My apologies too, to my younger readers and those who are not familiar with the Northern Consolidated Cement team. If you haven't consulted Google by now, the NCC team is considered to be the last great basketball team of the Philippines. Mentored by the legendary Ron Jacobs and backed up by millionaire Danding Cojuangco, the NCC team, comprised of naturalized players like Dennis Still, Jeff Moore, and Chip Engelland, lorded it over the Asian basketball scene. Here's a list of the championships they won:
William Jones Cup, 1981,
Southeast Asian Games Gold Medal, 1981
ABC Juniors Championship, 1982
William Jones Cup, 1985
PBA Reinforced Conference,, 1985
Southeast Asian Games Gold Medal, 1985
ABC Championship, 1985
This was the team that saw the likes of Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Ricardo Brown, and Jong Uichico, now house-hold names of the PBA, and Uichico being a multi-titled coach currently serving Gilas 2.0 as an assistant coach.
Which begs the question: who will win in a match between an NCC team in their prime and Gilas 2.0?
Many would say outright that Gilas would not only win, but will massacre NCC. I also happen to know that many of those who say this have not seen the NCC play at all.
First things first. There were several NCC teams, although the core remained the same. In our match-up, we will pick the 1985 NCC team that beat the USA for the William Jones Cup title in '85 and wowed the Europeans in the World Club Basketball Championship in Girona, Spain.
Here is my take on the fantasy game between the two stellar RP teams.
Big Men:
Gilas 2.0 - Marcus Douthit, Marc Pingris, Ranidel de Ocampo, Japeth Aguilar, Jun Mar Fajardo
NCC - Dennis Still, Jeff Moore, Yves Dignadice, Tonichi Yturri
Advantage: Big advantage for Gilas
Although Dennis Still was almost as tall as Marcus Douthit, and Jeff Moore once grabbed 30 rebounds during a PBA game, given today's modern strength and conditioning methods, Gilas' big men will dominate the NCC bigs.
X- Factor: Marcus Douthit.
He is a steady player who is never rattled, has a decent medium range shot, an excellent rebounder and shot blocker, and shoots the ball well from the line.
Swingmen:
Gilas 2.0 - Gabe Norwood, Larry Fonacier, Jeff Chan
NCC - Chip Engelland, Allan Caidic, Alfie Almario
Advantage: Slight advantage to NCC
I would have to give it to the NCC here. Chip and Allan will shoot the lights out of Gilas, in my opinion. Chip is now the shooting coach of the San Antonio Spurs, and Allan, well, let us have his achievements speak for him. As good as Larry and Jeff are as our 3 point specialists, they just don't have the elan of an Allan Caidic yet. After all, Caidic boasts of an impressive PBA career, not to mention the greatest individual performance in PBA history (Tivoli vs Ginebra San Miguel, where he set the PBA all-time records of the most points in a single game by a Filipino (79 points), the most points in a single half (53 points), the most points in a single quarter (37 points), the most three-point field goals made and attempts in a game (17/27 triples), the most three-point field goals made in a quarter (8 triples) and the most consecutive three-point field goals made in a single game (8 triples).
From Wiki: What makes his performance (during the Tivoli Vs Ginebra game) more remarkable is that while he was playing in the court, his wife Millote was giving birth to their first daughter. He came off the bench late in the first quarter and left the game in the middle of the fourth, in a game where he could have possibly scored 100 points or more.
X-factor: Gabe Norwood
Gabe is an excellent perimeter defender, and is tall and long enough to either block or intimidate shots. He also has a good sense of timing his blocks attempts, as I have yet to see him bite a fake from the best shooters of the current FIBA tournament. I could see him guarding either Chip or Allan, and if Gabe can prevent these men from hitting their 3s early on, he will make things difficult for the NCC.
