Ginebra’s woes

During the offseason, it was evident that Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen made plays that would mold his center-deprived team into a ballclub that will thrive from the perimeter and beyond. Gunners Dylan Ababou and Allein Maliksi were recipients of countless passes whenever the two sophomore players were in the position to shoot from the outside.

Ginebra had huge success by winning most of their tune-up games weeks before the league opened last Sept. 30.

Already a champion coach, Tanquingcen back then downplayed their impressive off-season run and made strong mention about their weakness inside the paint.

To date, the paint remains to be the waterloo of Ginebra.

Given that Tanquingcen has prepared his team to work on their strength, which is outside shooting, it is not anymore surprising that Ginebra is now languishing at the lower half of the team standings.

That is because Ababou and Maliksi were never a factor in their campaign thus far mainly because of injuries.

Ababou will be out for six to eight months after he tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in their games against San Mig Coffee last Sunday.

Maliksi has been bothered by an ankle injury the last two games, while forward Kerby Raymundo was unable to play because of the flu.

According to Tanquingcen, both Maliksi and Raymundo are expected to suit up tonight against Global Port at the Cuneta Astrodome, but doubts if both will be utilized since they have not completed a practice session the last few days.

HOPING FOR A “DEJA VU.” One of two Ginebra wins came at the expense of Global Port when the two squads opened the tournament last Sept. 30.

To be honest, Ginebra was lucky to win that game because post players Billy Mamaril and Rico Maierhofer dished out double-double performances in points and rebounds.

Against Global, Ginebra missed the services of Ababou, who was recovering from a hamstring injury, while Maliksi struggled from the field (3-of-9).

We mentioned in our column that week that Mamaril and Rico Maierhofer, with all due respect to both, were not the typical players who would produce the same numbers on any given night.

That is why we saw the need for their outside gunners to step up in their coming games.

Unfortunately, only reigning Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa remained consistent for Ginebra.

ATTACK MODE. Another solution Ginebra may consider in trying to arrest their dubious skid is to attack the basket.

Of course, we mentioned earlier that the paint is their Achilles heel, but the idea really is to fish for fouls, go to the free throw line and build some confidence to convert those outside shots.

That was not the case when Ginebra played San Mig Coffee last Sunday as the team shot only 5-of-7 free throws, with only Caguiao, LA Tenorio and Mamaril visiting the 15-foot line.

The addition of Yousef Taha is a big boost, but Ginebra fans need not be excited as the rookie center is still a work in progress.

The shaded lane is still the responsibility of Mamaril, Maierhofer, Rudy Hatfield and probably some help coming from Kerby Raymundo and rookie Keith Jensen.

Source: Manilastandardtoday.com