NOTE: This article isn't exactly in a form of a letter.
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| The look of frustration beckons. (credits to Interaksyon.com) |
To be
honest, I have never been a die hard San Miguel Beermen fan until the season of
their Governors’ Cup championship against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.
Sure, they were my very first favorite PBA team, but the only reason for that
was because Olsen Racela’s son was a friend and a batch mate. Despite that
though, SMB has been my top favorite team. I may root for Alaska, RoS and at times Air 21, but the San
Miguel Beermen will always be my top team.
The very first time that the Beermen broke my heart was when they lost an epic 7 game series against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the 2012 Philippine Cup, back when they were still called the Petron Blaze Boosters. Despite that, I still continued to root for the team. Yet, heart break stil came. And another. And another. Then Renaldo Balkman chokes away Petron’s championships hopes during the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup. Then the Arwind Santos era of choking began. And now, consecutive first round exits despite having (in my opinion) the soon to be named league MVP.
The very first time that the Beermen broke my heart was when they lost an epic 7 game series against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the 2012 Philippine Cup, back when they were still called the Petron Blaze Boosters. Despite that, I still continued to root for the team. Yet, heart break stil came. And another. And another. Then Renaldo Balkman chokes away Petron’s championships hopes during the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup. Then the Arwind Santos era of choking began. And now, consecutive first round exits despite having (in my opinion) the soon to be named league MVP.
I’ve had
enough.
The San
Miguel Beermen fans have had enough.
Analyzing The Problem With The Beermen
Back when
Petron lost against the Tropang Texters during the 2012 Philippine Cup, I
couldn’t really pinpoint any person or issue with regards to that lost. Other
than me not being as literate to basketball compared to today, you couldn’t
really blame the Blaze Boosters. They were against a stacked and well coached
Talk ‘N Text team that was simply too poised and talented in such a tightly
contested series (‘Till this day, that series is still the greatest series
WHICH I HAVE WATCHED ALL GAMES.) Then all of a sudden, the pointing started.
Right after
that loss, the problems started to stack up.
PBB
seemingly panicked and changed their coaching staff. Then, they started to
acquire a number of stars thru trades. At first, the idea of having an all star
team for a professional sports team seemed like a terrifying thought for
opposing teams. All of a sudden, issues of chemistry and ego came into place.
Petron panicked again and made more trades. It was seemingly a never ending
cycle of uncertainty. Yet, a glimmer of hope came when the Blaze Boosters
reached the 2013 Governors’ Cup Finals. Yes, they may have lost that series,
but finally, the never ending cycle uncertainty looked like it would end. One
thing was for sure.
June Mar
Fajardo is the face of this franchise.
June Mar
Fajardo is the face of this franchise.
Let me
repeat just so I can make my message clear.
JUNE MAR
FAJARDO, THAT 6’10 ANIMAL OF A CENTER, IS THE FACE OF THE FRANCHISE.
Clear
enough? I hope so. Because that, is what the Beermen don’t get, and right now,
that is why they cannot seem to win any championships.
Team Kraken?
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| Face of the franchise. No doubt. (credits to Interaksyon.com) |
In the
recently concluded NBA Finals, numerous Miami Heat fans complained that LeBron
James, probably the face of the franchise right now (NOTE: Probably. Wade
definitely has his case), didn’t get any help. Sure LeBron is the best player
in the world, but he needs help.
Now imagine
this.
LeBron
James is in the game along with Mario Chalmers, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray
Allen. Wade handles the ball while Chalmers and Ray go around the perimeter to
pick their spots. Chris Bosh is just standing around in the mid post looking
for an opening. On the other hand, LeBron is begging for the ball in the low
post. Despite that, Wade goes iso, wastes the shot clock and chucks a shot.
Sounds
frustrating doesn’t it? If you’re a Heat fan, you don’t have to experience that
so you’re pretty lucky. If you’re an SMB fan, however, you experience this
every game. Every single game.
If there’s
something that I noticed with SMB, is that, when June Mar starts to miss his
shots despite the fact that teams are already ganging up on him, they stop
going to him. They start to settle of ill advised jumpers and YOLO drives,
which are evidently low percentage shots. The result? A loss for the Beermen.
