Barangay Ginebra Kings shoot for finals ticket
THE Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings shoot for direct entry into the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup finals when they collide with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters today in Game Four of their best-of-five semifinal series.
Set for 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Kings try to close out the Elasto Painters and make their fourth finals appearance in the last six PBA conferences.
Barangay Ginebra put itself on the cusp of the Big Dance after surviving a ferocious fight back by Rain or Shine in the fourth period of Game Three on Saturday.
Dominated the game in the first half, the Kings struggled big time in the second half that saw them nearly lose a lead of as much as 25 points.
Import Justin Brownlee though played another solid all-around game to help his team escape with the 75-72 victory, and, more importantly, the 2-1 series lead.
Rain or Shine was able to come within two points, 74-72, with nine seconds remaining after trailing throughout the contest.
It still had a chance to tie the count after Kings guard LA Tenorio split his free throws with six seconds to go and the score at 7572.
Unfortunately for the Elasto Painters though, two threepoint attempts by James Yap as time expired failed to hit their mark, sending them to the defeat.
The victory preserved the brilliant play of Mr. Brownlee, who finished with 44 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals, apart from getting the Kings to a great start and making big plays down the stretch.
LA Tenorio was the other Barangay Ginebra player in double digits with 13 points.
Rain or Shine import Reggie Johnson, meanwhile, struggled to 13 points on five-of-19 shooting but had 22 rebounds.
“Rain or Shine made a brilliant comeback in the second half. Coach Caloy [Garcia] did a good job in making his team bounce back after a tough first half. We had a lot of mental mistakes in the second half and we’re just lucky to have hung on for the win,” said a relieved Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone in the postgame press conference following Game Three.
But Mr. Cone said the way they handled the challenge of Rain or Shine left much to be desired and that they have to do something about it so as not to have a repeat of it.
“That’s something we have to talk about, prepare for because we didn’t respond well,” Mr. Cone said.
The winner of the Barangay Ginebra-Rain or Shine series takes on the victor of the semifinals between the San Miguel Beermen and Alaska Aces.
San Miguel and Alaska were to play Game Four of their series later yesterday with the Beermen holding a 2-1 series lead. —