ICYMI: Kia finally Snapped its 16-Game Losing Streak

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

One factor enabled the Picanto to clinch their first win in 8 months

Everybody hates losing and that’s something we cannot deny not just in sports but in life in general. However, it has been said that whenever you lose in anything whether it’s a basketball game or you’ve miserably failed your examinations in school, you will learn something from the mistakes which led to that specific setback and will help you improve the next time around. But, as they say, if you keep on committing the same set of mistakes, then something is wrong with you.

That has been the case for the Kia Picanto. For 8 months, they have endured nothing but defeat. They came closest to a win against the NLEX Road Warriors to open the Philippine Cup but faltered late in the 4th quarter. Then, Chris Gavina reigned as coach, paving way for Ricky Dandan to be promoted as top tactician. However, that move didn’t have any effect as Kia dropped its two games since Dandan took over. Then, came the game against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, a game had the Picanto lost, would have made them own the second-longest losing streak in the history of the PBA.

Fortunately, losing’s over for the Kia Picanto, for now, as they scored 32 points in the pivotal 3rd quarter en route to a 98-94 win over the inconsistent Elasto Painters. Given how close the final score was, Ricky Dandan could only release a sigh of relief. After all, it was a game that was filled with tension and ejections plus the fact that two Kia players were ejected in the second quarter. Still, Kia has other players on its roster who produced notable good numbers to get over the hump, finally.

But if you will ask Ricky Dandan, there was one factor that pushed Kia to their first win of the season: they had no choice but to keep going, dig deep and look for positive things that kept them going. The coach also added that he was overall happy with the fact that his team was able to keep their composure and played for 48 minutes- the first time this season that they actually did that.

Conclusion

With their first win already in the bag, Ricky Dandan is hoping that the Kia Picanto can build up their confidence from beating a team like Rain or Shine and start gaining more W. However, with a game against the Meralco Bolts coming up this Wednesday, Kia needs all of its players aboard because Meralco has been to the Governors’ Cup Finals, twice. And despite its struggles, Meralco is still better-coached. But who knows? Kia has already one game so why stop there, right?  

Physicality is back in PBA: Coaches Pleased

Alex Compton and Norman Black laud PBA’s move to provide more leeway for physicalities

Over the course of the past few seasons, one of the usual grievances that are being voiced out by the players, coaches and even the fans is that referees back then were almost “trigger happy” when calling fouls on physical plays. And we cannot blame them for voicing out such grievances. Picture this, folks. Referees could whistle you for a foul for simply bumping the player whom you are defending. That’s really frustrating and could change the overall pace of the game because the more fouls that were called, the slower the game becomes. And slow games bore fans. They want faster games. They want more physicalities.

Fortunately, things are starting to get better as one of the changes that OIC Willie Marcial wants to implement this year is the reinstatement of the old “No Harm No Foul”  rule for the purpose of speeding up games and also to make the games themselves more exciting especially for the fans. Like it or not, the officiating has been horrible that fans were complaining about fouls that should haven’t been called and fouls that should have been called And the frequent call of fouls have taken away the physicality in the PBA.

Before 2018 came in, Willie Marcial has stated that the league has already started training its referees as they prepare for the reinstatement of the said rule.

Just last January 10, 2018, two coaches expressed that they were overall pleased with the higher amount of physicality that was allowed during their game. Those coaches are none other than Norman Black and Alex Compton- both coaches whose team are relying heavily on their physicality especially on the defensive end.

Norman Black, for one, despite losing to Compton’s Alaska Aces, 103-98, shared his observation that the game was being officiated a “little bit” differently and even took note that more contact between players was allowed on the court.

Alex Compton, for his part, has said that he’s liking the new direction that the PBA is taking when it comes to the officiating of the games. The American coach even said that allowing more physicality to come into play is good for the game.

Conclusion

The best thing about the reinstatement of the “No Harm No Foul” rule is that more coaches and players can do their defensive assignments better because they are now lesser worried about being called for a foul.The only side effect of this is that we’ll see more flopping players but then again, we just have to accept that flopping has been a part of the game, right? And so is physicality.  

What Doomed Meralco against the Aces?