That’s exactly what happened during yesterday’s game against SMC. Junemar misses a few shots because of the swarming defense, the Beermen start to chuck up threes and go iso with Reggie Williams. I have absolutely no problem with Reggie Williams taking over. In fact, he should. What my problem is that, Junemar isn’t being involved in the offense. Pick ‘N Rolls? None. Passes off cuts? Zero. Analysts have stated multiple times, Junemar is the center of the offense whether or not the import is in the court or not. This is not supposed to be Sol Mercado’s team. Not Chris Lutz’s team. Most especially not Arwind Santos’. This brings me to another point.
That’s exactly what happened during yesterday’s game against SMC. Junemar misses a few shots because of the swarming defense, the Beermen start to chuck up threes and go iso with Reggie Williams. I have absolutely no problem with Reggie Williams taking over. In fact, he should. What my problem is that, Junemar isn’t being involved in the offense. Pick ‘N Rolls? None. Passes off cuts? Zero. Analysts have stated multiple times, Junemar is the center of the offense whether or not the import is in the court or not. This is not supposed to be Sol Mercado’s team. Not Chris Lutz’s team. Most especially not Arwind Santos’. This brings me to another point.
WHAT IS UP
WITH THE COACHING STAFF?!?!?!
Sino ba talaga coach? Si Tim Clone ‘o si Ravanes? In fact, why did SMB even decide to hire Todd Purves? Gee Abanilla was already doing a pretty decent job as SMB head coach. He may have not been excellent, but he was decent. He knew Junemar is the center of their offense. He knew that SMB has the tools to get open looks from three and in the post. While Purves? I doubt that he gets it. You see multiple poor three point attempts. Multiple possessions where Junemar even touches the ball. Multiple YOLO drives. Well, he does get one thing. Multiple criticisms from SMB fans.
Sino ba talaga coach? Si Tim Clone ‘o si Ravanes? In fact, why did SMB even decide to hire Todd Purves? Gee Abanilla was already doing a pretty decent job as SMB head coach. He may have not been excellent, but he was decent. He knew Junemar is the center of their offense. He knew that SMB has the tools to get open looks from three and in the post. While Purves? I doubt that he gets it. You see multiple poor three point attempts. Multiple possessions where Junemar even touches the ball. Multiple YOLO drives. Well, he does get one thing. Multiple criticisms from SMB fans.
To cap
things off, there is really only one remedy for the problems of the Beermen.
Unity.
They have to
be united in order to win games. They have to play Team Basketball, but at the
same time, they have to realize who the center of the team is. It’s not Sol nor
Arwind. It’s Junemar. The success of the team runs through him. More often than
not, if he gets his touches, SMB will win games. But if he doesn’t even touch
the basketball, well SMB can say goodbye to hopes of touching that championship
trophy.
I share with your sentiments, Im a san miguel fan since my high school days, it was during the time caidic agustin pumaren etc. Im still hoping that SMb will regain ang bring back those glory days.
ReplyDeleteJune Mar Fajardo. 26 points, 27 rebounds and 4 blocks. #KrakenMVP yeah it's june mar's world.. na sad lang talaga ako for june mar coz he's giving so much yet kulang parin. Others must steep up.
ReplyDeleteit all starts with the management, (particularly to Ramon Ang), for me, they are really the one's to blame with. the problem is not on the players, they are giving their all every single game, the management and the poor coaching staff are the main reasons why the team did not succeed in the past conferences.
ReplyDeleteyah i agree with that. new conference new coach. pag hindi nagchampion palit agad. it takes time to get the chemistry, not only for the players how they play but most especially the coaching. sana magising na ang SMB dito. Abanilla and Agustin did a good thing but pinalitan pa rin sila. nakakalungkot lang.
DeleteAnother flaw of SMB is the import! No question reggie williams is a good offensive player and thats all! Its should be elijiah milsap! milsap is complete player he can score,rebound and defend and ready to die for the ball. but williams has no defense rarely going to the basket relying on his jumpshot! and you notice it opposing teams taps complete import player like harris,reid,z mason,and most especially blakely! if smb choose milsap were probaly in the finals again like last year!
ReplyDeleteNice insights.
ReplyDeleteSalamat sa paglabas nitong sulat mo.
Ako bilang isang Die hard at Solid SMB fans since 1989,at taong 2011 ng mabuo ko ang grupo nmin na SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN FAMILY BARKADAHAN,every live games ay nandoon kami hanggang sa mga out of town games ay pumupunta kami just to show to everybody our undying support for the team.
