Gin Kings moving on after bitter semis loss
By Sid Ventura
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia
After bowing to the San Miguel Beermen in six games in an intense semifinal series in the recent Philippine Cup, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings are not dwelling on the past and what could have been. The PBA's most popular ballclub had trouble winning the closely-fought games in the series, and this was all San Miguel needed to put away the Kings and advance to the finals.
Ginebra coach Jong Uichico admits the close losses rattled them for a while, but they have since moved on. He's not exactly using the 4-2 defeat as a rallying point or anything like that, but he did admit it exposed some of this team's weaknesses which he hopes to rectify in the Commissioner's Cup.
"Of course, we were disappointed, frustrated," Uichico said shortly after the Kings battled Smart Gilas to a 104-all stand-off recently in a scrimmage at the Acropolis. "We all felt bad. We knew that we had a fifty-fifty chance. But breaks of the game lang naman iyon, eh. So I said let's not put our heads down and say we didn't give a fight. We did give a fight against San Miguel. We blew them out when we won, and we lost in close games. So we'll just build on that, and we can look at something positive in the second conference especially if we do get a good import. So iyon lang naman iyon. It's not really a rallying point. We have to move on, to improve on the things we have to improve and focus on our strengths."
Uichico hopes their import, Nate Brumfield, can be their go-to guy when the game is on the line.
"We couldn't close games," he said. "We have a problem closing games. The players we used to go to now have difficulty closing, so we need a closer, and hopefully our import gets to do that."
Brumfield is a product of Oklahoma Baptist University, an NAIA school and not exactly a college basketball hotbed. Nonetheless, he led the NAIA in field goal percentage with 68.3%, a remarkable figure for someone who stands below 6'4" (although he is listed as 6'5"), and averaged 22.2 points an outing. He was named NAIA MVP and led his school to the league championship game.
Brumfield is fresh off a stint in the Mexican league where averaged 14.5 points and five boards in 32 games for Pioneros de Quintana Roo-Cancun. He will join regulars Willie Miller, Mark Caguioa, Ronald Tubid, Jay-jay Helterbrand, JC Intal, Rico Villanueva, Eric Menk, Rudy Hatfield, Billy Mamaril, Mike Cortez, Willy Wilson, Jimbo Aquino, John Wilson, and Yancy De Ocampo.
"He's all right, a really a nice guy," Uichico said of his reinforcement. "Easy to get along with, no problems. He'll be the main man, the closer. He's fundamentally sound, he's quick and explosive for his height. I think he'll do all right, depending, of course, on the other imports. He's a good fit for us."
Rob Labagala, drafted by the Kings at 12th overall in last year's rookie draft but unable to make the roster last conference, is trying out for a spot on the team. "We're taking a look at him to see if he can get things done," Uichico said.
After Ginebra fell behind by 15 points at the half and needed a final scoring burst to salvage a tie with Smart Gilas, Uichico said the nationals will be a tough opponent in the Commissioners Cup.
"They've got a 6'10" import," he said. "It's always tough to play against a 6'10" import. And they've been playing, getting the maturity that they need. They've got great cohesion. Of course, Talk n Text is always there. They just won the Philippine Cup. They have an import that's very tough. San Miguel is always tough. Alaska is always tough. Purefoods (B-Meg Derby Ace) is always tough. So now, you get down to the Rain or Shines, the other teams, if they get a good import, it will make them tough. Everybody's going to be tough to beat."
You may email the author at sid_ventura@yahoo.com.