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Chris Newsome and company have lost two straight games

Over the course of the last two seasons, the Meralco Bolts have been dealing with their own inconsistencies. Sure, they have been to the Governors’ Cup Finals for two consecutive seasons but they haven’t cracked the code just yet they have lost twice in the Finals against the same team, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. And their inconsistencies have appeared to be holding them down again in the Philippine Cup.

After winning their first game to open the 43rd season of the PBA, the Bolts are now on a 2-game losing streak after losing to the lowly Alaska Aces, 103-98. That, by the way, was the Aces’ first win in 3 games. And frankly, it wasn’t an upset win either because Meralco wasn’t playing the same way they did in the Finals against Ginebra. Not even close.

So what exactly doomed the Bolts this time?

They got Murdered Inside

The Bolts got dominated from the inside as they allowed Calvin Abueva and company to outscore them 54-20 in points in the paint. Their shooting from the 2-point area also doomed the Bolts as they only 35% of their attempts from the 2-point territory. On the other hand, Alaska went 31 for 66 from the 2-point area, a 46% shooting. 

Defensive Lapses. And More

Meralco was known as a defensive-minded team over the two seasons but their defense against the Aces was simply acceptable. Sure, the Bolts were able to shut down Jeron Teng who was held to 8 points on 2 for 8 shooting from the field but for the rest of the Aces? Meralco’s defense just vanished. 

Another proof that Meralco’s defense wasn’t working at all was the fact that they got outscored in points off fast break opportunities: 14-4. The Aces were also the better team in terms of getting more points off their missed opportunities as they held an 11-9 edge in second-chance points.

Alaska’s Bench produced 50 Points

As mentioned above, Meralco did contain Jeron Teng but forgot about Calvin Abueva who led Alaska with 19 points on 7 for 10 shooting. Aside from that, the bench of Norman Black failed to match the intensity of the Aces’ bench troopers who combined for 50 of the Aces’ 103 points. Vic Manuel also had 19 points while coming off the bench.

Conclusion 

Norman Black is one of the league’s greatest coaches and it’s only a matter of time until he figures things out with his players. Having a 1-2 record this early doesn’t necessarily mean that Meralco is a bad team and so is Alaska. However, the Bolts need to speed their improvements soon because their schedule isn’t about to get easier. Why? the Talk N Text KaTropa are up next on the Bolts’ schedule. 

A Rocky 2017: Stories that Rocked the PBA in 2017

Ginebra’s championship run during the Governors’ Cup is just one of the many stories that happened this year (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

What a year it has been for the PBA.

In case you haven’t been updated as to what happened in the PBA during the past 12 months, well, you’ve missed a lot. From an aborted Grand Slam to a controversial trade, 2017 has been indeed a busy year for the PBA and it has been a controversial year, too.

To help you have a recap of what happened in the league, below are the stories which this pundit on wheels thinks that rocked the entire league the most:

The Standhardinger Saga

Let’s start with one of the biggest stories in local basketball scene this year. Christian Standhardinger’s name has been very much familiar with the Filipino fans owing to his stint with the Gilas Pilipinas. When he announced his intention to join the draft, it had been expected by many that he would be picked ahead of the likes of Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng.

Surprise!

First, he missed the Draft Combine. Then, the Kia Picanto traded away the rights to pick first in the draft to the San Miguel Beermen for a bunch of bench players. Many questions were shocked by Kia’s decision with some even questioning if they intend to become a competitive team in the future. Despite questions from almost every direction, Commissioner Chito Narvasa still approved the said deal. Despite the questions, there was nothing illegal in the deal, to begin with. It was a lopsided trade, yes but it’s within the rules and regulations of the league. 

The Chito Narvasa Stand-off

The deal that sent Standhardinger to the Beermen created a rippling effect to the league and among those affected was none other than the good commissioner, Chito Narvasa. Why? He approved the trade despite calls for him to veto him. That started a war between two factions: the one led by the MVP Group who wanted Narvasa out of the picture, and the one that was led by the SMC Group who stood behind Narvasa. The MVP Group managed to get 7 votes to terminate Narvasa’s contract which a vote short of the 8 votes required to remove or retain a commissioner. This war canceled the annual planning session of the PBA in the United States, creating speculations of a possible lockout. 

