Kings channel priority to Game Two of series
PRETTY much had their way in the series opener of their bestof-five Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series on Sunday night, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings now channel their focus to Game Two today against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Extending the sea change they have been experiencing in the midseason PBA tournament, the Kings stayed on top of things throughout Game One to draw first blood, 102- 89, and move a step closer to a finals appearance.
Import Justin Brownlee had another stellar performance in the victory with a near tripledouble stat line of 35 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. He also had four blocks and two steals.
Jeff Chan also came up big, scoring 21 points, going three-offive from three-point land, while big man Greg Slaughter added 20 points of his own.
Happy that they were able to beat the Elasto Painters to the punch in Game One, the Kings, nonetheless, are not dwelling too much on it and are now training their sights on the succeeding games, beginning with Game Two today at 7 p.m., which incidentally was rescheduled after being postponed on Tuesday because of bad weather triggered by tropical storm Henry that caused flooding in different parts of the metro.
“We’re happy that we were able to get Game One and go one up. But it’s only the first game and we still need two more games,” said Mr. Chan following their victory.
“Our focus is now on Game Two where we hope to execute well again on defense the way we did in this game (Game One). We have to be ready for the adjustments that Rain or Shine will make in the next game,” he added.
His mind- set was shared by Kings coach Tim Cone who also highlighted the need for them to step up when called upon to see their cause of making it to the finals through.
“Rain or Shine is a good team and they can only be expected to come back and do what they do well,” Mr. Cone said.
Adding, “We’ve been making big plays at the right time. And so far, so good, and we hope to continue doing it.”
With the Game One victory, Barangay Ginebra has racked up eight straight victories that completely negated their 1-5 start to the tournament.
The winner of the Kings-Elasto Painters semifinal series will take on the victor of the other final four pairing between defending champions San Miguel Beermen and Alaska Aces.
The Beermen were supposed to take on the Aces and try to complete a sweep yesterday but the league decided to make a second straight game postponement due to expected heavy rains.
“Semis game 3 of Alaska Aces vs San Miguel Beermen today has been postponed due to potential severe weather conditions (Orange warning) as announced by NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council). Game 3 is set on Friday, July 20, 7pm at Ynares, Antipolo,” the PBA statement posted on Twitter read on Wednesday morning.