Purefoods, Rain or Shine struggle for answers to inconsistencies

Jane Bracher

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Purefoods, Rain or Shine struggle for answers to inconsistencies
The PBA's perennial contenders have finally begun turning things around in the 2015 Philippine Cup. But despite getting wins, both are still groping for form

MANILA, Philippines – Reaching the finals is tough. But starting over is tougher.

After duking it out in a classic full-length finals series to wrap up the 39th season of the PBA, both finalists of the 2014 Governors’ Cup are finding it difficult to start anew in the new season’s Philippine Cup.

Defending Grand Slam champions Purefoods Star Hotshots are only just recovering from a dismal 1-3 start to the conference. Head coach Tim Cone made it clear the 4-time champions are nowhere near playoff shape and still without momentum even with their current 3-3 slate.

Meanwhile, last conference’s bridesmaids the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are 5-2 so far. But don’t let that fool you. The numbers reveal exactly why head coach Yeng Guiao is similarly unhappy with his team’s performance, and just how inconsistency is still a major issue. 

Both perennial contenders have finally begun turning things around this conference. But despite getting wins, both are still groping for form.

Up and down affair 

It is tempting to believe that Rain or Shine is playing really well because of their win-loss record, which is good enough for third place. But one has to take a closer look at those games to really see why they aren’t at their best form yet.

As early as the team’s fourth outing, Guiao already expressed concern over his team’s play and effort. At that point, the Painters were 2-2 and dropped games versus top tier teams Talk ’N Text and San Miguel while brushing aside expansion teams KIA and Blackwater.

I know it’s still early but I’m a little concerned already kasi ang tinalo lang namin yung mga expansion teams. Yung mga legitimate contenders, we were dominated,” Guiao said after a stinging 99-76 loss to the Texters. (I know it’s still early but I’m a little concerned already because we defeated only the expansion teams. We were dominated by the legitimate contenders.)

“This is not our expectation and we have to put more pressure on ourselves to perform.” 

Since then, Rain or Shine has put together a 3-game win streak against Barako Bull, Globalport and Meralco to notch their current 5-2 slate. Like the first two, however, those wins also were at the expense of lower tier teams, which are still searching for identities and building up to being contenders.

And although there have been some great shooting nights and glimpses of Rain or Shine as the contenders they’ve been over the past few years, the numbers cast significant worry.

In 7 games, the Painters have out-rebounded their foes only once – a 56-47 edge over Barako Bull, whom they clobbered, 99-71, on November 7. They’ve been out-rebounded by an average of 9 in the other 6 games.

The worst was losing the battle of the boards by half against Talk ’N Text, who simply dominated them with 62 rebounds. Rain or Shine had just 31 in that game. 

“Lack of effort, I think that’s the main issue. We did not come in and make the effort,” Guiao said of that loss to the Texters. “Rebounding is really a function of your desire and willingness to work hard. And if you lose by 31 rebounds it means you did not work hard.”

The following game was their bounce-back win over Barako and the first time they won that department. But they dipped again when they came to blows with Globalport in a down the wire finish.

They won by 86-83 but Rain or Shine still found it difficult to get ahead on the boards, losing by 43-50 to the Batang Pier, which left Guiao disappointed once more.

“I’m really looking for rebounding. We know we’re not a big team. We know we’re not the most athletic team but we’ve been able to rebound decently the past conferences,” he rued.

Last season, Guiao’s wards wound up 6th in the league in that department with 49 rebounds a game, according to PBA Head Statistician Fidel Mangonon III. In the early goings this season, they’re settling for 8th place with around 47 rebounds per game, also per Mangonon. 

“We’re not going to be a top rebounding team but we don’t want to lose by 31 rebounds at any point in the conference. We’re always giving up extra possessions to the other teams,” Guiao stressed.

“And if you’re playing the top teams, two or 3 extra possessions is a big deal. That’s the reason I’m not really still happy and I’m still looking for some improvements.”

The win over Globalport revealed more problems as well. For one, their fluctuating defensive intensity, which Guiao pointed out.

“We couldn’t sustain our defensive energy. It’s just something that we’ve lacked since the start of this conference. Our energy has been inconsistent and that’s the reason our game has been inconsistent.”

And another was their free throw shooting, which nearly cost them the Batang Pier match as they missed crucial endgame charities. 

Nakukulangan pa rin ako (I still don’t think it’s enough). Although we won, I’m not really in a celebrating mood. We still not to work on some things,” Guiao said.

A few days work yielded favorable results with the Painters rising back up against Meralco in Davao. Rain or Shine’s offense was clicking from everywhere despite having to play without Guiao for most of the game as he was ejected after two technicals.

