Surging Ginebra wins fifth straight
It only took 24 efficient minutes for streaking Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to assert its full domination on a reeling Air21 crew Friday night.
Quickly buckling down to work on both ends, the Gin Kings proved too strong for hapless Express with a masterful 99-76 victory to seize solo fourth in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Energetic rookie Chris Ellis provided the spark and drilled in 14 of his 18 points in the first while six other teammates churned in eight markers each as Barangay Ginebra racked up its fifth straight win and seventh overall in 12 outings, just a full game adrift of third-running Rain or Shine (8-4).
Crafty playmaker LA Tenorio scattered 13 of his 15 points in the first half while Rudy Hatfield added 11 markers, mostly coming in the second half, for the Gin Kings.
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“The guys are playing more to their roles,” noted Brgy. Ginebra coach Siot Tangquincen. “It’s a good win for us but dikit-dikit kami. It’s still a long way to go pero maganda na nanalo kami but we still cannot let our guard down and we have to keep working."
"In a sense it’s how you handle blowout wins. Human nature na magrerelax ka ng konti. It’s a mental battle so you have to stay hungry. Kailangan labanan mo yun. Parang nangyari sa beginning of the conference and hopefully we learned our lesson," he added.
A split by Nonoy Baclao gave Air21 its solitary taste of the lead at 1-0, then it was all Ginebra from then on, with Ellis racking up nine points and Tenorio serving as the anchor in a back-breaking 28-8 onslaught.
Not yet done, the Gin Kings dropped another blinding surge in the second quarter, this time a 20-6 run capped by a Tenorio lay-up for a whopping 48-15 cushion and a big 55-29 spread at the break.
So impressive was the Gin Kings’ first-half showing that they went a remarkable 56.5 percent from the field, built around 14 assists, underscoring the team’s unselfishness and willingness to involve everybody in their offensive schemes.
As the Express were simply outclassed, JayJay Helterbrand, Willy Wilson and Rudy Hatfield stood at the forefront of the Gin Kings’ sustained charge in the third where they outscored their counterparts anew26-18 for a massive 81-47 lead into the final canto.
The closest Air21 could get was at 76-97 off a Wynne Arboleda triple but the result was already beyond doubt for Ginebra.
“Everybody’s confidence is way, way high. Everybody’s feeling good and playing great right now,” stressed Ellis, who made seven of his nine attempts while haling down four rebounds.
Arboleda tallied 17 points while Bitoy Omolon had 12 markers, but the Express dropped to 4-9, keeping the slim quarterfinal hopes of Barako Bull and GlobalPort alive.
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Earlier, Meralco quickly bounced back from a stinging loss by turning back struggling Barako Bull, 85-73.
Smarting from an 85-88 defeat inflicted by Alaska last Wednesday, the Bolts held the Energy Cola without a field goal while dropping a decisive nine-to-nothing run during a crucial six-minute stretch in the payoff period to register their sixth win against seven losses.
Rookie Kelly Nabong surprisingly tallied a team-high 12 points while burly guard Sol Mercado, Reynel Hugnatan and Sunday Salvacion contributed 11 markers apiece for Meralco, which closes out its elimination campaign against second-running SanMig Coffee (8-4) on Dec. 9.
A Hugnatan bucket gave the Bolts their biggest lead at 64-45 in the third canto but the Energy Cola clawed back and pulled within 67-73 early in the final period.
A reinvigorated defensive pressure, coupled with nine straight points, spared the Bolts’ blushes, virtually sealing the deal with an insurmountable 82-67 cushion with nearly three minutes left.
“The first guy that usually panics in situations like that is me,” stated Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio. “But I think today, since I’ve been watching games that we played wherein we relinquished big leads, I told myself if I show panic my players will mirror my actions.”
“I was so confident we’ll be able to pull through because it already happened to us. So the best test in somebody’s persistence is, if things happened to you it should not happen again. I always feel like adversity is prosperity as long as you know how to react on the things that you’ve learned,” he added.
Barako Bull, led by Ronald Tubid’s 20 points, absorbed its fourth consecutive setback and ninth overall against three victories.
