind. Mind you my friends I even left this team from 2009 to 2010 when our former coach Ryan Gregorio cant do anything right and temporarily cheered for the now Kangkong Kings for just a year. Imagine within that 7 year span, our team managed JUST 2 championships in 4 Finals appearances and that runs had to wait for 4 years each, first in 2006 run and then in 2010 run. Ryan Gregorio as a coach I saw nothing more in his strategy but depend too much on Yap and Simon and no one else. Pingris has the potential but Gregorio cant tap it right so Marc Pingris role back then is just defense and rebounds. I rejoined the team in 2010 during the time when I felt this is the right time and it was just timely after the end of 2009-2010 season, Gregorio left the team and joined MVPs team Meralco Bolts with a corporate position offered to him as well. When I read this in newspapers, I told myself GOOD RIDDANCE because our team dont need a coach that cant put the word DOMINANT in his team. I dont like also his catch phrase every time he was interviewed by sports analysts. During 2010-2011 season, I hardly took notice on the team because I thought Jorge Gallent (Hor Hay is the right pronunciation) since he had past success in the PBL and to my disappointment, he cant give us a single Finals appearance. The good thing about that is we were prevented from getting another Finals loss if our team made it to the Finals during that season. The team itself is inconsistent because some of the now current former players tend to play isolation game which is not right in a team basketball game. I refer to Kerby Raymundo. It sickens me when he do isolation plays and if he didnt missed a shot attempt, the ball was stolen or he committed a ballhandling violation. Just prior to 2011-2012 season when I heard coach Tim Cone is available after he left the Alaska Aces team, I knew our team would get him as our current head coach. Im really happy to see Tim Cone in our team as their coach. Imagine you got the previous one time Grand Slam winning coach in 1996, I already envisioned this team one day would win Grand Slam as well. When our team lost twice to Powerade in quarterfinals, Im sad but as an intelligent fan, this is just the beginning of our era since I knew Tim Cone knew how to bounce back quickly after a painful defeat. We saw that when we defeated Cones former team in a 4 game sweep in 2010 Philippine Cup Finals and Cone coached Alaska to its 13th (Cones last with Alaska) in Fiesta Cup Finals during the same season. True to my senses, Tim Cone led our team to its 9th championship and his first to the now San Mig at the very next conference against a powerhouse Talk N Text team in 2012 Commissioners Cup Finals that went the full route. Although we failed to win the 2012 Governors Cup however I knew this team has the potential to win back to back but we had to wait for a full year for that. Since we got Tim Cone as our coach, we were the usual suspects in the semifinals and the players kept learning Cones system during the same span. 2013 Governors Cup Finals saw this team in complete form when they won their 10th championship against a powerful sister team Petron in seven games. This just concluded 2013-2014 season even if I didnt watch the elimination round games of this team, I knew something very special is coming. Adversities kept coming on them but come Playoffs, the team just did something that lower seeded teams in the past failed. First during the Philippine Cup, we eliminated and dethroned Talk N Text as Tim Cone used almost the whole lineup which I never saw during Ryan Gregorios tenure. I mean Cone trusted all of his players and no one is above or below them which I really loved as a fan and observer this is TEAM BASKETBALL I wanted to see since I start cheering for this team. We defeated Ginebra in the semifinals in seven games but as usual our best scorers did the damage against the Ginebra team. Then came the Philippine Cup Finals against Rain or Shine as we fans saw the maturity and complete awareness of players on how to use the right plays and system that Tim Cone placed upon them and they followed that to the letter. Rain or Shine is so tough as an opponent but in the end our team won the championship and as well as its first back to back championship run 2 years in the making. Then came the Commissioners Cup Playoffs after our teams late elimination round slump that many detractors saw that this team would collapse in the end but it didnt happened but almost if not for timely shots made from our teams key players and defense which is already our teams bread and butter ploy to defeat them against Alaska that went 3 games in the quarterfinals. Then came the semifinals against Air21 and the series went the full five games and we defeated them because of players trust to Tim Cones system and defense as well. The Commissioners Cup Finals against the 13-0 Talk N Text team I told my friends here this San Mig team will win the series in 4 games. Oh boy Game 1 just demonstrated this team can dismantle TnT with ease by using defense against them and posting up against Jimmy Alapag since Alapag is not a good defender overall. Our team lost Game 2 since I was too busy in my everyday life during that time but Game 3 was the most nerve wracking game for me in this current run we almost lost the game but James Yap mid range jumper saved the day and gave our team a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 well, at the start I was so disappointed to see our team down 