Nakakalungkot lng talaga na sa dami ng superstars sa team ay ganito ang inaabot ntin.
Ang problem?
Parehas tayo,HEAD COACH.
Ang hiling lng nmin,sana magkaroon na ang SMB ng consistent at totoong HEAD COACH.
Sana mkarating ito sa Management
Exactly what happen during their series against SCM. No define set of play, PG does'nt seem to know where to put the ball. No set of offensive direction, players playing selfish basketball, not even knowing the word TeamBasketball. They even refuses to stick together, believe and trust with each other come crucial times. They surely need a true captain that can set play smoothly and efficiently.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Yeo indeed said the right thing. Larong Mayaman, pag gipitan na natataranta na. Lack of composure and poised.
June Mar Fajardo is the face of this franchise! Indeed, no doubt about that! But during the last game against SMC, he wasn't given a chance to even touch the ball. Sad to see him and the rest of the team walk away after losing the battle once again. I believe he tried his best.. His teammates did as well. It isn't about the players....
ReplyDeleteI love SMB!
Great observation and suggestions but i only have one problem, i think too much emphasis is put on JunMar being the face of the franchise. Without doubt he is but even if he scores 30, get 20 rebs and block k10 shots a game, its not guarantee a WIN much less a championship. Lebron had monster numbers even when he was still with the Cavs but he only had 1 finals appearance in 7 years to brag. Rather than focusing on JunMAR as the team's franchise player which obviously he is, focus should be on TEAM PLAY more than anything. From Magnolia to Petron and now SMB, the team is being hyped too much that anything short of a championship is a failure and thats why management resort to short term solutions like band aid type of trades and lots of coaching stability, CHANGE is ok but too much of it brings confusion and difficulty in bringing CAMARADERIE in the team.
ReplyDeleteGinebra hasn't won a championship yet every time they fall short, they are not scrutinized as much as SMB yet they have practically the top 3 players in the PBA in every position. Greg is obviously second to JunMar at 5. Japeth is in there along with Ranidel and Pingris. MC is a 2 time MVP and still among the top 5 SG in the league and LA, obviously, a top 2 PG in the league with Jason Castro. They have athletic wingmen and solid shooters like Ellis,Baracael and Ababou. They have Jayjay, Monfort and Urbiztondo alternating with LA and JayR Reyes and Mamaril backing up Greg.. SMB doesn't have a decent back up to Junmar. We don't have a legit Power Forward. Arwind is an undersized 4 who love shooting 3's. The only reliable shooter we have is Lassiter and sometimes, Tubid and you have the inconsistent Lutz and the rarely and never used Duncil and Marataat 2. We have a good defensive PG in Ross but has no outside shot and we have a back up PG/SG who we have no idea if its the old SOL or the inconsistent one.
Good analysis. In fact, I'm happy you noticed how I kept on emphasizing Junemar. I'm not saying just dump the ball to Junemar and let him do his thing. What I'm saying is dump him the ball, and work the offense around him. This means screens to free each other and using Junemar as a wall to get open looks inside. And, definitely. I really felt the camaraderie of the team was there during the Governor's Cup last year. That really felt like a turning point. Turns out I was wrong. I just hope some stability is brought into the team sooner than later.
DeleteI hope a point or two from this letter gets to SMB management particularly on stability in coaching. Teams are successful if everyone is on the same mindset which rests on the coach's consistent philosophy. Recent history has shown us the success brought about by having the same coach for years (Norman Black with SMB in the 80's, Tim Cone with Alaska in the 90's and now with SMC, Yeng Guiao with Rain or Shine, Chot Reyes with Talk N Text). Once that is fixed, then the rest will follow because any player who does not tow the line doesn't get to play. The team may not win the title all the time but at least, there's consistency and character in the way they play.
ReplyDeletei am an SMB fan until they cut off Danny I. because of what he said during an interview with GMA. Olsen Racela was a coach for 1 conference of SMB and was sent to another team because SMB lost. come on, Renaldo Balkman chocked Arwin Santos was not Olsen's fault! then, Arwin Santos' infamous "Larong Mayaman" came into play. rumors of him being lazy during practice came out. SMB don't need superstars! then need players with a heart for the game, for the fans.
ReplyDelete