(c) PBA Media Bureau
I do not want to be on the shoes of any of the core players of San Miguel Beermen. I am pretty sure they want to blame something or someone with their failure in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup.
But, nobody deserves the blame more than them.
One thing that the 2018 Commissioner's Cup finals taught us was the reality that San Miguel could be better by subtracting one or two of their cores and letting the younger guys on the bench, takeover.
I am talking about Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot.
Spiderman
Arwind connected on 22 of his 57 attempts in the finals. That was 38.6%! Efficiency has always been a problem for Arwind but he compensates that with what he brings on the other areas of the game. He can outrun guards, protect the rim, defend guards in the perimeter and make clutch shots.
But if we consider the fact that he is already 37 years old and Christian Standhardinger is ready to go and dominate, maybe the time to move on has come.
Even without him, Fajardo was more than enough to protect the rim and deter guards from reaching the basket. Actually, Matthew Ganuelas-Rosser is already capable of duplicating his defense. MGR is also capable of creating plays for his teammates.
By trading him for a 1st round pick, the minutes will now go to younger guys who could be the better fits around Marcio Lassiter and Junemar Fajardo. Standhardinger and MGR are guys who do not look for shots but do the other things to help their team wins.
Crunchman
Another veteran in the squad that they may look to ship to another team is Alex Cabagnot. Cabagnot has been a staple in their guard rotation but he is already 35 and his play is shakier at this point of his career.
In the recent finals, his total output from the field was 27 out of 74 attempts! That was 36.5%! If that was very bad already, how about his 26.5% shooting from beyond the arc?
Other than his shooting, his most glaring issue was defense. He is not that bad but he is also not that good. He was a bad match-up for the hustle guards like Scottie Thompson.
One guy is also waiting in the wings to be a starter. I am talking about Brian Heruela who has the size and the style to maximize Fajardo, Lassiter and Ross.
Cabagnot may still be a better quarterback but do they really need that with the presence of Chris Ross? Heruela has the size and strength to defend small forwards and even power forwards. That could be better for Fajardo and Lassiter.
Overall
San Miguel now has a reason to make a change. They may still keep the core up to next season but I think at the end of the 2019 season, it will be pretty obvious that at least one of Cabagnot and Santos will not be capable to handle 25 minutes of play.
Time could be running out for San Miguel to get the right return for Alex and Arwind. The prime of MGR, Standhardinger and Heruela are also being wasted in the bench.
Spiderman
Arwind connected on 22 of his 57 attempts in the finals. That was 38.6%! Efficiency has always been a problem for Arwind but he compensates that with what he brings on the other areas of the game. He can outrun guards, protect the rim, defend guards in the perimeter and make clutch shots.
But if we consider the fact that he is already 37 years old and Christian Standhardinger is ready to go and dominate, maybe the time to move on has come.
Even without him, Fajardo was more than enough to protect the rim and deter guards from reaching the basket. Actually, Matthew Ganuelas-Rosser is already capable of duplicating his defense. MGR is also capable of creating plays for his teammates.
By trading him for a 1st round pick, the minutes will now go to younger guys who could be the better fits around Marcio Lassiter and Junemar Fajardo. Standhardinger and MGR are guys who do not look for shots but do the other things to help their team wins.
Crunchman
Another veteran in the squad that they may look to ship to another team is Alex Cabagnot. Cabagnot has been a staple in their guard rotation but he is already 35 and his play is shakier at this point of his career.
In the recent finals, his total output from the field was 27 out of 74 attempts! That was 36.5%! If that was very bad already, how about his 26.5% shooting from beyond the arc?
Other than his shooting, his most glaring issue was defense. He is not that bad but he is also not that good. He was a bad match-up for the hustle guards like Scottie Thompson.
One guy is also waiting in the wings to be a starter. I am talking about Brian Heruela who has the size and the style to maximize Fajardo, Lassiter and Ross.
Cabagnot may still be a better quarterback but do they really need that with the presence of Chris Ross? Heruela has the size and strength to defend small forwards and even power forwards. That could be better for Fajardo and Lassiter.
Overall
San Miguel now has a reason to make a change. They may still keep the core up to next season but I think at the end of the 2019 season, it will be pretty obvious that at least one of Cabagnot and Santos will not be capable to handle 25 minutes of play.
Time could be running out for San Miguel to get the right return for Alex and Arwind. The prime of MGR, Standhardinger and Heruela are also being wasted in the bench.
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