Guards:
Gilas 2.0 - Gary David, Jayson Castro William, Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio
NCC - Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Elmer Reyes, Ricardo Brown
Advantage: Slight advantage for NCC
I would have to give the advantage to the NCC guards. Given that Gary David can explode anytime, the Mighty Mouse can carry his team on his shoulders, and Jayson "the blur" Castro can leave opponents biting the dust, there is just too much drive and finesse in the NCC bunch, especially their guards. Hector "the director" Calma outclasses the Gilas point guards easily with his basketball IQ and athleticism; The Gilas guards will have no answer for Ricardo Brown, touted as the "quick brown fox" and Samboy "the skywalker" Lim. One might say that the presence of the big men of Gilas like Douthit can alter their shots, but Samboy has been known to be very creative with his shots. He once scored 37 points against Banco di Roma of Italy in the 1985 FIBA World Club Championships in Girona, Spain.
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| Ricardo Brown, the Quick Brown Fox |
X-factor - Jayson Castro Williams
I highly doubt anyone from the NCC team can match his speed. If he can score a few lay ups or force turnovers, NCC will be having a long night trying to catch up with him.
Coaches:
Gilas 2.0 - Chot Reyes
NCC - Ron Jacobs
Advantage - Slight advantage for Ron Jacobs
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| Jacobs led the NCC team to many championships, including a win over the US team in the 1985 Jones Cup |
Chot Reyes may have the advantage of knowing the international game more because of his vast experience with national teams, but Ron Jacobs was just a wily opponent who got into the opposing coaches' heads and studied the opposing team and the rule book of the PBA so much in order to look for the slightest advantage his team could get. I remember fondly the time he coached a rag-tag San Miguel Beer team back in the 90s led by only one scorer, Nelson Asaytono. The play was predictable: give the ball to Nelson. But that scrappy team had so much heart that they were often in the finals or battling for 3rd place at least - a stunning achievement, considering that the rest of the team were comprised of role players such as Freddie Abuda, Mike Mustre, Art dela Cruz, Siot Tanquincen, an old Allan Caidic, and a young Olsen Racela.
It was also funny how he took advantage of the loopholes of the PBA rules back then, particularly the injury timeout. From what I understand, under those rules, each team was afforded one injury time out each half. Incidentally, one of his players would feign pain or injury in order for Jacobs to use that timeout, usually during the last few seconds of the half, to map out a final play before half time and regain momentum, without having to use his official time outs. I might be wrong, but on account of this the PBA soon adopted the 20-second timeout rule of the NBA
Some might raise a howl because I said that Ron Jacobs is only slightly better than Chot. This is more of a testament to how much Chot has learned through the years as a PBA coach and the coach of the national teams past and present, and not to put Jacobs in a bad light.
Intangibles
Heart, hustle, financial support, fan support, basketball IQ. Both teams show these intangibles. Both teams were supported by a rich guy - Danding Cojuangco for NCC, Manny Pangilinan for Gilas. Both teams have the heart, both teams have shown hustle. They are tied in this aspect.
The verdict:
On offense, Gilas moves the ball around, trying to look for the open shooter. If that doesn't work, they penetrate either to try to score a lay up or drop pass to an open Douthit or Aguilar. The Gilas offense is simple but effective, and I think Coach Chot keeps it that way, instead of employing intricate offensive patterns that can confuse his players. This present Gilas team knows how to read opponents' defenses and exploits the weak spots. Chot Reyes doesn't seem to mind his shooters from shooting 3s, even coming from transition.
I have not seen the NCC play too much, but I remember how the San Miguel Beer team of the 80s played, and that team absorbed most of the NCC players like Samboy, Hector, Elmer Reyes, Yturri, and Dignadice. Calma and Lim would later agree to a salary cut in order to accommodate Allan Caidic from Presto. That team was good - good enough to win the Grand Slam in 1989. Not too bad.
So, what is the verdict? It's tough to call.
If they only played one single game, then expect NCC to give Gilas a tough time, and I will not be surprised if they win over Gilas.
However...
If they both played in a conference in the PBA, and they meet in a best of seven finals, I would give the series to Gilas, definitely. This is a thinking Gilas team that knows how to adjust. The NCC might be able to pull off a victory or two, but I would give the series to Gilas.
Also, if NCC wins, I would predict the margin of the scores would probably be less than 7 points. If Gilas wins, the margin of the scores is likely to be more than 7 points.
I know you basketball fanatics and purists have your own 2 cents about who will win this fantasy match-up. The comments section is waiting for you.
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