L. A. braces for San Miguel comeback
Barangay Ginebra guard L. A. Tenorio said he expects San Miguel Beer to mount a furious comeback and keep its Grand Slam hopes alive in Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the MOA Arena tonight.
Ginebra is a win away from capturing coach Tim Cone’s 21st title but the defending champion Beermen, who hold a 4-1 advantage over the Barangay in Finals history, aren’t likely to roll over and die. San Miguel lost three in a row to start the conference and if Ginebra prevails tonight, it will mean ending the Beermen’s bid on the same streak.
Tenorio isn’t holding his breath for a closure tonight even as he’s hoping Ginebra will clinch. “Honestly, in a normal series, closing out is really hard already but closing out a series against San Miguel, I think it’s double or triple harder for me,” he said. “We really need to double or triple our focus and effort in Game 6. We expect San Miguel to come out really strong.”
Tenorio, who played for San Miguel in losing to Ginebra in six games in the 2006-07 Philippine Cup and has now won three championships under Cone, said no less than a total team effort is the key to turning back the Beermen. “For us to win the series and close it out in Game 6, everyone should contribute not only rely on (Justin) Brownlee,” he said. “We locals should help Brownlee by executing our gameplan.”
In Game 5 last Sunday, Brownlee was at his worst and opposing San Miguel import Renaldo Balkman was at his best but Ginebra managed to win, 8783, with Scottie Thompson scoring 20 points, Tenorio 15 and Greg Slaughter 13. Brownlee struggled with 18 points while Balkman erupted for 34. Ginebra controlled the tempo from the start and turned it into a low-scoring, grind-it-out battle of attrition. San Miguel played into Ginebra’s hand by orienting its offense almost exclusively to Balkman and JuneMar Fajardo who combined for 46 of the team’s 87 attempts. When a team has two players taking over 50 percent of its shots, the predictability makes it easier for the defensive team to clamp down. With the backcourt deferring to Balkman and Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross scored only a combined eight points, down from their Finals average of 22.3.
Tenorio said the adjustment of Ross defending Brownlee in Game 6 wasn’t a surprise. “We were actually expecting that from the start of the Finals,” he said. “But Game 5 was the first time Ross guarded Brownlee. And Brownlee had a hard time with him so I think they’ll stick with that matchup. Wala naman problema sa matchup kasi we have gameplans naman every time there are matchup changes.”
Tenorio’s teammate Greg Slaughter said squaring off with Fajardo is like old times. “It feels like the old days when JuneMar and I played in our hometown Cebu,” he said. “Missing Japeth (Aguilar) is huge for us but he’s still been able to impact the game. It’s tempting to think how different it would be if he were 100 percent but we have to win with what we have now. I’m only thinking one game at a time and the next game is tonight.”
Aguilar has been hobbled by a left Achilles tendon strain and is averaging 4.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 13.3 minutes in the Finals. He showed signs of recovery in the last two games, scoring eight in each, and not coincidentally, Ginebra won both outings.
Slaughter, who’s gunning for his second career championship, said the only way Ginebra can clinch is to play together. “We just see ourselves as Ginebra and it doesn’t matter who gets it done because we know the only way we’re going to do this is together,” he said. “We have the same goal and that’s working towards winning this championship. The stakes are high and the pressure is on but the greater the pressure, the greater the opportunity there is.”
Ginebra San Miguel, the league’s all-time crowd favorite, sets out to dethrone title holder San Miguel Beer, determined to put on show anew the old Barangay Ginebra spirit it exhibited in the last two games – relentless in Game Four and resilient in Game Five – to rewrite a page of history in Game Six of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finale tonight at the MOA Arena.
Coach Tim Cone insists they have no other plans in the 7 p.m. setto but to go all out to end the series and avoid a winner-take-all match in the best-ofseven title playoff.
“We can’t look beyond what’s right in front of us, and that’s Game Six. We’ll go all out,” said Cone to stress his desire to steer his team to a third straight championship in six conferences.
“Certainly, we don’t want to play a Game Seven at this point. It’s all hands on deck, and all your eggs in one basket,” added Cone who’s on line to improve his coaching legacy with a 21st PBA crown.
A victory by the Gin Kings will end the Beermen’s perfect ride (six-of-six) in PBA finals in the last four years and stretch Ginebra’s own unbeaten run to three, following back-to-back title runs in the Governors Cup.
But Cone stresses, too, that they can’t count the Beermen out with all their weapons and winning character.
“This series has been such a roller coaster of emotions, such highs and lows. Now it’s coming to the latter stages and even though we’re up 3-2, it’s still anybody’s series,” said Cone.
The Kings wrested the critical 3-2 series lead on their 130-100 blowout win in Game Four and an 87-83 grind-out victory in Game Five.
But the Beermen insist the series is far from over.
They have been into a tougher bind, and they have survived. And coach Leo Austria and his troops said there’s no reason for them not to pull it off again.
“We’re capable,” said Austria, the very author of the record fightback by SMB from 0-3 down on the way to its epic title conquest of Alaska Milk in the 2016 Philippine Cup.
“Yun ngang 0-3, naka-survive kami. Sa 2-3 pa kaya,” said San Miguel forward Arwind Santos.
“They got to beat us one more time, then we’ll call it quits. Lucky that we have one more chance at Game Seven. I mean it’s not over yet. I know there’s a lot of you counting us out. I have to tell you right now, don’t count us out at all. At all,” said SMB import Renaldo Balkman.
After a crazy exchanges of blowout wins, the two teams are now engaged in a real tough battle, and it’s now a question of heart and desire.
“The toughness and intensity of the next game could be double or even triple of those in Game Five,” said Ginebra guard LA Tenorio.
“We all know that San Miguel is a good team. We have a never-say-die spirit, and they also have that attitude. So, Game Six would be a tough battle,” Tenorio added.
For Ginebra, it’s dreamland or another shot at it. For SMB, it’s Game Seven or bust.