Docomo completes Cinderella season

Docomo Pacific coach John Sablan believes it pays to keep your cool in the game, especially in a crucial one.

Sablan’s wards had their tempers in check in their title match against Ol’Aces in the 2008-2009 BANMI/Budweiser Basketball League, helping Docomo notched the championship via an 88-80 win last Friday at the Garapan Basketball Court.

“While Ol’Aces were busy arguing with referees, I told our plays to keep their cool, don’t mind the calls, and focus on our game,” Sablan said.

Docomo Pacific did not hide its disappointment with the officiating in the regular season of the Budweiser caging, arguing with referees oftentimes and even going out to the media to vocally protest questionable calls. But in the finals, Docomo did not let its frustration over the officiating took over its game, allowing the team to focus on its match against Ol’Aces.

Docomo didn’t have to look far for an example, as Sablam himself knows how a short fuse could lead a team or a player to the losing end.

The Docomo coach was meted a five-year suspension last year, after he and his team (Ulloa’s) got involved in an ugly fight against the Southern Sonics on Jan. 21, 2008, during the Budweiser caging. Besides John, his brother, Josh, and cousin, Henry, were also barred from playing in BANMI-organized league.

“Look guys, I wished I could play there and help the team win. But I can’t. You have the opportunity I don’t have, so don’t waste it arguing with referees. Let’s play our game and let the other team do the arguing,” Sablan told his players at halftime.

Docomo players responded to Sablan’s challenge, as the team buckled down to work and recovered from a 13-point deficit in the third period.

“When we came back in the closing minutes of the third quarter and Ol’Aces continued to argue with the referees, that sort of shifted the momentum to us,” Sablan said.

“That’s all we need, a slight opportunity to get our game going and forget the referees’ calls,” the Docomo coach said.

Sablan added they were fortunate they had their key players returning from injury and playing in the playoffs.

“We had problems in the regular season because our key players were not healthy. Ponce [Rasa], Mark [Wallace], and Ed [Diaz] were injured and saw limited minutes in the regular season,” John said.

Rasa played only in the last game in the regular season, but was present in all of Docomo’s playoff matches. He made 13 points in the finals, making crucial baskets in the stretch to foil Ol’Aces’ rally. Diaz played only two games and could not make it to the playoffs.

Wallace also missed a lot of games in the regular season, but was consistently at the forefront of Docomo’s offense in the playoffs. He fired a team-high 23 points in the title match.

Other Docomo players missed several games, too due to work commitments and the team finished the regular season in fifth place with a 5-7 record. But from being the fifth seeded team in the playoffs, Docomo rose to the top at the end of the season.

“I think, winning the championship also had something to do with our players peaking and jelling at the right time,” John said.

“We had a lot of talented players and when you put them in one team, it takes time before they blend. I am glad they got the feeling of each other’s game at the start of the playoffs,” added Sablan, who thanked Docomo Pacific and Figo’ for their support to the team’s title campaign.