(c) PBA Media Bureau
This is another feather to the cap of coach Tim Cone. Ginebra managed to win two of their last three games even though they were down to ten playable players.
They did not play the bad teams. They actually played the top teams in Phoenix and Blackwater and the always-favorite San Miguel.
So, how do the healthy players rank against each other in terms of their impact on their 2-1 result? Let us check.
#10 Jett Manuel
Manuel is getting the usual rookie treatment from coach Tim. In their last three games, he only played once and only four minutes.
#9 Mark Caguioa
Mark started in their last two games that they both won. The numbers though were clear that he was the worst on the starting five and he did not even score a point against Blackwater.
#8 Jeff Chan
What is the main job of Jeff? To shoot threes. He only managed to go for 3 out of 12 in their last three games. 25% efficiency is not acceptable.
#7 Prince Caperal
With the injuries to their twin towers, it was time for Caperal to shine. He failed to do so. He played 19 minutes per game and managed 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. Not bad but not good enough.
#6 Kevin Ferrer
Ferrer managed to fill up minutes and not hurt the team. He averaged 20.7 minutes and produced 7.3 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. His outside shooting though did not click as he only managed 1 out of 8 from beyond the arc.
#5 LA Tenorio
LA did not have a competent back-up point guard on the bench so he doesn't have the luxury of playing bad. He averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Solid but with Greg and Japeth out, I expected him to produce more.
#4 Aljon Mariano
Aljon was the one who really step-up in their last three games. Even though he does not have an outside shot, his versatility, defense, grit and decision-making made him a vital player with a lot of injured teammates.
He managed 14 points, 4.7 rebounds and 67% FG. He was not only effective in the court but he was also efficient. Without his increased production, Ginebra may have failed in winning their recent two matches.
#3 Scottie Thompson
Scottie was as monstrous as ever. He averaged 8.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Scottie handled a lot of point guard duties and he was actually more effective in facilitating their offense than LA.
Scottie was, of course, vital in winning the rebounding battle in two of their last three games. That was not expected because of the absence of their twin towers.
We did expect him to be more assertive in offense but he did not.
#2 Joe Devance
I thought Joe was playing with an injury? He did not look like one in their last three games. Actually, he may just have his best three games run this season. He averaged 13 points, 5.7 assists, 40% 3FG and 58.6% FG per game.
He played exclusively in the center spot and defended the imports for the majority of his minutes. He registered the most assists and was efficient on offense. This was the perfect Joe that coach Tim may have wished in this three-games run and Joe delivered.
#1 Justin Brownlee
Brownlee can take over games when he needed too. One of his underrated skills is his intelligence. He knows when to become a facilitator and when to be aggressive. His efficient pull-up ability in the midrange and his post moves are a terrific scoring combination.
Brownlee's statline is beyond elite; 34.7 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 2.0 blocks and 43.8% FG. Yes, he did it on both ends of the court. He was not only a scorer, facilitator, rebounder but was also the glue of their defense.
Comments
Post a Comment