In the world of basketball, no lead is safe, no matter how huge it can be.
The Globalport Batang Pier learned such lesson the hard way, Wednesday evening.
In their match against Phoenix Fuel Masters at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay, the Batang Pier went up by as much as 26, 87-61, at the 11:45 mark of the final frame, which was deemed as a potential nail in the coffin.
However, in a series of unfortunate happenings, Globalport went cold, then a huge momentum swing came by in favor of Phoenix that erased the wide 26-point deficit to complete a come-from-behind finish, 101-99.
It was already a victory on hand for the team clad in neon green. They could have been in the upper echelon of the team standings with a 4-2 slate to share the second spot with TNT and Rain or Shine if they were able to close it out. But with that fourth quarter meltdown of theirs against a team that has learned how to step up and keep their composure in pressure-filled, late-game situations, all of those just became mere what-if’s.
And for assistant coach Cholo Villanueva, who took place of head coach Franz Pumaren (out-of-the-country) in tonight’s game, it was his wards’ poor defensive effort that sent them down to sixth place.
“We stopped playing defense,” said Villanueva to the press moments after the match.
“We stopped running up and down in transition, which helped them get easy points and defensive rebounds.”
Villanueva said it right, though, as Globalport, with their dismal defense in the fourth, allowed Phoenix to score a whopping 40 points in the final period. In contrast, they were not able to adjust to Phoenix’s zone defense, putting up just 15 points during the same period.
Terrence Romeo’s 32 points all went to waste
And with regards to rebounds, the Batang Pier also lost the battle at the boards, as the Fuel Masters outrebounded them by eight, 56-48, that led to a whopping 25 to 13 disparity in second chance points — none more painful than Mark Borboran’s game-winner off a Simon Enciso miss.
With the loss, Villanueva was remorseful that Globalport failed to cap off the year on a positive note. However, all that the team can do is to move on and forget that one dreadful Wednesday night.
“Of course it’s unfortunate that we ended this year with a loss but we always look forward to the next game to bounce back,” said Villanueva.
“So we’ll just learn from this and hopefully bounce back the next game.”