1-17 at the start but I didnt changed channels because sooner or later this team will make a rally from that deficit. True enough to my thought, the team made a furious rally but not after our team went down as much as 17, again through interior defense this time but not fouling them a lot. Our team won that game, as well as the series as well. This victory gave our team its 12th championship which falls on St. Isidore Labradors Feast Day on May 15th 100-91 score. Since coffee is an agricultural product, I honored the farmers that without them we dont have coffee and of course San Mig Coffee. That was also our teams first Three-Peat championship run. After this victory our team has the legitimate chance of winning the Grand Slam since Blakely is already waiting in the wings for the just concluded Governors Cup. This also put a bad taste to Talk N Texts history as the only PBA team to enter the Finals undefeated but failed to win the championship which for me is one of the MOST DISASTROUS in Philippine Sports history overall. Governors Cup for me is just fine after the elimination round since we got the twice to beat edge against powerful sister team San Miguel Beermen. We eliminated SMB out of the Playoffs again through defense after we trailed the most of the game 97-90. Then came the semifinals against Talk N Text team again which the series went 5 games despite our team went up 2-0 at the start of the series. Game 5 just saw our teams immense TEAM BASKETBALL game against dribble drive offense of TnTs guards and their imports 40 point game. Defense neutralize TnTs dribble drive offense in this game that ended TnTs season and as we San Mig fans knew, our SUKI or favorite Playoff dinner/victim. The Governors Cup Finals against RoS for the 3rd time in Finals head to head war we knew as fans that RoS is an extremely tough opponent and the only legitmate one to derail our Grand Slam dreams. This series went the full five games and again when our favorite teams team defense most noted interior defense locks up, Rain or Shines scorers cant penetrate the lane and that resulted to Games 1, 3 and 5 wins. When RoS shooters shot well from 3 point land, they won Games 2 and 4. Game 5 was an epic game for us as fans, players and most noted to the whole organization and to head coach Tim Cone. I said this is epic because the whole game we had it in control for most of the game but as an extremely tough opponent as Rain or Shine, they kept on coming back. In the end however, our teams sense of defensive awareness despite missed FTs from Yap and Barroca, foiled RoS chances to drain a single 3 pointer in their last 5 last attempts as they tried to send Game 5 to an overtime. The most impressive one is 2 San Mig players Mark Barroca and Marqus Blakely defended Arizona Reids last gasp try for an overtime with his three point attempt that hit only the front end of the rim with no time left in Game 5. This missed attempt of Reid send our team into history books as the only FOURTH PBA TEAM ever to win the RAREST of ACHIEVEMENTS in PBA history, winning the GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONSHIP! My analysis on this run is despite our team posted a modest 41-30 (.577) for 2013-2014 season, this team is a certified Grand Slam champion team. Imagine how tough the level of competition as well as the parity of the league today with only one consistent league doormat in Globalport, this is truly remarkable for us PBA fans except detractors of course. For me the reason why this team won the Grand Slam first is because we got the GREATEST CURRENT PBA COACH right now in Tim Cone. I cant express in words how he did so many great things for this team that in the past, most noted from 2004-2011, cant even do even during that span before the arrival of Cone when our players in their athletic primes cant maximize their true potential. This Grand Slam winning team has the core nearing the end of their careers. I also take note the players are not as spent as before since everyones doing its share to lead this team to the promised land. During the 2004-2011 span our players is already spent even during the middle of the elimination round because of over dependence on them to carry the load of the teams offense. Thats the reason why come playoffs in that span our key players are too tired or injured already and thats spelled disaster for our team. Im very very very very very happy to see in my lifetime as Purefoods/San Mig fan since 1994 to witness Grand Slam win by this team. I give credit to head coach Tim Cone for making this long dream of ours as fans came true. No one can take this away from us from now on since were part of the greatest historic Grand Slam runs in PBA history. I also give credit to the players since they just follow coach Tim Cones system to the letter and they never went out of it which most of the time in the past led to our teams defeat. Also to the organization because they listened to Tim Cones suggestions which player/s to be traded away or players to remain in the team since Tim Cones system relies on Triangle Offense and interior defense as well as my favorite defense, the Full Court Pressure Defense. Players tended to be isolation style of offense were usually traded away or players not playing defense is also let go as well. Lastly to the fans since we were there during the highest and lowest points of our teams history.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:36:37 +0000
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