Source: By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - If Purefoods has its Yaps, San Miguel Beer is bolstered by its Dannys. The opposing pairs are facing off in a PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal duel that began last Wednesday with the Beermen drawing first blood, 99-83, at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Yaps – James and Roger – averaged a combined 39.6 points to lead the Tender Juicy Giants over Rain Or Shine in a thrilling best-of-five quarterfinal series that went the distance.
But in Game 1 against San Miguel, the Yaps were held to only 18 points together. Veterans Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle, meanwhile, combined for 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists in quality minutes off the bench. Both Dannys appeared fully recovered from injuries that kept them in cold storage for long stretches during the double round eliminations.
Ildefonso’s comeback was a tribute to his fighting heart, said orthopaedic surgeon Dr. George Canlas yesterday. After playing two games to start the conference, Ildefonso suffered a ruptured tendon in the sole of his right foot and was advised by US doctors to end his career. The US doctors based their findings on MRIs of Ildefonso’s foot without the benefit of a personal examination.
But Dr. Canlas found a solution. He put Ildefonso under rehabilitation to strengthen the structure of his foot and after careful supervision over 3 1/2 months, the two-time MVP was declared ready to play.
“All credit goes to Danny,” said Dr. Canlas. “Benjie Paras suffered the same injury during his career and came back to win a second MVP award. I was confident Danny could return just like Benjie. The initial diagnosis was he could be crippled for life with more damage to his foot. That no longer holds. If ever Danny requires surgery later, there would be no danger of being crippled.”
Dr. Canlas said Ildefonso was severely depressed when told about the US doctors’ advice to retire.
“Danny wasn’t ready to retire,” said Dr. Canlas. “He worked hard to strengthen his foot and got it done. He should be fine now. I watched him play on TV last Wednesday and it was incredible how he performed.”
Ildefonso, 33, missed 16 straight games before his reactivation for Game 1. “My foot is okay and I hope I can still help the team,” said Ildefonso after hitting 5-of-7 from the floor in 19 minutes. “By God’s will and grace, I’ll be playing until the end of the finals.”
Seigle, 33, sat out nine games in the eliminations and when he was on the floor, hardly looked like the Dynamite Danny who captured four finals MVP trophies. But last Wednesday, Seigle was back in form, twirling away from his defender to score his patented fadeaway jumper, driving down the baseline for a dunk, posting up to exploit a mismatch and even earning a technical foul. He shot 4-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-5 free throws in 16 minutes.
“It feels great to be in a playoff again and healthy,” said Seigle. “It was also my first technical in a while.”
San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen said the two Dannys clearly made a major impact in the series opener.
“Their playoff experience made a difference,” said Tanquingcen. “However, unlike before where we expected them to carry the load for the team, now we somehow ease the load on them with the infusion of young guys so as not to wear their bodies out. The dynamics are a bit different. They are now asked to give guidance and support for the younger guys.”
Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said he never expected the Dannys to be as productive.
“Now, we’ve got to prepare for the Dannys, too,” said Gregorio. “I didn’t expect them to make a dent like they did. It’s hard enough to get ready for the other guys because San Miguel is so deep down to their third unit.”
Gregorio offered no excuses for the Giants’ loss.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” he said. “We had defensive lapses and made mistakes. We’re comfortable matching up against their three bigs but when they play three small, they’re too quick for us. They have so many weapons and their player rotation is so deep. But I still believe that we can compete against them.” Gregorio said he hardly played zone because the San Miguel sharpshooters were on target.
“In the entire game, we played zone only on five instances and they scored each time,” said Gregorio. “They’ve got zone-breakers in Mick Pennisi, Jay Washington, Dondon Hontiveros, Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda all of whom scored three-pointers in Game 1. We started with Kerby (Raymundo) on Arwind and also used Marc (Pingris), KG (Canaleta) and Rico (Maierhofer) to defend him. Kerby did a good job of limiting Arwind to two points in the first period but he still ended up with 16.”
Gregorio refused to dwell on the exhaustion factor.
“Sure, we’re tired coming from the quarterfinals and San Miguel is well-rested but that’s not a reason to lose,” he said. “Just like officiating isn’t a reason. You’ve got to play through the calls and make adjustments. We know what we’ve got to do to win Game 2. We’ve got to tighten up defensively, take control of the boards and get our offense going.”
To add to Purefoods’ list of imperatives, there’s also the priority of shackling the two Dannys.
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