First, know how to do it right

There was no way San Miguel coach Leo Austria could lose Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals scheduled at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night—if he did his homework.

For one, it was not a case of the Alaska team doing all the right things in mounting that incredible comeback in Game 3 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven title playoffs.

It was more a case of Austria not knowing what was honestly going wrong.

* * *

The post-game pronouncements of the San Miguel team mentor would show how he had to desperately grope.

“This is all my fault. I failed to control the game,” Austria moaned after losing Game 3.

However, in his next turn at the microphone, Austria all but contradicted himself by throwing the blame on his players.

He explained: “I am not the one playing. All I can do is remind them.”

In the fourth quarter, Austria said he wanted the ball in June Mar Fajardo’s hands, “but it didn’t get there.”

* * *

Anyway, after losing Game 1 despite having posted a whopping 22-point lead in the first quarter, Austria had to wonder what really went wrong, although he had to rely blindly on the fireless, fagged-out Fajardo in overtime.

Meanwhile, a top San Miguel team official took the cudgels for Austria after Game 1 and slammed the referees from behind the scene.

“They did not call a single foul starting the second quarter until the fourth,” complained the team official whose identity will be kept secret for the moment.

The official also revealed the referees later got a severe dressing down, together with fines and sanctions.

* * *

Although the meltdown in Game 3 was not too different from that in Game 1, it emphasized San Miguel’s inability to stand up to ferocious crunch time pressure.

Premier Alaska workhorse Calvin Abueva, who again played taller than tall, hauled down a total of 10 rebounds in the final quarter, which saw awful San Miguel converting only a solitary field goal.

Most glaring in the fold-up period was strongman Fajardo’s gigantic ineptitude, his inability to play to his height.

* * *

Out there at the Mandaluyong City Munting Palengke, a busy marketplace of sporting ideas and quips, Fajardo was again singled out as a towering deadweight for his team.

Buboy Pretty Boy (Sebreros) noted how Fajardo seemed to play injured, hobbled down by a weak side, his left, which opponents gleefully exploited.

Boss Bobby (Santos) wondered why Fajardo didn’t even once try to pass the ball before sliding off to another spot for a clear assist. Fajardo also dumbly allowed himself to be repeatedly boxed out during rebound tussles.

* * *

Common sense, the lack of it, was noted in the case of Austria who had been accused of failing to properly attend to details.

Knowing what was going wrong, said the wet market experts, instead of blaming others, would be of great help.

In fact, there was this tried and tested basketball tenet (was it from Michael Jordan?) which says it’s best to know the proper basics before working hard and killing yourself perfecting them.

Why?

If you don’t even know you’re working on something wrong, then you also labor just as hard—but end up perfecting your way to losing.