Experience matters

For much of the match, the Fever looked like they had figured out how to beat the Aces at the latter’s own game. They played with pace, built a substantial lead, and forced the defending champions to spend most of the night chasing them. Unfortunately for them, basketball has a way of making a seemingly substantial lead feel insignificant when the set-to gets tighter and reaches its final possessions. They did not need to be dominated for 40 minutes. All the competition had to do was remain close to them for experience to matter. And, true enough, they ultimately managed to snatch defeat from the throes of victory off two buzzer-beating three-pointers by Chelsea Gray and two missed free throws and a costly late turnover by Caitlin Clark.

For the Fever, the difficult part is not that they lost; the Aces are precisely the type of opponents against whom mistakes become magnified. Its that they had created almost every condition necessary to prevail and still could not finish the job. Flubbed charities with seven seconds left in regulation gave Gray the opportunity to force overtime. Then, with a slim lead late in the extra period, poor decision making allowed A’ja Wilson to take possession before the Point Gawd again delivered the decisive shot. Clark finished with 20 points, but shot seven of 20 from the field (two of 10 from three-point range) and committed eight miscues. Those numbers made the criticism inevitable, particularly because the mistakes came at the most consequential moments. That said, they should not obscure the larger issue: a glaring inability to manage a contest they had controlled for long stretches.

The distinction is important because Clark’s mistakes were not the reason the Fever found themselves in position to win. She had also made two important fourth-quarter three-pointers that helped restore their lead. The same player who failed in the crunch had contributed significantly to creating the advantage in the first place. The problem was less about her wilting under pressure than about them still learning how to handle the final stages of a close game. She is reasonably expected to improve her late-game execution, but those around her also have to learn how to generate better possessions when opponents crowd them. A 20-point lead is not simply something to protect by running up the score. It likewise requires continued discipline.

And this is where the contrast with the Aces becomes most revealing. Gray’s two shots were extraordinary, but they were not isolated acts of inspiration. They reflected the composure of veterans who have, time and again, delivered under similar circumstances. The black and silver have won championships, endured playoff collapses, and learned that even supposedly decided outcomes can change in the span of a few possessions. The Fever are at a different point in their development. They have talent, confidence, and an increasingly convincing belief that they belong among the league’s elite, but they are still accumulating the callouses that longtime contenders already possess. Needless to say, the difference was visible; when the encounter became less about talent and more about precision, they were far less comfortable operating in uncertainty.

The lesson for the Fever, then, is not that Clark cannot be trusted when the game is on the line. It would be too simplistic and ultimately counterproductive. Every hoops great has bricked shots, thrown possessions away, and suffered setbacks even after success looked certain. What matters is whether the stumbles become recurring patterns or valuable lessons. They have already made considerable progress this season, and a defeat like this can be useful precisely because it exposes the distance between being competitive and being consistently capable of upending the best of the best. The Aces did not merely beat them. They were given a front-row seat to what the final step looks like: becoming used to the uncomfortable parts of winning.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Experience matters
Philippines Pandemic