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The Perfect Three-Piece Combo
SHOW ME THE MONEY! Defending Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball Champions, Pacesetters ‘A’ Team pose with some of the cash they won in the inaugural tournament last year following the Finals on the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall tarmac.
By Edison Jefford
Choosing the perfect combination for the upcoming Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball Competition have proven to be more about science than about talent with the emergence of what is now a normal concept in the sport; the reliance on a ‘Big Three’ in the sport’s regular format is a common trend in modern basketball.
This three-man rotation is, however, not just any three players; for example, three guards or three forwards would not work well in a system that is aimed at being ‘complete’ with each player and position having specific roles on the court. Lebron James played centre/forward, Chris Bosh took on the forward post and Dwayne Wade was the point guard in the Miami Heat, who recently won the NBA Championship, ‘Big Three’ rotation.
But that is the regular five-man format. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took an interesting emergence and condensed it to a 3-on-3 format that has received global attention, and thanks to Ansa McAl through its Mackeson brand, arrived in Guyana last year. Teams, from their orientation in 2011, are not expected to repeat the same mistakes.
Lots of teams went for super-talents around Guyana, forgetting that it is not the abilities of those who form part of your ‘Big Three’, with the one substitute allowed, but rather how well available talents fit into specific roles to make a team ‘complete’.
It is sort of like the three-piece chicken combo that fast-food outlets have on their menus; choices are rarely available as it pertains to the pieces; that is standard; you will get a thigh/breast, a wing and a drumstick with a side (most places offer a choice between either fries or cream potato), and soda. But the thigh/breast, wing and drumstick are standard.
Those three pieces form part of the ‘complete’ three-piece combo in the fast-food world. Note: it is not three thigh/breast, or three wings or three drumsticks that are offered. In basketball it is not having the three best forwards, guards, or shooting guards a part of your ‘three’ that matter. It’s a lot about finding the best three players to fit specific positions and roles.
Usually, chicken thighs and breasts are bigger than wings and drumsticks, but together they form a whole meal. The same logic must apply when choosing your team for the upcoming Mackeson 3-on-3 competition. The teams that went for the best forwards lacked speed last year and those at the opposite end with guards, lacked presence in the paint.
This is where Pacesetters ‘A’, who are the defending champions, was smart; their combination of Royston Siland playing centre/forward, Travis Burnett at guard, Steffon Gillis at shooting guard and Naylon Loncke coming off the bench in the guard/forward position, was unmatched and that is one of the principle reasons they won the $1M cash.
Siland is a national forward and might be slow on the offensive end, but there is none better than him on the offensive and defensive boards. Siland would have been a national record holder if he had chosen to become a high jumper. His leap is extraordinary and his hands are secure. What he lacks on the offensive end Burnett makes up for in the guard position.
Burnett is the principle scorer on the team and has become an integral part of the national team in the recent D.C Jammers tour. ‘Blurr’ as Burnett is nicknamed, is a natural finisher and plays both offense and defence; he plays hard and brings immense energy to any team he is a part of; he has one deficiency: the absence of a jump-shot, but he often makes up for that with classic inside moves.
Then there is the shooting guard, Gillis, who is perhaps the best we have to offer from downtown and who has been a national guard for the first decade of the New Millennium. Gillis is primarily an offensive player. The Pacesetters ‘A’ bench, in the Mackeson 3-on-3 competition, that Loncke occupies, embodies both the forward and guard positions.
The point is the ‘Big Three’ of the Mackeson defending champs was carefully, and thoughtfully, put together. Pacesetters ‘A’ is a complete or perfect three-piece combo and that will make them difficult to beat when the second edition of the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Championships bounces off early next month.
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