ADJUSTMENT is the name of the game. That’s always the battle cry in almost all championship clashes disputed then and now.
The Barangay Ginebra-Bay Area duel is no exception.
Thus, as both squads go to Wednesday’s (today) Game 3 of their best-of-seven series for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, what playbook they’d bring to the table is being anxiously awaited by this cage-crazed republic.
While players, especially the main cogs, will hug the spotlight in every title match, the coaches will embrace everything including their ubiquitous egos.
Do-it-all import Justin Brownlee and playmaker LA Tenorio shone brightest in anchoring a telling 96-81 Game 1 win for Ginebra on Christmas Day before a spill-out crowd at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
It was a win that validated Tim Cone’s strategic coaching that gave the Gin Kings an impressive 18-point victory the first time they battled the visitors from Hong Kong.
Cone’s breast-beating triumph stuck out like a sore thumb as the loss was only the second in 12 elimination games for the much-ballyhooed Dragons dipped deeply in classy players plucked from around the globe.
But Hong Kong coach Brian Goorjian knew what to do in Game 2: Continue to defend but minus fouls that slew the Dragons in Game 1.
The simple adjustment produced a resounding 99-82 win for Bay Area on December 28 before 16,044 pro-Ginebra fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that watched in disbelief.
The Gin Kings had been simply outsmarted—or was Cone thoroughly out-tricked?
“Tonight, we defended without fouling,” said Goorjian, pointedly adding, “we did not complain about the referees in Game One.”
“Tonight, we made the adjustments according to the PBA rules of playing without fouling,” said Goorjian, who had coached Australia to an illustrious Olympic bronze finish. “And to move forward, we gotta stay on that page.”
Shackled almost in that Game 1 defeat, fire-spewing Dragon Andrew Nicholson and dead shot Zhu Songwei rebounded with 30 and 25 points, respectively, combining to erect a 52-35 halftime bulge from which the Gin Kings weren’t able to recover from.
While Brownlee managed to continue to shine with his 32 Game Two points, Tenorio was almost cemetery-silent like Scottie Thompson.
What kind of adjustment Cone will unfurl in the 5:45 p.m. Game 3 today at the MOA Arena must be something akin to one coming from the winningest coach (24 crowns) in PBA history.
Goorjian’s assessment of the ongoing war?
“I’m loving every battle,” he said.
THAT’S IT Rafael Nadal, the Spanish owner of the most Grand Slam titles in history with 22, welcomes the return of Novak Djokovic to the Australian Open set to blast off later this month. Djokovic was detained and deported ahead of the 2021 tournament for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19. “Novak’s return is good for tennis and it makes me highly motivated,” said Nadal, who won at Melbourne Park last year by beating Russian Daniil Medvedev in an epic five-setter…Happy birthday today to Danny Dalena! HAPPY NEW YEAR!