2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup

[bisdak40]

~snip~

Though this is just a tune up game but they can win against a healthy team so this is a sign that they will remain competitive once the next conference will commence.

I believe that SMB is still a competitive team even without Junemar Fajardo but i don't think they reach the semis without him. Those gunners that compliment JMF15's presence on the inside will be useless for now as opponents don't have to double anybody on the SMB squad. Imagine SMB as Petron before Fajardo came in. They are a very strong team on paper but it's opposite on the court.


Still on Greg Slaughter supposed to be vacation, i think he knows that he will be traded but he does not want to leave the Kings. I came across this article which i think have some truth in it.

“What I know is that was already a done deal,” a source privy to the Slaughter-Standhardinger negotiations told the Inquirer over the phone. “It just hit a snag when he (Slaughter) did not sign [a renewal].”

https://sports.inquirer.net/385515/stranded-trade

[chaser15]

I believe that SMB is still a competitive team even without Junemar Fajardo but i don't think they reach the semis without him. Those gunners that compliment JMF15's presence on the inside will be useless for now as opponents don't have to double anybody on the SMB squad. Imagine SMB as Petron before Fajardo came in. They are a very strong team on paper but it's opposite on the court.

SMB does have a powerhouse cast so it's always no question if SMB will still be competitive if Fajardo is out. As for reaching the Semis, it shouldn't be a problem if they will not reach it. The rank 3-6th spot will have a twice-to-beat advantage at quarterfinals. Although it requires extra works before reaching Semis, that's a great advantage. I'm seeing SMB will play at the 2-4th spot next conference without Fajardo on the lineup.

But expect difficulty on SMB if ever they will reach the finals without Fajardo. If you remember guys, 2015-16 Philippine Cup Finals, they consecutively loss 3 games to Alaska, almost a sweep. In Game 4, SMB managed to steal 1 game, thanks to the aggressiveness of Santos and Lassiter. Game 5, Fajardo returns after an injury he received during Semis and from there it really changed the series a lot until Game 7 where they become a champion. Fajardo is really a big deal and just because of him, the momentum shifted and they make history as the first team that won a championship after a 0-3 deficit.

[Finestream]

If you remember guys, 2015-16 Philippine Cup Finals, they consecutively loss 3 games to Alaska, almost a sweep. In Game 4, SMB managed to steal 1 game, thanks to the aggressiveness of Santos and Lassiter. Game 5, Fajardo returns after an injury he received during Semis and from there it really changed the series a lot until Game 7 where they become a champion. Fajardo is really a big deal and just because of him, the momentum shifted and they make history as the first team that won a championship after a 0-3 deficit.

I guess it will not happen in this conference because Fajardo is expected to have more rest and he might be out of the entire season.
The all Filipino cup conference is too short so I am not really expecting he will come back.

I still remember that NBA finals, that was a classic one and I think SMB made a history on that one when they come back from 0-3 deficit against the Alaska. But really,.. I am not expecting him to play in the all Filipino cup, they need to find a new option playing without him.

[Vaculin]

This is the adjustment you guys are talking.

San Miguel planning to go 'small ball' in Fajardo's absence

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

[Botnake]

Another news about Greg Slaughter, looks like this break will turn into retirement.

https://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/greg-slaughter-looking-at-retirement-as-an-option-a793-20200213?ref=feed_1_section
Greg Slaughter looking at retirement as an option

"GREG Slaughter could well afford to retire and give up basketball if that's what it will take to avoid being used by Barangay Ginebra as a trade bait.

A person close to the seven-foot center said Slaughter was left with no other recourse but to take a playing sabbatical after all avenues failed in the big man’s effort to prevent his reported trade to NorthPort."

[Golftech]

This is the adjustment you guys are talking.

San Miguel planning to go 'small ball' in Fajardo's absence

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

Why not, they still got those stars who can run and shoot, if all of them will step up TR7, Ross, Lassiter, Cabagnot and Santos, those names have special talents not because they are small means that they can't win good rotations and how the coach will adjust picking the right big guy to accompanied those star to help the defensive stop.

