Barangay Ginebra guns for a 2-0 lead against Meralco as they resume their PBA Governors’ Cup titular showdown today at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
The goal, however, is easier said than done, especially with the way Tim Cone and his Gin Kings managed to escape in Game 1 of the best-of-7 finals series last Tuesday, 91-87.
“I honestly feel this is the way it’s going to be every game. It’s going to be a grind-out, fight-to-the-end, let’s-see-who’s-gonna-go-on-top-in-the-last-minute type of series,” said Cone.
Struggling in the first half, the Gin Kings were able to overcome a 10-point third-quarter deficit, but still found themselves dragged in a tough contest coming home by what Cone described as well-disciplined Bolts.
“Meralco is so disciplined in the way they play it’s hard to really get them out of their tempo and so you have to play at max tempo all the way and that’s not really a comfortable tempo for us,” said Cone.
The opener, watched by 11,000 fans, was still anybody’s game going into the last 1:43 minutes, with L.A. Revilla’s reverse layup giving the Gin Kings an 86-85 lead.
The Bolts quickly regained the lead on Allen Durham’s two free throws with 1:22 left, 87-86, and could have made it even bigger had Chris Newsome not committed a crucial turnover.
As a result, Justin Brownlee, who fished a foul from Bong Quinto, made two free throws, while Stanley Pringle added one as Ginebra went up for good, 89-87, 23.5 seconds.
The Gin Kings then sealed the outcome as Japeth Aguilar, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists, rejected Durham’s drive, paving the way for Brownlee’s two more charities that rounded out the scoring.
That was how tight the endgame was and Cone is expecting the Gin Kings’ 7 p.m. encounter with the Bolts in Lucena and the rest of the series to be no different.
“It really just comes down to each possession, everything’s riding on one possession throughout the game you feel like if you blow one possession you might blow the game. So it’s really a possession by possession game at this point,” stressed Cone, who is looking to steer the Gin Kings to their 12th championship.
The Bolts, meanwhile, are expected to make dramatic adjustments now that defense alone cannot win big games in the PBA.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well particularly from the three-point land. We normally shoot about 37 percent and tonight (Tuesday), we shot about 21 or in the low 20s,” noted Meralco coach Norman Black.
The Bolts actually hit at a mere 21.9-percent clip, with their top gunners missing shots when needed most.
“We must be more efficient on offense,” said Black. “Our ball movement and shooting must be better as well as our spacing.”
Brownlee, who pumped in 38 big points on top of 16 rebounds, will now be the target of the Bolts’ defense.
“Defensively, slowing down Justin (Brownlee) will be a priority,” said Black.
The Gin Kings and the Bolts are meeting for the third time in the season-ending conference, with the former winning their first two meetings in 2016 and 2017 seasons.