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THIS
could be the defining moment of Boyet Fernandez’s young
coaching career. During his 12 years in the Philippine
Basketball Association (PBA) as a player, the Sta. Lucia
mentor has not won a championship—although he had played
in three conference finals.
His
craving for the elusive hardware could possibly end this
week. The Realtors hold a 2-0 lead over the Purefoods
Tender Juicy Giants in the best-of-seven Smart-PBA
Philippine Cup titular series. All he needs is two more
wins to become a certified champion coach.
With
their first championship in seven years within reach,
management and their religious followers couldn’t hide
their excitement.
But the
36-year-old Fernandez stressed he is not rushing things
up.
“We’ll
just take it one game at a time. A 2-0 lead doesn’t mean
anything in a best-of-seven series,” offered Fernandez,
who could become the 10th ex-player-turned-coach to win
a championship.
Game
Three is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.
“It
looks good. We’re up 2-0. But coach said it’s not over
yet. So we’ll take it one game at a time and keep
believing we can win this championship,” said rookie
Ryan Reyes, who has been doing a good job defending
against Purefoods dead-shot James Yap.
Ryan
Gregorio, Fernandez’s former coach at Purefoods, said he
isn’t ready to push the panic button but readily
admitted they can’t afford to lose Game Three.
“I don’t
think any team has bounced back from a 3-0 deficit. And
were not gonna gamble too much on that,” said Gregorio,
aiming to become the first PBA coach to win two
All-Filipino championships.
The
Realtors dominated Games One and Two on two factors:
youth and tireless defensive effort. The ability of
Dennis Espino and Marlou Aquino to provide veteran depth
also made a difference.
Fernandez said he would stick with that formula.
Gregorio
concedes that the Realtors are playing tremendous
defense and the attention they are providing Yap and
Kerby Raymundo has obviously took its toll on the two
Purefoods superstars.
Based on
his observation, the Purefoods coach feels he has to
make the necessary adjustments.
So on
Monday, Gregorio gave his troops a break while he
reviewed his roster in an effort to figure out the best
possible alternate for Yap and Raymundo, who, he admits,
might be playing extended minutes.
Although
things don’t look good, Gregorio remains optimistic his
troops will be able to turn the series around.
“If
there’s a team that can come out of the rut, that’s our
team,” proclaimed Gregorio.
The
Giants were also in a 0-2 hole in the semifinals of the
2002 Philippine Cup and during the 2006 Governors Cup
Finals. They eventually won both.
Fernandez anticipates that Game Three would be “a little
bit more physical.” Gregorio thinks so.
Adding
spark to an already interesting series was the
confrontation between Fernandez and Purefoods guard
Roger Yap after Game Two, while the two teams were
headed for the dugout.
The Sta.
Lucia coach claimed he was just trying to stress a point
with Yap, his former teammate at Purefoods.
“Nakikipag-kamay
ako sa Purefoods, and hinahanap ko si Roger
[Yap] to say tapos na ang game, bakit pa niya
susuntukin si Kelly [Williams],” Fernandez recalled.
“I’m just protecting my players.”
The
incident happened with
3:22 remaining in the game and Sta. Lucia up, 101-87. After
Williams went down with the rebound,
Yap thrust him in the butt. Annoyed, the Sta. Lucia forward
confronted the Purefoods guard and before the situation
got out of hand, both players were slapped with double
fouls.
Gregorio
said otherwise. He said Roger told him Fernandez cursed
him. Fernandez denied the accusation.
“It’s a
situation of who’s telling the truth. But at this point
I’m trusting my player,” Gregorio said. |