[LogitechMouse]

This is the adjustment you guys are talking.

San Miguel planning to go 'small ball' in Fajardo's absence

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

The first team to do this is the GSW (My Team ). At that time, even they don't have a legitimate center (at that time, Looney is a bench center) they are still strong because of their starters are all around. Good defense, offense and one who is a good scorer and tall that can defend the paint (Durant).

Now the Rockets did it too but they are much smaller than the Warriors with Tucker as their center who is almost as tall as a point guard. I didn't watch their games but I know that they are focusing on threes and not on the inside. 3 is more than 2 .

Now SMB are inspired with them and will try it also. I'm an SMB fan so I know their roster and what can I say is that - they will be weaker compare to their common line up. It would be better if they have a tall forward who can defend the paint and at the same time shoot outside. Unfortunately, SMB doesn't have this kind of player. Yeah they are faster for sure but when it comes to rebounds, they will be left behind.

Can I ask. If they will continue this thing, can you share the line up that they will use . Thanks

[chaser15]

This is the adjustment you guys are talking.

San Miguel planning to go 'small ball' in Fajardo's absence

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

I don't see a big change. I don't see them having a small lineup too. Fajardo is the only one who will be out.

Fajardo is always associated with PG: Romeo, Cabagnot SG/SF: Lassiter, Ross SF/PF: Santos - these are always the rotation of the first squad. They even make faster plays even with Fajardo on the floor so small or big or whatever they say, they can execute those plays.

Replace Fajardo with a center bench then that fills the hole. I don't see any small lineup here. Still the same as the lineup like the other teams which don't have a big man like Fajardo.

We can't really compare the Rockets situation here to SMB situation as in PBA, every team can compete even without a consistent center as other teams don't have a strong and consistent center too. PBA teams can really play with a small lineup without a problem. Look at Alaska, the tallest on their roster is 6'6. In TNT, 6'7, In Magnolia 6'6. SMB has a couple of 6'6 and 6'7 while Santos is 6'4.

[Golftech]

This is the adjustment you guys are talking.

San Miguel planning to go 'small ball' in Fajardo's absence

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

I don't see a big change. I don't see them having a small lineup too. Fajardo is the only one who will be out.

Fajardo is always associated with PG: Romeo, Cabagnot SG/SF: Lassiter, Ross SF/PF: Santos - these are always the rotation of the first squad. They even make faster plays even with Fajardo on the floor so small or big or whatever they say, they can execute those plays.

Replace Fajardo with a center bench then that fills the hole. I don't see any small lineup here. Still the same as the lineup like the other teams which don't have a big man like Fajardo.

We can't really compare the Rockets situation here to SMB situation as in PBA, every team can compete even without a consistent center as other teams don't have a strong and consistent center too. PBA teams can really play with a small lineup without a problem. Look at Alaska, the tallest on their roster is 6'6. In TNT, 6'7, In Magnolia 6'6. SMB has a couple of 6'6 and 6'7 while Santos is 6'4.

That's right, though it's really a big difference if they have Fajardo but the team need to adjust and try to fill that position. All-Filipino is about local talents and SMB have those known stars who can deliver.

Adjustment and keep playing with the right system to follow, whoever to replace Fajardo's shoes  don't need to be a scorer defensive help and rebounding and let those stars around him to the rest. We will see more when the league starts.

[Finestream]

Phoenix seems to be having a problem in the next conference.

read the news : Big blow for Phoenix ahead of Philippine Cup as Jake Pascual, Dave Marcelo suffer injuries

They need a big man for their team, now these injuries would certainly affect the performance of the team, and until now there's no sign that Abueva will come back. I am not expecting anymore this team will advance in the elimination.

[Janation]

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

I think they will be having a hard time.

They have good players and I think they would dominate attacking the basket than shooting outside. They have Arwind that is good with it, Romeo can handle the ball. They also have other teams that can give them points, and I hope Fajardo can recover quickly. Another thing is that as far as I know, each team has their extra players that can fill that position.

