NOT ENOUGH FIRE FROM DRAGONS

NOT ENOUGH FIRE FROM DRAGONS

Injuries spelled doom for Welcoat in the Smart Philippine Cup

Saturday, 12 January 2008

One of the most talked about teams at the start of the season were the Welcoat Dragons. By owning the top pick in the Draft, the Dragons owned most basketball headlines as they hoped to turn the corner this season from last year’s less than banner year. Speaking to most of the coaching staff of the team before the start of the season, all of them were quite upbeat and why not, they had the chance to pick up the best player in the Draft and that would mean that they would be able to grab another big man to compliment the ever-improving JR Reyes. On Draft day, Welcoat picked up Joe Devance with the top pick and was able to snare Ryan Arana in the second round. Not a bad Draft day. I personally thought that their Draft performance was worthy of a B+ at the very least. They were able to shore up a desperate need at the bigs with a quality pick and they also picked up a hard-nosed defender at the wing, with a decent shot, in Arana. But their off-season did not end there; they picked up veteran Nic Belasco from Alaska to form a formidable frontline that can be pitted with the best in the league. From the grade of B+, all of a sudden their off-season acquisitions were turning out to be an A. And if the lineup changes weren’t enough to get their fans excited, the performance of Devance in the off-season would have been enough for them to pick up season tickets. Devance proved in pre-season games that he was truly the No. 1 talent in the Draft. He was able to put up double-double games consistently and even touched 30 in two games. But just when things for the team seemed on the up and up, Devance tweaks his ankle a couple of days before the start of the season and has to suit up less than 100% for his first career PBA ballgame. Little did we know, this would be the omen that would run the course for the team in the conference. The injury to Devance was just the first of a spate of injuries that would hobble the Dragons. The conference would be marred with injuries to its key players. On my count, there were at least 5 different players who suffered injuries during the season. There were key injuries to Devance, Froilan Baguion and Reyes that really hurt their chances in a tightly disputed conference, which showed parity in the league. One might say that injuries are just a part of a campaign in the PBA, but in Welcoat’s case, their team at present is too shallow to survive injuries. Especially when it happens to their stars. There were games though that Welcoat was able to field a complete lineup and they were partially successful in some stretches during the conference. Just take a look at the teams that they beat on their way to a 3-15 record. Their three victims were Barangay Ginebra (defending champs of the Philippine Cup), Magnolia (2nd placer in last season’s Philippine Cup) and Talk ‘N Text (3rd placer in last season’s Philippine Cup and runner-up to Alaska in the Fiesta Conference). Yes, only three victories to show but it came from the Top 3 finishers of last season. If anyone told me that Welcoat would pick up three victories this conference, I would have never guessed it would come from these three teams. But as things went, their victories only amounted to those three. So with another early exit for the youngest team in the league, what are the strengths and weaknesses that the team showed in their Philippine Cup campaign. The first thing that jumps out on me are their big men. JR Reyes is still a superstar in waiting and now they have complimentary big men in Devance and Belasco that allows them to match the top teams’ biggies in the league. Although Devance never really lived up to the stats that he showed in the pre-season, he has shown “sporadic” flashes of why he was tapped No. 1 overall. Clearly their big man setup should be ok for at least the next 3 years. On the flip side, Welcoat’s guard lineup is still quite a ways off when it comes to the rest of the league. No player in the backcourt can really jump out on you and be regarded as a premier performer in the league. Don’t get me wrong, their guards have done a commendable job, but if you look at the guard packages of the rest, they might be two steps behind. The Smart ’07-’08 Philippine Cup has come and gone for the Dragons. It might not have been the most ideal, but it will be remembered as the season when they beat the defending Top 3 finishers from the previous season’s tournament. People will remember how formidable these fire-breathing Dragons can be, and also, how mediocre injured Dragons can turn out to be. Source: http://www.pba.ph/content/view/1946/9/