Ratliffe gets vote of confidence from Simon

By: Randolph B. Leongson - 9 years ago

Ricardo Ratliffe. PBA IMAGES

Star may have just concluded its Commissioner’s Cup campaign, but the team may be flanking the same roster come the Governors’ Cup on July.

Peter June Simon is hopeful that the Hotshots will trot the same crew when the third conference rolls on.

“Yung ganda ng nilaro namin, mainly dahil kay Ricardo (Ratliffe). Sobrang fit nya sa team so hopefully, makasama namin ulit sya (We played a great game, mainly because of Ricardo. He is really fit for the team so hopefully we can play with him again.),” he said.

Star can bring back Ratliffe as its cumulative standings from the first two conferences placed it among the bottom four, all of which can bring a reinforcement foe to the Governors’ Cup with a 6-foot-9 height limit.

Replacing Denzel Bowles midway in the conference, Ratliffe has made a good account of himself, averaging 27.50 points, 18.12 rebounds, 2.38 assists, and 1.25 blocks in his eight games. More importantly, he was a driving force for the eight-seed Star as it pushed San Miguel to the limit in their quarterfinal pairing.

“Tamang tama rin yung dating nya dahil nagkataon din na parang nakaka-adjust na kami sa sistema ni coach (His arrival came just right when we have adjusted to coach’s system),” Simon said.

With Ratliffe manning the post, the Hotshots were able to control the game, as Simon noted, “Naging successful yung game plan namin dahil three-small kami at ginagawa namin, on the run, pick-and-roll. Pagdating ng fourth quarter, binibigay na namin kay Ricardo sa post.”

(Our game plan was successful because we had three-small, we went on the run, and then pick-and-roll. When the fourth quarter came, we give it to Ricardo in the post.)

But a furious San Miguel rally dashed that upset bid as the Hotshots exited the tournament thanks to a 103-99 Game 2 defeat on Wednesday.

Star coach Jason Webb acknowledged the huge impact Ratliffe has done to his squad, but he remained non-committal of the 27-year-old reinforcement’s possible return.

READ: Webb praises Hotshots for pushing SMB to their limits

“I still don’t know yet, but we got to figure out what we’re going to be dealing in terms of the reinforcement in the coming conference,” he said. RAM