[mirakal]

They'll go small ball then they will be faster and they can do that for sure as they have great shooters and great PG who can handle the ball and make good plays at the same time.

I think they are inspired with the current Rockets strategy int he NBA.

I think they will be having a hard time.

They have good players and I think they would dominate attacking the basket than shooting outside. They have Arwind that is good with it, Romeo can handle the ball. They also have other teams that can give them points, and I hope Fajardo can recover quickly. Another thing is that as far as I know, each team has their extra players that can fill that position.

SMB is a powerhouse team but people think that they are more successful because of June Mar Fajardo, not they have to prove that they are not only relying on June Mar to win. if you remember their historic run in the past where they are down 0-3 against Alaska, but when Fajardo came back to play, SMB win the Finals with a series score of 4-3, so that alone would say how big Fajardo's contribution to the team.

[Janation]

SMB is a powerhouse team but people think that they are more successful because of June Mar Fajardo, not they have to prove that they are not only relying on June Mar to win. if you remember their historic run in the past where they are down 0-3 against Alaska, but when Fajardo came back to play, SMB win the Finals with a series score of 4-3, so that alone would say how big Fajardo's contribution to the team.

That is the reason I think they will be having a hard time.

As I said, their team is good with someone that can dominate the area below the ring. Fajardo is one of those players that dominate that position in this league, I hope SMB can hold on without him. As you said Fajardo is the reason for that legendary run, and no one would ever forget that, that is just amazing.

[Japinat]

SMB is a powerhouse team but people think that they are more successful because of June Mar Fajardo, not they have to prove that they are not only relying on June Mar to win. if you remember their historic run in the past where they are down 0-3 against Alaska, but when Fajardo came back to play, SMB win the Finals with a series score of 4-3, so that alone would say how big Fajardo's contribution to the team.

That is the reason I think they will be having a hard time.

As I said, their team is good with someone that can dominate the area below the ring. Fajardo is one of those players that dominate that position in this league, I hope SMB can hold on without him. As you said Fajardo is the reason for that legendary run, and no one would ever forget that, that is just amazing.

SMB squad are good but their weakness actually is the center position because they invested a lot of Fajardo so when he is out, we might see their weakness, they have Moala D. Tautuaa who will be given more minutes but his height is only 6 ft 8 in so they will not dominate the paint and I don't see him a hard working inside man like Fajardo, he needs to absurb the physicality inside.

[LogitechMouse]

Phoenix seems to be having a problem in the next conference.

read the news : Big blow for Phoenix ahead of Philippine Cup as Jake Pascual, Dave Marcelo suffer injuries

They need a big man for their team, now these injuries would certainly affect the performance of the team, and until now there's no sign that Abueva will come back. I am not expecting anymore this team will advance in the elimination.

Justin Chua is the only Center that is available for now for the team and Perk is their Power Forward.

Without Abueva, TBH this team is a bust. No legitimate star player, and now their front courts are injured. The only thing that they can do right now is to trade some of their players if there are other teams that they can make a trade but with their current roster, I don't think that there are teams who want to trade with them.

With this injuries, they might force to trade some of their players.

[Botnake]

Phoenix seems to be having a problem in the next conference.

read the news : Big blow for Phoenix ahead of Philippine Cup as Jake Pascual, Dave Marcelo suffer injuries

They need a big man for their team, now these injuries would certainly affect the performance of the team, and until now there's no sign that Abueva will come back. I am not expecting anymore this team will advance in the elimination.

Justin Chua is the only Center that is available for now for the team and Perk is their Power Forward.

Without Abueva, TBH this team is a bust. No legitimate star player, and now their front courts are injured. The only thing that they can do right now is to trade some of their players if there are other teams that they can make a trade but with their current roster, I don't think that there are teams who want to trade with them.

With this injuries, they might force to trade some of their players.

They even struggle when Abueva was suspended, the more they will struggle now as two big man were injured.
It's suppose to be the time where Abueva would shine since his more effective in all Filipino cup and that's what I see when he was still playing with the Alaska.

