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| Barangay Ginebra San Miguel head coach Siot Tanquincen. Photo courtesy of spin.ph |
When your favorite team starts losing, everyone starts to doubt the system, coaches, players and even the fans.
Let's go first with the run and gun system of Ginebra. During the first two wins, the team looked promising as they outran everybody on the court. But after that, everything did not seem to fall into place. And here we are now looking for possible reasons why Ginebra is playing un-Ginebra like. We should remember that the team is on a transition phase as it acquired Tenorio and drafted two Fil-Am rookies. But then again, fans won't take that as a legit reason.
In my honest opinion, if Ginebra wants to play run and gun, it starts with a consistent pressure defense. Ginebra needs to apply continuous ball pressure to their opponents so they can force turnovers and run. They're not doing it.
When the young legs are in, they commit too many turnovers. When the veterans are there, they can't seem to run. When they're mixed together, there's no chemistry. Is it time to change the system or will the coaching staff give it another shot? Only time will tell. Or only the San Mig Coffee Mixers can answer that as they look to give Ginebra a 5-straight losing skid.
Now, for the coaches. Siot Tanquincen might be sent packing after a Manila Clasico loss. I don't wish him to get fired but he knows it. The game against the Mixers will be the turning point. As for Al Chua, he could be the possible interim coach.
If we look into the roster of Ginebra, they have no big man at the middle. I won't say this if Ginebra is winning. But they're losing so I might just as well point this out. I think the management knows it and as of the moment I believe they're exploring trades for a big guy. Unload some forwards and get bigs. Noli Eala has a lot of work and 'tweeting' to do.
Also, I'm not a fan of Siot giving Ellis and Jensen more playing minutes. Give the veterans a chance! Is it the same issue we had last Philippine Cup? Hope not. Don't get me wrong I like those guys but it's not working.
And most definitely I don't like seeing JJ Helterbrand warm the bench. Speak up like what Mark did last year!
Every Ginebra fan has the right to complain and be concerned. At the same time, this is the perfect moment where we are tested the most. Our loyalty and passion should burn even stronger when things go like this.
These are the possible reasons why Ginebra is losing. I can just speculate. As a fan of the barangay, I'm pressing the panic button but I don't lose hope that they can still bounce back.
Kumbaga, tiwala lang. Malalampasan din natin yan.
