Here we go again: San Juan's POV on the MPBL Lakan Season Finals

Déjà vu. The sequel.

Call it whatever you wish, as for the first time in the history of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, there will be a repeat match-up in the title series, as San Juan and Davao Occidental set to meet again in the Lakan Season Finals.

It has been almost two years since they last met in this stage, wherein the Knights broke the hearts of the entire Davao region after engineering a fightback for the ages to snatch the Datu Cup national title away from the Tigers’ grasp on their own backyard.

Jhonard Clarito’s driving lay-up to seal it will be remembered as one of the iconic moments of the league itself, and as we go along to begin a new chapter in this rivalry, we take a look at it from San Juan’s point of view.

How do they get here, again?

With the bubble had been placed in Subic, it marked the end of a year-long wait for the MPBL to conclude the season after it was shut down by the pandemic.

San Juan rarely broke a sweat in their 77-point beating of Makati to retain the Northern diadem Wednesday last week.

For head coach Randy Alcantara, the game might have been close if the core of the Skyscrapers were there.

He admitted, “Siyempre. Sa amin napabor ang sitwasyon”, owing to the fact that Makati only had five players to conclude their campaign.

While the Knights got valuable game time, DavOcc remained as kings of the South for the second straight season in a peculiar way just a day before game one, as it clinched the series by a Basilan forfeit after the Steel got hit by the coronavirus in which four of them tested positive, which the league had confirmed.

By the numbers

Common basketball knowledge says that we should throw the stats out of the window when the playoffs or a rivalry game comes along. However, we need to learn more on how they are compared before the series starts.

To begin, they are polar opposites. San Juan was the king in offense (90.4 points per game), with a huge chunk of which came from their league bests in field goals (44.5%) and three-pointers (33.1%)

However, make no mistake that they can defend too, as they showed they are one of the league-leading thieves at 10.1 swipes per outing that led to almost 21 points off turnovers each game.

Meanwhile, Davao Occidental was a decent scorer at 80 per outing, it made its trademark in limiting their opponents, holding them to an average of almost 72 points which ranks second in MPBL and at was at the top half of both in blocks and steals.

Leave nothing to chance

The long layoff owing to the pandemic has given both sides a golden chance to rest and recover, and it was a godsend to the Knights as they got the recovery that they needed, given the fact that they have an injury scare when Larry Rodriguez got hurt in the opener of their North semis against Pampanga last year.

“Eto rin yung gusto namin. Pagpasok ng finals, healthy kaming lahat,” Alcantara added.

However the one-game advantage might not mean a thing this time, as he warned that the Tigers are vowing for revenge that they think was a long time coming.

“Iba pa rin yung mindset nila na talunin kami, bawian kami.” he admitted. “Pero ready lang kami.”

“Kung ano man ang magiging preparation nila, dapat may sagot kami.”

Knights captain John Wilson agrees to what his mentor had said, as he added that their record against Davao Occidental serves as their mental edge against their opponents.

Said the leading MVP candidate, “Alam kong pinaghandaan nila kami.”

An unfinished business

Lost in the bubble was the burning question in San Juan’s camp was the status of Mike Ayonayon in which he is already set for a straightforward transition to the PBA if not for the pandemic.

Although he could have politely declined to return to the Knights owing to his stint with NLEX in the most recent season, the reigning playoff MVP returned to the champions with a mission: to end his MPBL career with another ring.

“Kelangan talagang tapusin yung obligasyon sa kani-kanilang team,” he then said.

His triple-double in their clincher against Makati was a proof that Yeng Guiao was a master in finding diamonds in the rough as it opened up a new dimension on his game.

Coach Randy was quick to praise his trusted guard, in which the lessons brought by his Clark bubble with the Road Warriors became an inspiration to the rest of the team.

“Yung presence niya, malaking morale [boost] para sa team. Sumama dito yan para may patunayan.”

Final thoughts before the Finals

It is the finals that most fans have wanted for, as both teams came in having lording their respective divisions with an identical 26-4 records. If not for the pandemic, we might see a jampacked FilOil FlyingV Centre for Game One of the Lakan Season Finals with the Knights having the homecourt edge with their win in January last year.

However, in these trying times due to the coronavirus, both San Juan and Davao Occidental will leave it all on the floor for themselves, devoid of any spectators as the league is looking for its much-needed closure to its third season looking for a winner at last.

So expect not just a war on the court, but it will be a series that will serve as a guiding light of hope for all of us, noting that this is for everyone in the front lines in this health crisis.

FILE PHOTOS: Harold Biado, MPBL