Paul Lee led the Painters with 20 points and 10 assists against Meralco in Davao. File Photo by Nuki Sabio/PBA Images

The Elasto Painters sank 13 triples then, shot 54% on two-point field goals, and tallied 31 assists. Even if they lost the rebounding once again, it wasn’t too far off at just 49-51. Six Painters finished in double figures on Saturday night.

It has been an up and down affair for the Painters, who competed for two out of the 3 titles last season. The best case scenario is for Rain or Shine to take off from their Meralco game and continue surging upward.

The next assignment is NLEX and after that the acid test will come against bigger fishes in Purefoods, Alaska, and Ginebra. And Guiao has already taken steps to ensure his team doesn’t settle for mediocre efforts.

“You want to make them a little uncomfortable and understand that you cannot live off what you’ve done last season or last conference. You always have to live for the present.”

Stuck in a slump

Purefoods, on the other hand, is trying to claw back out from their own rut.

The bid to win a 5th straight title is not looking so good right now as the Hotshots are still lingering at the bottom half of the standings with an even 3-3 card. 

Going 1-3 to begin with, Purefoods found it difficult to shake off the remaining gold dust from their history-making season and get down to business.

Head coach Tim Cone put effort into retraining his team’s focus and pulling them back down to earth coming off a successful championship run. He did it thrice in the past and before the start of the season, he was confident his boys were motivated enough to get back to the grind. (RELATED: Former NBA coach prepares San Mig Coffee [now Purefoods] for title defense

Even after dropping their second straight game against the Beermen, Purefoods’ slow start was forgivable. The panic button did not beckon just yet, though the worries were already there. 

“We’re having a hard time remembering how hard you have to play, to play in this league,” Cone admitted then. “We’re kind of floating here and there.”

The winningest PBA coach even managed to recall his team’s 0-3 start to the 2014 Philippine Cup, where they eventually went on to become champions.

“We’ve been here before. I don’t like being here that’s for sure,” Cone chuckled.

But that was 3 weeks ago.

Cone barely broke out a smile on Tuesday, November 18 when he faced the press during the post game interview even after his team bested the Blackwater Elite

His straight face was within reason, though, because 6 games in, the champions appear to be stuck in a slump, struggling to regain its deadly form.

“We played a good game against NLEX and we were hoping that would smooth us out but we’re still not playing connected basketball,” he rued. “We’re kind of disjointed.”

Tuesday night’s win marked the Hotshots’ first back-to-back victories in the conference. The previous win was over NLEX, where Purefoods looked to be on their way to picking up serious momentum. Unfortunately, they took a step back against the Elite despite the victory and it didn’t seem like they’ve broken out of their funk.

“We’re not particularly playing well with each other at this point. We lose focus on certain possessions and at certain times on defense,” Cone explained how his team is going through the motions. 

“I keep waiting for us to kind of break out of it. I thought maybe we did last game but one game is not momentum.”

Blackwater out-hustled Purefoods on the boards, 54-39, and notched a 26-6 advantage on second-chance points. The Hotshots were also dismal from beyond the arch going 0-of-9 that night. What won it for them was aggressiveness that turned into 26 trips to the line, 20 of which they converted.

They failed to capitalize on good play versus NLEX. 

“I wish we played better,” Cone said. “If we had played better it would’ve given us a little momentum coming into our next game.”

Poor motivation isn’t the only thing holding back Purefoods at this point. Injuries to key players have crippled the team in some of their first few games.

Ian Sangalang (right) suffered a major injury in just his sophomore year, tearing his ACL. Purefoods will miss his youth in the frontline. File Photo by Nuki Sabio/PBA Images

Star scorer James yap sustained a right calf injury and hustle guy Marc Pingris, who is still getting his rhythm back after 3 weeks of rest following his Gilas stint, is also trying to stay healthy despite a tendonitis injury he got during Gilas’ campaign. 

The biggest blow was losing sophomore big man Ian Sangalang, who suffered an ACL injury and won’t see action for 6 to 8 months.

In the wake of his straining team, Cone opted to strip down the goal and make it as simple as possible.

“All we gotta do is win by 1 point,” he said. “Anything else is pogi (selfish) points.”

But even then, it was hard for everyone to buy in.

“I always tell our guys to try not to be into pogi points. I felt (against Blackwater) we were a little bit into that – guys were trying to make plays on their own rather than (go with) the offense. And when we do that, that’s when we get in trouble.” 

Ultimately, Cone’s goal is to shift his team’s mindset and perspective, stripping them of any over-confidence or complacency. 

“What we say to the players is we have to come into every game thinking that we’re underdogs. We have to think of ourselves as underdogs and overachieve,” he explained.

“We have to be underdogs. When you’re an underdog, you have to play harder, do everything better because if you don’t you’re gonna get beat. That’s the attitude we need to have and we’re not doing that. We’re not reaching that level yet. Hopefully we will.” – Rappler.com

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