PBA finals: Ginebra’s ruthless defense vs TNT’s merciless offense

Before the PBA Philippine Cup began, the TNT Tropang Giga were tagged as one of the teams expected to challenge the dominance of the San Miguel Beermen. 

The ballclub was capable of deploying one of the strongest and most complete combinations in the league: JP Erram at center, Troy Rosario at the four spot, Ray Parks at small forward, RR Pogoy at shooting guard, and Jayson Castro at the point. 

All 5 are former Gilas members. All 5 are capable of putting points on the scoreboard. All of them are two-way players who also shine on the defensive end. Each one is a star in his own right. 

When the Philippine Cup unfolded, the most consistent team turned out to be Barangay Ginebra. Despite the absence of Greg Slaughter, the Gin Kings continued to roll. 

Coach Tim Cone managed to squeeze the best out of his veterans. He also developed new bigs like Prince Caperal, Aljon Mariano, and rookie Arvin Tolentino to backstop Japeth Aguilar, who remained the pillar on which Barangay Ginebra’s title aspirations were built on.

It should be no surprise then that TNT and Ginebra are the last two teams standing in the Philippine Cup. The finals between these two teams will be a matchup featuring two rather distinct brands of play. 

TNT, the more offensively potent team, plays more up tempo. In 17 games spanning the elimination round all the way to the five-game semifinals, the Tropang Giga were the third-highest scoring team as they lit up the scoresheet with 98.18 points per game. Ginebra ranked 9th overall in points with an average of 90 per game.

While TNT overwhelms opponents with its offensive blitzkrieg, Ginebra is more methodical and grinds out victories by shutting down opponents. In their five-game semis series against Meralco, the Gin Kings averaged just 85.4 points, but they also held down the Bolts to just 84.2 points a game. In contrast, the Phoenix Fuel Masters put up 95.2 points in their semis series versus TNT.

Cone’s offensive system is the more efficient one as his team shoots 45% from the field. Roughly two-thirds of Ginebra’s shots come from the two-point area which are higher-percentage attempts. 

Coaching consultant Mark Dickel, on the other hand, issues TNT the license to shoot, particularly from the three-point area. The mantra for TNT seemingly is that with more tries come the opportunity to sink more from three. 

The Tropang Giga lead the league in three-point attempts with over 39 hoisted per game compared to Ginebra, which is attempting just 26.59 from the same area. TNT makes 12.24 triples per game, over 3 more than Ginebra.

TNT likes to run more and converts 9.65 fastbreak points per outing compared to Ginebra, which scores just 7 points in transition. TNT is tops in the league in steals with 9.06 per game, almost double Ginebra’s numbers of 4.59. 

The Gin Kings offset these deficiencies by being one of the most selfless teams in the bubble. They average 23 assists, second-best in the league next to Phoenix. The Tropang Giga rank just 6th in assists with 19.29 dimes.

Cone relied primarily on the trio of Aguilar, Stanley Pringle, and Scottie Thompson on offense in the elimination round. No other Gin King scored in double figures. The 3 averaged a combined 44.45 points. 

In Ginebra’s semis losses versus Meralco, Aguilar, Pringle, and Thompson were limited to just 39.5 points. In their 3 wins, they scored 46.6 points together. 

What should give Cone more confidence is that LA Tenorio has stepped up his game in the playoffs. Tenorio, who came into the bubble fresh off an appendectomy, has slowly gotten into game shape. In the semifinals, he provided additional scoring punch for the Gin Kings with his average of 12.2 points per outing.

In the elimination round, TNT had its best 5 players scoring in double figures. Whatever it is that Dickel has unleashed in Parks, it surely has made Parks virtually unstoppable. 

Parks was the third-leading scorer in the elimination with 20.1 per game. In the semis, he is showing he is arguably the best player in the bubble as he upped his scoring to 27.8 points. (READ: Parks tops PBA stats race as Abueva makes big leap)

Castro and Pogoy are still posting their usual numbers, but a cause for concern for the Tropang Giga is the production of their frontline men in the playoffs. 

Erram’s scoring has dropped to just 8.8 points from over 12 points, although his rebounding numbers improved to 8.8 per game. Rosario, who averaged 12.27 points in the elims, was a non-factor in Games 4 and 5 of the semis with just 2 points in both games.

Fortunately for TNT, its veterans have stepped up to compensate for the dip in the usual numbers of Rosario and Erram. Simon Enciso was huge in the semis as he not only hounded Phoenix gunner Matthew Wright, but he also scored 12 points per game. Jay Washington took over the frontline chores in the last two games and averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 boards. 

This championship series may just become a long, drawn-out battle and TNT’s depth could become a swing factor. The Tropang Giga can go 11-deep as Dickel has gotten contributions from Ryan Reyes, Harvey Carey, Kib Montalbo, and David Semerad. 

Cone has stuck to a nine-man rotation in the semis. It is imperative that Joe Devance and Jared Dilinger provide quality minutes so as not to overextend their starters. A healthy Jeff Chan will be a welcome development for the Gin Kings as he will deepen Cone’s off the bench options.

This finals matchup could well boil down to which basketball philosophy prevails: Barangay Ginebra’s workman-like, ruthless defense that suffocates the offensive life out of its opponents, or TNT’s merciless scoring prowess that often leaves mere mortal teams breathless and unable to keep pace. – Rappler.com