One step beyond
Barangay Ginebra is one win away from barging into the PBA Philippine Cup Finals and coach Tim Cone’s squad could nail it with a victory over Meralco in Game Six of their semifinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. If the Bolts force a Game Seven, it will be held in San Jose, Batangas, on Friday.
Momentum and history are on Ginebra’s side. Ginebra is coming off two straight wins over Meralco and a 3-2 series lead is a comfortable cushion. In PBA annals, 76 percent of teams that go up, 3-2 after a 2-2 deadlock wind up clinching. With Ginebra, Cone has clinched in seven of nine best-of-seven duels.
Coach Luigi Trillo and active consultant Nenad Vucinic are in their first best-of-seven affair with Meralco so it’s a baptism of fire. Trillo, however, is no stranger to pressure and with Alaska in 2013, piloted the Aces to the Commissioner’s Cup trophy, resulting in a Coach of the Year award. Vucinic served as interim head coach, assistant coach and consultant with Gilas before joining the Bolts. Trillo has deferred to Vucinic in calling the shots for Meralco but they work closely together. Meralco is pushing the envelope with two heads better than one.
Both teams are defense-oriented. In 11 wins this conference, Ginebra held opponents to an average of 86 points. In six losses, opponents averaged 90.5. In 10 wins, Meralco limited opponents to an average of 83.7 points and in eight losses, opponents averaged 94. It’s no surprise that in the semis, they’re applying choke holds like wrestlers in the ring. In Meralco’s two wins, Ginebra was held to an average of 85.5 and 39.7 percent from the field. In Ginebra’s three wins, Meralco was held to an average of 81 and 37.8 percent from the field.
Physicality has been a constant in the war of attrition. The Bolts thrive in a rugged game and rank No. 1 in most fouls (27.3) and most free throws allowed (29.5) on average. They can afford to gamble in sending Ginebra to the line as Cone’s squad is last in free throw percentage (64.1). Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar are Cone’s starting Twin Towers, feeding off each other in high-lows, drop passes and backdoor cuts. The challenge is on Raymond Almazan,
