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| (Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) |
At the same time, La Salle no longer has a guy who they could just dump the ball to if Ben's being swarmed with defenders like a Jeron Teng. In short, the search for that elusive second option! Sadly, there's no one who's shown consistency to be that other guy beside Big Ben. Aljun Melecio and Ricci Rivero have shown good things, but only in spurts. Andrei Caracut isn't getting much minutes because of his woes defensively. Leonard Santillian remains an unproven option. So if Big Ben fails, where does La Salle go to?
Well, guess what? La Salle's found a solution to this problem of theirs! The solution is well... to keep on feeding Mbala! That doesn't mean just forcing Ben to keep on pounding the rock inside. Instead, Aldin Ayo whispered to Big Ben's ear as if he's Senator Stern from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, "Shoot threes."
Shoot threes.
IG: @benmbala converts a three-pointer off the pick and pop with Gabe Capacio. | via https://t.co/qtSgwOHwGW pic.twitter.com/BKf7ml5KSH— The LaSallian (@TheLaSallian) May 21, 2017
Video credit to The LaSallian
Against the Filoil Flying V Thunder, Big Ben attempted four three-pointers, managing to make just one. Most of his attempts came off pick and pops, which isn't surprising by any means since the reigning UAAP MVP has thrived off using the pick a lot. But back then, he would normally just roll. Now, he pops to the perimeter and jacks up threes. Yikes.
Against the Filoil Flying V Thunder, Big Ben attempted four three-pointers, managing to make just one. Most of his attempts came off pick and pops, which isn't surprising by any means since the reigning UAAP MVP has thrived off using the pick a lot. But back then, he would normally just roll. Now, he pops to the perimeter and jacks up threes. Yikes.
You could argue that, "Well, he made just one three!"
That is true. But believe it or not, this is a development that's more significant than what you may think it to be. Here's why.
The very fact that Coach Aldin has given Big Ben the go signal is scary in itself.
Various clips have surfaced of Big Ben taking threes during practice. He's actually made a number of them, looking very comfortable attempting baskets from that range. But during the previous UAAP season he never even dared to attempt one. Maybe because Coach Aldin never allowed him to take those shots in the first place.
The thing with shooters is, if you want a place to start with when it comes to improving on their shooting, you have to work on their confidence before any other form or *insert basketball term here*. You have to give them that go signal first before working on the other things.
Ben's form is fine. It needs some fixes here and there, but it isn't anything hopeless. Now, Coach Aldin has given him the go signal to take those threes. Well, crap.
From here on out, assuming that this is something that's going to be a staple for La Salle this season, it's only going to get better for Ben. His confidence will rise, and as a result of that, he's going to start becoming more comfortable taking the long ball. No longer will he be hesitant. It's going to be a natural thing for him.
Taking threes might very well become a natural thing for Ben Mbala. Try to picture that previous sentence. You done? Scary isn't it?
It crushes the hopes of a "swarm Big Ben and let the other Green Archers kill you from outside" tactic from working.
Imagine this: Big Ben sets a pick for Aljun Melecio. As Aljun drives to the right, Ben quickly pops and receives the pass from Melecio.
Now, let's assume the defense decides to swarm Big Ben once he gets the ball from the perimeter from the top of the key. Let's give him three defenders running towards him? Sound good? Okay. That opens up a TON of options for the four remaining Green Archers. It's a four on two situation, and Big Ben can easily pass the ball back to Aljun, which allows Melecio to penetrate with ease down low, and pass it off to a cutting Ricci Rivero for the jam. Or maybe Aljun can kick it out to Andrei Caracut in the perimeter! Or maybe it's Ben passing it to Andrei in the corner!
SO MUCH OPTIONS.
Swarm Big Ben, and instead of forcing the rest of DLSU from killing you from the outside, this now allows guys like Ricci, Aljun and Andrei to kill you from the outside AND the inside. So we're not just talking three-pointers here. We're talking about easy cuts to the basket as well. That spells trouble for any team who will try to swarm Ben in an instant.
It makes Ben that much more unstoppable.
Alright, let's say that defenses adjust and instead of swarming Ben, they decide to just give him space to shoot. That's probably the best way to shut down La Salle, but it isn't a sure-fire way anyway. Because if Ben shows that his three-point shot is something worth defending, then leaving him open for a three is an option which defenses should immediately abandon.
So stay home on him right? That's fine, go try to expose his ball-handling, but it isn't the worst out there. It won't be surprising to see Big Ben put the ball on the floor and barrel his way inside for the easy basket. Considering that he's going to be defended by big men, we're going to be seeing a ton of #BBQChicken if this happens.
These are all just dream scenarios at this juncture, but the point is this: Big Ben shooting threes just makes him so much more unstoppable. Just imagine; He's already so difficult to defend without a three. Ben Mbala is an athletic freak, who can score with ease down low. His mid-range game isn't half bad. Now a three-pointer? OH MY GOD.
Right now, as the pre-season progresses, his three-point shooting numbers aren't going to look pretty. That's expected because it is the pre-season after all. That is the point of the Filoil tournament. To allow teams to experiment with certain tactics so that come the UAAP season, these will be completely useable.
Big Ben has roughly four months to master the long ball. That's a lot of time for him to turn into at least a decent shooter. That's also a lot of time for the rest of the UAAP to map out something to try and stop what could very well happen.
If all else fails, just follow Alma Moreno's advice.
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