(From Business World)
In yet another game representative of how it has been for the team in the PBA Fiesta Conference, the Air21 Express faltered and failed to come through in the end game last Wednesday against the Barangay Ginebra Kings. It continued a thread for the Express which has led to an inauspicious 1-7 start, currently worst in the league.
To be fair, Air21 is a far better team than what its record suggests. It has enough pieces in its roster to be able to compete with the rest of the field. The thing about it though, is that it has yet to tie the loose ends to truly get its act together from start to finish.
Easily the most rejigged team in the Philippine Basketball Association this season, the Express are undergoing "shift pains." A quick look at their lineup will show practically a new team from that we were accustomed to seeing. The result? A group still finding its identity.
As per the Express’ numbers in the ongoing tournament, they are not exactly "stinking." Offensively, their 97.4 points per game average is still solid considering they have lost quality scorers like Ranidel De Ocampo, Arwind Santos and Gary David to trades in the last year. They have been doing it with balance scoring with Ronjay Buenafe (13.4 ppg) and Mike Cortez (10.2 ppg) leading the way for the locals and four others norming at least eight points each.
Defensively, the Express’ 103 points allowed norm may need some sprucing up alright but with the team taking pride in, and gearing their attack toward, a more run-and-gun approach, they can be somehow forgiven for not locking down their opponents.
Burying the team in right now really is Air21’s inability to put up a sustained fight, stemming from the fact that collectively it is still finding its groove back. The way it has been so far for the Express is that they show up in spurts, blowing hot and cold on both ends which has allowed their opponents to get the better of them.
Just look at their game against Ginebra on Wednesday where they allowed the game to slip from their grasp. Right in the thick of the fight for the most part, the Express went on an offensive stupor in the second half, including going scoreless for over 10 minutes at one point, to allow the Kings to control the game. While they did manage to spring back to life to make things close in the end, the Express by that time had already allowed themselves, like they did in most of their earlier games, to be at the mercy of end-game breaks which unfortunately did not go their way.
It has not helped also that Air21 has not had the luck of finding the right reinforcement for the team. To date it has changed imports two times which has undeniably affected continuity. First import Keena Young helped the team notched its lone win so far (against Barako Coffee) but in four games was found wanting offensively (18.75 ppg and 14.25 rpg) to carry the team. Then came Jason Forte who fared better than Young with his 23 points and 16.5 rebounds in two outings but was not the go-to guy the Express was hoping for. Their latest reinforcement, Reggie Larry (34 ppg and 12 rpg), seems to be a keeper but sans a victory to show for in two games so far, the verdict is still out on him.
So at the current rate things are going, until Air21 finds a way to soothe the "pains" its changes have brought, it may still find the going tough. But the team is not totally off as it has been competing. It just has to dig in some more to finally hit that consistency that all teams are going for.
In yet another game representative of how it has been for the team in the PBA Fiesta Conference, the Air21 Express faltered and failed to come through in the end game last Wednesday against the Barangay Ginebra Kings. It continued a thread for the Express which has led to an inauspicious 1-7 start, currently worst in the league.
To be fair, Air21 is a far better team than what its record suggests. It has enough pieces in its roster to be able to compete with the rest of the field. The thing about it though, is that it has yet to tie the loose ends to truly get its act together from start to finish.
Easily the most rejigged team in the Philippine Basketball Association this season, the Express are undergoing "shift pains." A quick look at their lineup will show practically a new team from that we were accustomed to seeing. The result? A group still finding its identity.
As per the Express’ numbers in the ongoing tournament, they are not exactly "stinking." Offensively, their 97.4 points per game average is still solid considering they have lost quality scorers like Ranidel De Ocampo, Arwind Santos and Gary David to trades in the last year. They have been doing it with balance scoring with Ronjay Buenafe (13.4 ppg) and Mike Cortez (10.2 ppg) leading the way for the locals and four others norming at least eight points each.
Defensively, the Express’ 103 points allowed norm may need some sprucing up alright but with the team taking pride in, and gearing their attack toward, a more run-and-gun approach, they can be somehow forgiven for not locking down their opponents.
Burying the team in right now really is Air21’s inability to put up a sustained fight, stemming from the fact that collectively it is still finding its groove back. The way it has been so far for the Express is that they show up in spurts, blowing hot and cold on both ends which has allowed their opponents to get the better of them.
Just look at their game against Ginebra on Wednesday where they allowed the game to slip from their grasp. Right in the thick of the fight for the most part, the Express went on an offensive stupor in the second half, including going scoreless for over 10 minutes at one point, to allow the Kings to control the game. While they did manage to spring back to life to make things close in the end, the Express by that time had already allowed themselves, like they did in most of their earlier games, to be at the mercy of end-game breaks which unfortunately did not go their way.
It has not helped also that Air21 has not had the luck of finding the right reinforcement for the team. To date it has changed imports two times which has undeniably affected continuity. First import Keena Young helped the team notched its lone win so far (against Barako Coffee) but in four games was found wanting offensively (18.75 ppg and 14.25 rpg) to carry the team. Then came Jason Forte who fared better than Young with his 23 points and 16.5 rebounds in two outings but was not the go-to guy the Express was hoping for. Their latest reinforcement, Reggie Larry (34 ppg and 12 rpg), seems to be a keeper but sans a victory to show for in two games so far, the verdict is still out on him.
So at the current rate things are going, until Air21 finds a way to soothe the "pains" its changes have brought, it may still find the going tough. But the team is not totally off as it has been competing. It just has to dig in some more to finally hit that consistency that all teams are going for.
No comments:
Post a Comment