I look at Ginebra and San Miguel and I see two franchises with a commitment to winning. Ginebra is the defending champion of the Fiesta Conference. San Miguel, meanwhile, is appearing in the PBA Finals for an unprecedented 29th time. After finishing the elimination round as the top two teams, you can’t help but feel that they ought to be in the Finals. Both teams, well-stocked in gifted players, enter a sure blockbuster of a series which begins Wednesday night (tonight, July 1) at the Araneta Coliseum.

On the eve of Game 1, I depart from discussing statistics and instead offer a preview of the Finals by going over traits. Yes, traits. When the top two teams at the end of the elimination round end up in the title series, most numbers expectedly roll in their favor. Hence, my punditry for this blog delves into peculiarities - a discussion of player traits which hopefully lead to unexpected insight - as opposed to a rundown of stats which might just help state the obvious.

What is so peculiar about Ginebra is that this is undoubtedly Jayjay Helterbrand’s team. Minus Mark Caguioa and Eric Menk, Helterbrand has had to assume the role of scorer, leader, veteran, energizer, stabilizer, go-to-guy and clutch player on a nightly basis. At one point during the conference, Helterbrand, so consumed with quadruple-tasking, finds no time to get a decent haircut and plays with a hairstyle only Helterbrand can pull off. We’re only thankful Ginebra players often replicate Helterband’s tenacity and not his hair growth. This is Helterbrand’s team so much so that even import David Noel accedes to the hierarchy. The Finals, therfore, is Helterbrand’s time to validate his stature as a title-ready scoring guard and team leader after winning championships as a point guard and Caguioa’s wingman.

Ah, validation. Perhaps no other team seeks validation more than San Miguel.

If Ginebra is a “Helterbrand” team, San Miguel is an “All-Star” team. Armed with a player lineup capable of staffing 3 starting units for three different teams, the Finals is the opportunity for the Beermen to justify their talent-laden existence. Take San Miguel’s point guard rotation for instance. Jonas Villanueva as a starting point guard has been a revelation with his combination of size, speed and scoring ability. When he sits down, either 2003 No. 1 Overall Draft Pick Mike Cortez or future Hall-of-Famer Olsen Racela comes off the bench. For good measure, Bonbon Custodio a.k.a. “Life of the Party” checks in to complete their point guard cycle.

Anyone who says it’s easier to win a championship with a star-studded line-up, like how critics downplay Phil Jackson’s titles with the star-studded Bulls and Lakers, can watch Siot Tanquincen when he coaches. If managing the playing time of Ildefonso, Pingris, Pena, Pennisi, Bono and Eman while working with a young, flamboyant import in Gabe Freeman is like strolling on the beach in Boracay, then Tanquincen does a fine job pretending it’s actually like crawling in the sand during D-Day at Normandy. Coaching isn’t easy period. Coaching with an all-star cast and lofty expectations makes it even more daunting.

This is a series that will go 6 games at least. While San Miguel has the edge in the backcourt, frontcourt, middlecourt, quartercourt and centercourt, Ginebra has the advantage in having perhaps a steadier, more team-minded import. In the coaching duel, it’s a thrill to watch Jong Uichico match wits with Tanquincen partly because they’ve actually won a championship together and primarily because they coach for organizations so committed to winning, a monumental collapse by either team (or even by any of the players) in this series is improbable. Hence I can confidently say that in this series, the following should transpire:

• Jayjay Helterbrand will shine
• Dondon Hontiveros will be SMB’s stablizer
• David Noel will have more assists than Gabe Freeman
• Gabe Freeman will have more dunks than David Noel
• Mick Pennisi will commit at least one technical foul
• Billy Mamaril, envious of Pennisi, will commit at least one technical foul himself
• Pennisi responds by committing at least one flagrant foul penalty 1
• Mamaril counters with a flagrant foul penalty 2
• Olsen and Danny I will display their savvy and experience for the one-millionth time
• Paul Artadi will fly into front row more than once
• Jonas Villanueva joins cast of elite point guards in the PBA
• Ronald Tubid uses his gift of getting on people’s nerves often and wins an Oscar in the process

See you in Game 1. MH