INQUIRER Sports

THE CONCERN OF THE KFC-PBA PHILIPPINE CUP field is not the chemistry and consistency problems San Miguel Beer experienced in its season-opening 98-86 loss to Barangay Ginebra last Wednesday.

What is outright scary is when the Beermen iron out the rough edges of their game and unleash the true power of their talented roster.

Despite posting an early 11-point lead, San Miguel was thrown off by a second-quarter blitz engineered by the returning Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid.

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When Ginebra plays small and hits emotional shots, it stirs its faithful fans and unfurls a volatile concoction that opponents find difficult to deal with.

Ginebra outscored San Miguel, 18-9, on the break and was sharper, 47 to 38 percent, from the field. It didn’t help at all that the Beermen couldn’t nail a trey all night, missing all 15 three-point attempts.

It was clear that there was some getting used to that the Beermen had to address.

New recruits Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda were feeling their way around. Their teammates were still getting accustomed to when they would take their shots and how they would move alongside them.

Anybody who has played hoops knows that the equation changes when somebody you’ve played against suddenly becomes your teammate.

It can be expected that this will not last very long.

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Siot Tanquingcen is not unfamiliar to the role of conductor of an orchestra of virtuosos. Once everybody settles into the roles they are assigned, San Miguel should be quite a force to deal with in the tournament.

In the backcourt, they have Jonas Villanueva, Olsen Racela, Mike Cortez and Miranda and up front, there are Mick Pennisi, Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle and Santos.

That’s not even the complete lineup and still you can make two great starting fives. San Miguel has enough interchangeable parts that will be useful when the wear and tear of a long conference kicks in.

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Take nothing away from Ginebra though.

Back with its core of Caguioa, Helterbrand, Menk and Tubid for the first time in a while, the Gin Kings play with a passion that is the envy of many teams. What it lacks in size, Ginebra makes up for with spunk and emotional runs that can overhaul leads and inspire breakaways.

The return of Caguioa is an early Yuletide gift for the Ginebra legions. They would rather have The Spark playing for them than not at all. His 17-point comeback performance against San Miguel could be a sign of good tidings to come for the Barangay.

The acquaintance party is on.

The teams that shortens the getting-to-know-you part of the season will have the best shots at choice spots at the end of the classification phase.