[mirakal]

Phoenix seems to be having a problem in the next conference.

read the news : Big blow for Phoenix ahead of Philippine Cup as Jake Pascual, Dave Marcelo suffer injuries

They need a big man for their team, now these injuries would certainly affect the performance of the team, and until now there's no sign that Abueva will come back. I am not expecting anymore this team will advance in the elimination.

Justin Chua is the only Center that is available for now for the team and Perk is their Power Forward.

Without Abueva, TBH this team is a bust. No legitimate star player, and now their front courts are injured. The only thing that they can do right now is to trade some of their players if there are other teams that they can make a trade but with their current roster, I don't think that there are teams who want to trade with them.

With this injuries, they might force to trade some of their players.

They even struggle when Abueva was suspended, the more they will struggle now as two big man were injured.
It's suppose to be the time where Abueva would shine since his more effective in all Filipino cup and that's what I see when he was still playing with the Alaska.

As we can see in their line up(https://www.pba.ph/teams/phoenix-fuelmasters), they only have Justin Chua that will play as the real center, Marcelo could have help but he is now injured so they'll have to find a support for Chua which is not a superhuman that could play the entire game.

They have some bigs also that can play the center like Perkins but that might affect the points he can contribute to his team as he is more effective on his current position now. Now, that centers are down, it seems like SMB's chance is still good in the next conference.

[harizen]

SMB is a powerhouse team but people think that they are more successful because of June Mar Fajardo, not they have to prove that they are not only relying on June Mar to win. if you remember their historic run in the past where they are down 0-3 against Alaska, but when Fajardo came back to play, SMB win the Finals with a series score of 4-3, so that alone would say how big Fajardo's contribution to the team.

That's why the upcoming season is a great opportunity for SMB to silence the critics that they are just relying on Fajardo every All-Filipino Cup.

But roster basis if we compare to all teams, SMB is still on top. They have the most powerhouse cast in their roster lineup in the league. I don't see Fajardo's absence as a disadvantage too but it opens a more competitive match which the majority here wants.

Compare before that SMB is the sure favorites to win the All-Filipino Cup, it now becomes unpredictable.

I wonder what sports betting site does have an outright betting for PBA futures. Want to check how the odds will be provided or OP, how about considering a mutual betting for PBA All-Filipino Cup Champion? Although it will take several months for the outcome.

[NavI_027]

That's why the upcoming season is a great opportunity for SMB to silence the critics that they are just relying on Fajardo every All-Filipino Cup.

They realy need to, because if they miss this time most of basketball fans out there will really think the same thing. They really need to prove that SMB is not all about Abay .

But roster basis if we compare to all teams, SMB is still on top. They have the most powerhouse cast in their roster lineup in the league. I don't see Fajardo's absence as a disadvantage too but it opens a more competitive match which the majority here wants.

Yeah, no doubt that their roster is pretty good. They have good gunners in the outside, good ball handlers and good forwards; what I'm only worrying about is that can they balance the harmony of their team without their legit Center? Let' see. Now they are vulnerable in the paint, for sure other teams will take advantage of it thus they should brace themselves .

[joshy23]

SMB is a powerhouse team but people think that they are more successful because of June Mar Fajardo, not they have to prove that they are not only relying on June Mar to win. if you remember their historic run in the past where they are down 0-3 against Alaska, but when Fajardo came back to play, SMB win the Finals with a series score of 4-3, so that alone would say how big Fajardo's contribution to the team.

That is the reason I think they will be having a hard time.

As I said, their team is good with someone that can dominate the area below the ring. Fajardo is one of those players that dominate that position in this league, I hope SMB can hold on without him. As you said Fajardo is the reason for that legendary run, and no one would ever forget that, that is just amazing.

He's the very dominating center from this league, with his presence inside the game play is different and you'll see the big advantage. But moving forward since he can't play now due to injury SMB needs to prove that they still got the right combination to continue their domination from this cup.
It's hard but they need to show their capabilities with or without Fajardo they need to compete and win the game.