A Tale of Two Teams...Manila Motors / CMR vs Dimond / Ampelite

CMR / Manila Motors vs Dimond / Ampelite, these two teams will square off in the finals on Saturday 29th of October 2011 2:00pm at YMCA Northcote Gym located at Akoranga Drive in North Shore. Two very different teams, but at the same time similar in some respects.

Both teams without a doubt are led by their young guns, Eldialdes and Evangelistas for CMR while Ampelite has Becker; Canlas and Bueno. Both teams are hungry for the title, with each team having HUGE reasons and motivation to win. Both teams also have solid support from their management and have been participating in PBA for years. But as you read this I am sure you will agree the differences are a lot more evident.

Differences
Manila Motors players are puro taga West. Dimond players come from different parts of Auckland.
Manila Motors is going for their first ever PBA Championship. Dimond is going for an unprecedented threepeat. Manila Motors was always expected to make it to the finals especially with only one loss in the eliminations, in fact in the entire tournament. They were always the team to beat right from the start. Dimond on the other hand had to fight for their finals seat by beating strong contender JR Panel twice in the eliminations and was not sure of making it to the finals at all.

Manila Motors pretty much has the same line up from last year, although they had 3 key additions with the 2 Eldialde brothers joining them plus the return of Tupe Patriarca. These three individuals can score at will and to prove our point are all impact players and vying for MVP honours this year. Otherwise, their line up is pretty much the same. Old reliables: rebounding powerman Glen Farolan (parang super hero); the Evangelista clan from dad Jude and sons Alvic and Jed who can score from all parts of the court and apply suffocating defence; centre Richard "Tracy" McGrady; wily veteran Romy “Zorro”  Guevarra; slasher Jo Orquejo; Coach John's son 3 pointer Joseph Senfelices and of course playing manager Eric "the three point specialist" Hansen.

Dimond at the start of the tournament was a long shot in making the finals. They had to adjust as only five of their last year's Championship line up remained. Left to defend their title were: versatile Perry Salas; last year's ROY Mike Becker; role players/power forwards Carlo Bueno and Edwin Carbungco, plus playing coach George Bautista. It was extremely hard as three of those that left were in the first five and included 2 MVPs from last year (season and finals). Dimond had to recruit replacements, they found Mr Instant Offence Hebron Canlas; and got back ex-Dimond players Elliot "The Sniper" Zhornack and veteran point guard Julius Sanchez. Plus they added rookie Glen Cayao; big man silent enforcer Mark Yao and Rotsen "The Tank" Gregorio. They have done well making it to the finals, the question remains can they go all the way?

I guess the biggest difference of them all is that for the coming finals game this Saturday CMR/Manila Motors is heavily favored while very few are giving Dimond a chance. And the teams know it. The Manila Motors team are walking with a swagger, like a champion should be, and  they certainly have earned the right to. Earlier this year they won the Ambassador's cup; they came first runner up in the East Basketball League and last week they won in the WAFSA finals. This is their year indeed. They are confident that they will win all the way.

Dimond has said that to reach the finals is already an accomplishment for them. And now that they are in the finals they will certainly give it their all although they know it will be tough. Who can blame them, first time they faced each other Manila Motors demolished Dimond by 21 points. In their second encounter Manila Motors won again this time by 5 points, but they were missing the services of some of their key players. So 2-0 to CMR so far, they definitely have the psychological advantage.

Sabi nila ang Pinoy mahilig sa dehado, sa underdog so in theory people should root for Dimond, but since Manila Motors is going for their first Championship in PBA they may have more support. It would be interesting to know who the people will want to win.

Heavily favored Manila Motors will be expected to apply their run and gun game along with their full court press. Top billing will go to Ken and Bong Eldialde, giving them options with their outside shooting and inside game, plus Tupe Patriarca's many offensive skills. This team is just more athletic, quicker and of course younger. Almost 40% of the nominees for the Defensive Five come from Manila Motors. So expect their defense to go up another notch in the finals. Coach John is spoilt for choice, anyone from his squad can be a starter.

Dimond will rely on Canlas; Zhornack and Salas' for their offense. But their chances will really depend on how Mike Becker will perform on both ends of the court. They need to keep up with the intensity of Manila Motors otherwise they will fall behind by a huge margin and not be able to catch up.  They will need to have a good start and maintain their intensity.

The battle for third place will be between LM Money Transfer and JR Panel Beaters at 1220pm. This will be followed by a three point shootout between all participating teams and then awarding ceremonies. Finals game will then follow. See you at the games! And remember "Bilog ang bola".