I watch the last 18 minutes of the game via RPTV and let me say this:
What on earth happened to June Mar Fajardo?
Now, I am not knocking on The Kraken. In fact, I am knocking on the San Miguel Beer coaching staff. What happened to their bench and why did they let JMF fight off Meralco’s revolving door of big men?
I saw Kyle Pascual getting most of the minutes in the third quarter. I also saw Norbert Torres getting significant action as June Mar huffed and puffed on both ends of the court.
Also, Terrence Romeo got injured, and from key offensive powerhouse, San Miguel spent most of the minutes to pass-first playing assistant coach, Chris Ross.
Now I am a fan of Ross, especially at times when people forget that he is an elite defensive player and a former BPC and Finals MVP. However, Ross was held scoreless, and it’s probably because he attempted just three triples in almost 30 minutes of action.
June Mar had 23 points and 10 rebounds in almost 40 minutes of action. CJ Perez had 20, while Marcio Lassiter also had 16 points for the Beermen. With that said, Jorge Gallent missed the offense of the Adamson boys – Don Trollano and Jericho Cruz, who were limited to just 14 points and 5-of-17 scoring.
Jeron Teng would have been able to step up during Romeo’s absence, and in just eight minutes, he had four points and a rebound. Vic Manuel is another player who could have helped, given his vast experience, but DNP-ed yet again for the Beermen.
Meanwhile, the 93 to 86 Meralco win happened because of the Bolts’ collection of heroes. Chris Banchero and Chris Newsome had 18 points apiece, with Bong Quinto and Allein Maliksi ably supporting the Chris and Chris duo with 15 points apiece as well. Cliff Hodge only had seven points, but his 15 rebounds, especially his three offensive rebounds during the final two minutes were instrumental in their team’s win. Raymond Almazan was also a big help for the Bolts, but he also needs to improve his 4-of-15 shooting clip.
For some reason, Meralco wants Rakenrol to hit baseline jumpers and top-of-the-line set shots.
I dunno if this is a good idea moving forward.
In some ways, I bet Meralco wants Reynel Hugnatan to get out of retirement. San Miguel lost this game, but I expect them to learn from their mistakes. Mo Tautuaa is usually a good chief relief for Fajardo, but not when he’s just letting Kraken fend for himself on the inside.
Anyway, expect Friday to be a treat. I don’t know if I felt the finals atmosphere, except when a bunch of Bolts fan tried their best impersonation of the Ginebra fanbase. With that said, I expect San Miguel to bounce back.