The Ninja Effect: Joseph Yeo just might be Ginebra’s missing piece The other night, the Smart Araneta Coliseum was filled with a sea of red and blue. Hundreds of posters and signs were up. Thousands of James Yap and Mark Caguioa jerseys enveloped the arena. Ginebra and Purefoods. The Barangay and the Star Hotshots. This is what Manila Clasico is all about. I was seated right in the heart of the coliseum in between a couple of more-than-your-average passionate fans. Behind me in particular was a hardcore Purefoods fan who had a comment for every Ginebra player. When Mark Caguioa checked into the game he shouted: Ayan na si Caguioa! Lalamang na kami! He was probably thinking that The Spark was two steps slower than his former self. Okay fine. When the ball reached Japeth Aguilar: Kabado yan! Wala yan! Si Boy Kabado yan! Boy Kabado? I looked closely at Japeth. Maybe he was having cold feet in front of the legion of Ginebra fans or maybe the guy just didn’t like Ginebra. At all. It was pretty funny hearing him rage on about Ginebra because it showed just how much he cared for his own team, Purefoods. He had a comment for every single Ginebra player on the floor except for one guy: Joseph Yeo. When Yeo was playing out of his mind in that pivotal third quarter, the guy behind had nothing to comment. Naubusan ng hirit si kuya. And I swear, after Yeo hit another three, I heard him curse. Joseph Yeo gave a performance that left everybody watching in awe. The posters, the jerseys, the cursing, the name calling and what not – it’s Manila Clasico all right. But the night belonged to Ginebra, and the Barangay’s newest son, Joseph Yeo. Yeo had a remarkable night, tallying 17 points, hitting 5-of-8 on threes, and adding five assists. It was a Manila Clasico dream stat line. Yeo didn’t shy away from the bright lights and from the 18,000-plus people who were at the arena. For Yeo, it must have felt like an Ateneo-La Salle game back when he was in college. The Ninja was calm, collected, and cold as ice as he delivered the knockout punch, or in his case, the flying kick against Purefoods. What the Ninja can bring to the table Joseph Yeo brings a totally different dimension to the Ginebra team. His late push with the Air21 Express a season ago solidified his value to any team. We all know he can always do the dribble drives, the split between defenders, and every now and then he would do his OMG-its-yoga-in-the-air-layups, but the blossoming of his all-around game is a beauty to watch. He’s the perfect mashup of a ball handler, slasher, shooter, and you have to believe me on this, a master of the pick-and-roll. I remember his Air21 days when Yeo was superb in handling the ball and Asi Taulava would set screens for him. At least 90 percent of the time, something good would come out of it. His three-point shooting mades him deadly if a defender goes under the pick. At the same time, we all know he could drive if the defender decides to play him over the screen. He’s already a two-way offensive threat on his own, but what makes him even more dangerous is the ability to know when to shoot or when to pass. He would pass the ball at the most opportune time for Taulava to get the easy basket. Fast-forward to today, he has either Japeth Aguilar or Greg Slaughter now doing the pick-and-roll with him. I mean, pick your damn poison. A Joseph Yeo three? A layup? Or what about an Aguilar dunk when Yeo passes the ball? He can even decide to kick out to LA Tenorio or Mac Baracael on the wings. The shooting Now let’s take a closer at Joseph Yeo’s shooting. One of the things that separates Yeo from the rest of the Ginebra perimeter players is his ability to shoot the ball off the dribble. Mac Baracael, LA Tenorio, Chris Ellis, Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterband are more of the spot-up shooter type. Yes, I know they can do a fadeaway or an off-balance shot here and there, but nothing like Yeo. Did you see his three’s last night? He was shooting fade-a-waaayyys and he was coming off screens like a … well, like a damn ninja. He made Mark Barroca or PJ Simon chase him all over the floor. Yeo is probably the best shooter on that Ginebra roster. Last night, Baracael was 5-for-11, Tenorio 2-for7, Caguioa 3-for-8, Helterbrand 0-for-3, Ellis 0-for-1, and Urbiztondo 0-for-5. It was a dominant win for Ginebra but if you look closely at the numbers, Slaughter and Mamaril did the dirty work down low. And Joseph Yeo? He was 6-for-12 including five treys. At the same time however, let’s not get carried away too fast. Last night’s Manila Classico was Yeo’s breakout game as a Ginebra player. In the first four games, Yeo was a steady ball handler, but he didn’t shoot the ball well. Against Blackwater he went 2-for-5 on three’s for 40 percent, which is really good for someone shooting beyond the arch, but versus NLEX, Kia, and TNT, he was a combined 5-for-22 and just 3-for-15 from long-range. The thing is, if he can shoot like the way he did last night, he exponentially makes the Ginebra team better. If there’s one thing that their team needs, it’s a consistent threat from the outside. Again, Baracael, Ellis, and the rest of the gang can argue that they can shoot perimeter shots. And I’m not saying that they don’t. It’s just that Ginebra doesn’t have a reliable marksman who has a quick release jumper. They don’t have a player who can actually make the opposing team change their entire defensive strategy because he’s shooting lights out. Think Jeff Chan or the early days of Larry Fonacier. Ginebra needs that type of a gunner. Maybe, just maybe, Yeo can become that version of a player. The rotation One of the most critical things right now for Ginebra is the rotation of their players. Coach Jeff Cariaso has to manage the minutes of Tenorio, Ellis, Caguioa, Helterbrand, Baracael, Josh Urbiztondo, and Yeo. What’s interesting in their lineup is that sometimes they place Caguioa or Helterbrand at the small forward position. I’m not really sure what they gain from putting in either player at that spot because it’ll be a mismatch on both ends. Last night, Coach Cariaso even fielded James Forrester. Forrester subbed in for Yeo to finish the second quarter and it was that pivotal stretch right before halftime when Purefoods closed the gap. Why didn’t Yeo close out that quarter? And you had Ellis on the bench but then you go with Forrester? Forrester was mobbed by Barroca for an easy steal, before making an outlet pass to a streaking PJ Simon. My friend Mich, who was seating beside me, couldn’t help but scream “P@*!#$A!!! Bakit andyan si Forrester?!” The rotation of the Ginebra team needs a bit more tweaking. Fortunately for Ginebra, Yeo saw more minutes in the second half where he opened fire on the lowly Purefoods squad. I think that the rotation of the guards and the small forward position should be more consistent and that Yeo should see more time on the floor. He is the X-Factor Joseph Yeo is or will be the barometer of how well Ginebra plays moving forward. We are witnessing the prime of The Ninja and like a Liam Neeson movie, he has a “very particular set of skills; skills that he has acquired over a long career” that fit well with Ginebra. He can bring the ball down, facilitate, drive, knock down three’s, and as the Purefoods fan behind me last night would agree, provide some crazy plays that will make you curse and gasp in awe at the same time. Whether you’re a Ginebra fan, Purefoods fan, or just a basketball fan in general, you have to appreciate, and more importantly take notice of Yeo’s continuing evolution of his game. He is the X-factor that can possibly bring a championship to the historic Ginebra franchise. source: SLAMonline
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:37:09 +0000
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