Barako Bull’s fantasy run is fleeting

MANILA, Philippines — The reality of it is there will always be some form of expectation when it comes to basketball. Everyone expects certain teams to be champions and other teams are expected to simply lose.

It’s no secret that Barako Bull Energy Cola is a team that nobody expected would start the PLDT myDSL Philippine Cup undefeated at 2-0. They bested the Air21 Express in the first showing and then followed that up with an impressive come-from-behind victory over the Alaska Aces.

Essentially, it was a fantasy run for Barako Bull and they were on top of the standings for a time. 

But on Sunday, December 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters put an end to Barako Bull’s fleeting fantasy run, courtesy of a 91-83 triumph.

“Masaya ako dahil (I’m happy because) the players really want to prove something, to play and prove themselves.” Those were the words of Barako Bull head coach Bong Ramos after their first victory against Air21 over a week ago.

He added: “Unang laro pa lang yan, wala pa sila napro-prove (It’s just the first game, they haven’t proven anything yet). But I can see that this team can pull surprises.”

Since then, Barako has, indeed, unveiled another surprise when they upset the Alaska Aces in their following game, 97-93, riding on Ronjay Buenafe’s hot shooting from deep.

But despite gaining much confidence in beating a team like Alaska, Barako headed into the game against Rain or Shine without the win streak in mind.

“Not at all,” Buenafe said the undefeated slate was least on their minds prior to the match. “We’re the underdogs here. No pressure. Just play and enjoy the game.”

He added all they had intended to do was to sustain the kind of play they showed previously and build on that.

“We’re supposed to be playing good basketball,” Buenafe explained. “Meaning, ball movement, playing good defense, and we have to play them physical. Unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

The underdogs fell short in their bid for a 3-0 slate. They kept it close for the most part but Rain or Shine broke free in the payoff period thanks to their defense and hustle plays.

Buenafe maintained he feels Barako Bull’s identity is just as much a defensive team as they are an outside shooting team. 

“Siguro (Maybe) we’re a defensive team also and with the kind of lineup we have, we’re an outside shooting team, too,” he said.

Unfortunately for them, their defenses had one too many lapses, which eventually hurt them in the end. 

Rain or Shine capitalized on Barako’s 12 turnovers by getting 17 turnover points. Second-chance opportunities went the way of the Elasto Painters as they milked 17 points on 12 offensive boards.

Even fastbreak scoring favored Rain or Shine, 13-6.

Willie Miller, who had a game-high 23 markers, agreed that a bad start, defense and making their shots were the keys to the end of their fantasy run.

“Sayang yung medyo bad start kami. May mga lapses kami sa defense namin. Yung open shots namin hindi nag-fall,” he said. (It was a waste that we had a bad start. We had lapses on defense. Our open shots did not fall.)

While they missed important baskets towards the end, there’s no denying the Barako Bull brandished its strength on the perimeter. They swished in a total of 10 three-pointers.

“Yun [outside shooting] nga yung strength namin (That’s our strength),” said Buenafe. 

But the loss did not knock the wind out of Barako Bull at all. In fact, they’re at a positive place. It is likely because they see the possibilities available to them, especially after the win against Alaska, and a close one against Rain or Shine.

According to Buenafe, coach Ramos immediately conditioned the minds of his players to think ahead right after the loss.

“History na ‘to. Tapos na ‘to (This is history. This is over.),” Buenafe shared the takeaway from their post-game huddle. “We don’t dwell on history anymore. We just have to look forward to the next game.”

With all of the negativity that surrounded the team after the 2013 PBA Draft, it seems none of it had seeped into the team at all. (READ: Surprise picks, trades take PBA Draft spotlight)

They may have missed on a chance to surprise the league more as an undefeated team. Their win streak may have been fleeting, but with how they’ve been playing as of late, there’s no telling how far they can really go.

“We will salvage an upset every game,” Ramos said.

For Buenafe, who’s in the early stages of a potential breakout conference, the will to win can do so much for him and his team. “Yung puso lang namin talaga yung gusto namin i-prove na kaya namin manalo.” (Our hearts want to prove that we can win.) – Rappler.com