Kings avoid nightmare
The night after Halloween, Barangay Ginebra exorcised ‘The Bogeyman.’
MANILA, Philippines — And as they finally escaped the claws of tormentor TNT, 85-73, the Gin Kings pulled one back in the PBA Governors’ Cup title series at 2-1 in front of a big All Saints’ Day crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
To secure this breakthrough after a nightmarish start marred by 88-104 and 84-96 defeats, the crowd darlings gave the Tropang Giga a dose of their own defensive medicine.
The Gin Kings held the titleholders to their second lowest output of the conference, next only to the 72 they scored in their 12-point loss to Terrafirma back in the eliminations.
With clutch blocks and steals feeding off their offense, coach Tim Cone and his embattled charges outscored TNT in the final period, 23-14, to put Game 3 to bed and pump life back to their championship aspirations.
“We certainly played a lot better, especially on defense,” said Cone, whose team limited the Tropang Giga to 32.6 percent shooting (28 of 86) while firing at an improved rate of 50 percent (33 of 66).
“I think coming from the San Miguel series (in the semis) we’re a little bit worn and not as focused as we should be. The two games kind of woke us up so hopefully this gets us going in the series,” he added.
Justin Brownlee produced a low-by-his-standard 18 markers plus 13 rebounds and four assists but stepped up on the defensive end with four blocks and one steal.
“Justin struggled offensively, especially against an elite defender in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson but he’s not quitting defensively,” Cone said of Brownlee, who made a pair of defensive stops and key buckets in Ginebra’s telling 14-6 closing barrage.
Maverick Ahanmisi (16-8), Scottie Thompson (15-5), Japeth Aguilar (10-7), Stephen Holt (10-6) and veteran LA Tenorio in a surprise start (nine points) provided sufficient local support.
Notes: The PBA rarely holds games on All Saints’ Day, a national holiday when Filipinos flock to the cemetery to pay respects to the departed. But commissioner Willie Marcial said the league made an exception to allow Gilas Pilpinas as much preparation time for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers window against New Zealand on Nov.
