Down to the wire
Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals could’ve been a win for Barangay Ginebra at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday but the Kings forgot to play defense in the last four minutes of the fourth period and San Miguel Beer escaped with a 99-88 win to open a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.
When the smoke of battle cleared, Ginebra enjoyed the edge in several departments. Ginebra had more assists, 24-17, more turnover points, 19-13, more bench points, 41- 13, more second chance points, 18-8, more points in the paint, 46- 40 and more offensive rebounds, 14-11. Right from the opening tip, it looked like Game 3 was going Ginebra’s way. San Miguel was held to 19 points in the first period and the Beermen were up by only three, 69-66, entering the fourth period. That was exactly how Ginebra coach Tim Cone wanted to set the stage for a wind-up – defense-oriented, low-scoring with the chance to steal it in the end.
Ginebra led, 88- 87, with 4: 02 left then decided to engage San Miguel in a shoot-out which was, of course, a huge mistake. No way Ginebra can beat San Miguel trading baskets. The only way Ginebra can beat San Miguel is by playing defense. And that’s what Ginebra didn’t do down the stretch in Game 3. San Miguel closed out the contest with a 12-0 run, scoring four field goals, including a three, and hitting 3-of-5 free throws. Ginebra tried to outshoot San Miguel but missed its last seven attempts, including four from beyond the arc. Scottie Thompson flubbed two triples, L. A. Tenor io one and Joe De Vance one in Ginebra’s uncharacteristic collapse.
**** For San Miguel, JuneMar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross combined to ignite the 12- 0 surge. Ginebra held San Miguel to 43 percent shooting in Game 2 to win, 124-118, in overtime last Sunday. In Game 3, San Miguel shot 47 percent to Ginebra’s 45 percent and got away with 21-of-29 free throws to Ginebra’s 5- of- 11 and 10- of- 29 triples to Ginebra’s 7-of-22. In Game 2, San Miguel took 46 three-point and 53 two-point attempts, almost a 50-50 mix. In Game 3, San Miguel had a much better mix with 29 threepoint and 44 two-point attempts.
It came down to end- game poise and San Miguel displayed more character in the homestretch of Game 3. It didn’t help Ginebra’s cause that Sol Mercado got into early foul trouble and was yanked in and out of the fray, losing his rhythm in the process. Mercado and Chris Ellis were designated to double Fajardo at the post so they played a crucial role in defense. Mercado was so out of it that he didn’t even score after contributing five points in the first period.
Japeth Aguilar also took the night off. He finished with 12 points and went scoreless in the fourth quarter when Ginebra made its last stand. Worse, Aguilar wasn’t a factor in protecting the rim with not a single blocked shot. There was a stretch when San Miguel scored back-to-back layups off Aguilar, prompting Cone to call a timeout to remind his 6-9 center-forward about his responsibility.
Ginebra blew it in Game 3. Cone’s charges thought they could fight fire with fire in the late going but found out too late it was a blunder. San Miguel exploded for 30 points in the fourth period while Ginebra could score only 22 and that made the difference. Any quarter where Ginebra surrenders more than 20 points, the Barangay’s in trouble because that means the defense is napping.
**** Ginebra is in a must-win situation in Game 4 at the Big Dome tonight. Another win will push San Miguel to a 3-1 edge and it’s almost impossible for Ginebra to beat the Beermen three in a row. How to motivate Ginebra to bounce back from a near-win situation in Game 3 is the challenge facing Cone.
For sure, Ginebra will make adjustments. In Game 3, San Miguel coach Leo Austria again went to a short rotation as his five key players logged at least 38 minutes with Ross and Marcio Lassiter clocking over 40. In contrast, not a single Ginebra player went for as long as 40 with only three logging at least 30 – Tenorio at 32:28, Thompson at 30:17 and Chris Ellis at 30:03. On paper, more Ginebra players will show up with fresher legs for Game 4 than San Miguel.
Ginebra’s problem in Game 3 was not just in forgetting to play defense down the stretch. It was also a lack of aggressiveness in attacking the hoop to put pressure on San Miguel’s defense. That was evident as Ginebra took only 11 free throw tries compared to San Miguel’s 29. As a result, Austria was not pressured to rotate deep because of foul trouble. Not a single San Miguel player had five fouls compared to two for Ginebra and only Cabagnot had four.
If Ginebra isn’t able to tie the series tonight, San Miguel could wrap it up in six or even five. The pressure is on Ginebra to once more display that never-say-die spirit.