Then came along the opening day of the 43rd season. The board members gathered around during a press conference just a few hours prior to the opening ceremony- announcing that Chito Narvasa has tendered his resignation. Then, the board came up with a resolution, retaining Narvasa until the end of the year to allow Narvasa to help in the selection of his replacement. 

Who will replace him? We’ll have to wait until next week to know. 

Ginebra’s Back-to-Back Governors’ Cup Championships

Ginebra’s road to another Governors’ Cup championship wasn’t easy as many people initially thought. First, they had to face a Grand Slam-seeking San Miguel Beermen that was bannered anew by 4-time MVP, June Mar Fajardo in the quarterfinals. Then, the Gin Kings battled the TNT KaTropa in a controversial semifinal series. 

Then came to the Finals where they faced the Meralco Bolts- the same team they beat for the championship in 6 games last year.

After winning the first two games of the series, many people began coming up with predictions that Ginebra would sweep Meralco this time around. The Bolts fought back and forced a Game 7 at the Philippine Arena. However, LA Tenorio showed us that yes, despite playing through pain, he still has what it takes to lead his team to a championship and that’s what he did. He drained jumper after jumper in front of a 50,000+ crowd who trooped to the Philippine to witness Ginebra being crowned a champion anew. LA Tenorio finished the 42nd season of the PBA with a Finals MVP. 

Conclusion

As it is, 2017 will be remembered as both a controversial and an exciting year not just for the PBA but for the basketball scene in general. While we are still waiting for the replacement of Chito Narvasa as the PBA Commissioner, this pundit on wheels believes that 2018 will be a better year for the PBA. If anything, this year’s draft class is already loaded with talent enough to shock the league next year. 

RDO’s Effectiveness: Shall He Stay with the Bolts or be Back on TNT?

Yes, Meralco Bolts reached the finals when RDO came. But was he a factor for the Bolts to reach this far? Or was he just a dormant? An ampereless player?

Before Ranidel De Ocampo came to Meralco, we all know that he is a former Katropa of TNT and is a key player of that team. Both of these teams are undeniably one of the strongest teams in the present league but with this switch, questions started to arise, where is RDO more effective? Where does his playing style belong?

Before we could answer that question, we must first familiarize ourselves with the RDO play.

What kind of player is he?

A shooting power forward. Ranidel has the size and the accuracy. He can play under the rim, post up against towering players, finish fast breaks and shoot outside efficiently.

As I have observed, of these characteristics, we can consider his outside shooting the most threatening. Why? Well, a tall player which can deliver from beyond the arc is really dangerous. It is hard to defend him individually and it gradually loosens the opponent’s interior guard.

With this playing style, the conclusion would be …

He’s much more effective with the Talk N’ Text Katropa apparently and analytically.

Apparently, because we have seen him exploding wearing the TNT Jersey. He scores high, drilling crucial baskets and perhaps making the most for the team.

Analytically, his shooting would spice up TNT ‘s outside shooters. Given that the squad had great small men like the blur, but stopping small guys in the three-point area would be easier if their all small, why not put a larger gunner outside which is also capable of matching their pace during fast breaks. RDO could keep up with Castro’s speed and would be a great finisher given his height and agility, he’ll be hard to stop.

We’ve already seen it. We’re just waiting to see it again.

Meralco Gets Boost from Free Agency

Injury problem pushed the Bolts to sign Canaleta and others

The Meralco Bolts are heading into the league’s 43rd season after losing to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in the Governors’ Cup Finals for the second consecutive year. 

While the series went to a Game 7 after Ginebra blew their chances to sweep the series, the Bolts’ latest setback against the Gin Kings raised many questions which included the question of whether the Bolts will ever have what it takes to win their first championship in franchise history.  Will the Bolts go to win a championship anytime soon or will they settle for runner-up finishes?

Head Coach Norman Black is facing an injury issue with his players, not to mention the fact that the Finals series of the closing conference went to a full 7-game series- causing some Bolt players to feel exhausted after playing extended minutes during that series. Ranidel De Ocampo for one, missed the majority of that series due to injury. RDO did sign a new contract with the Bolts but we all know that he’s no longer the same catch-and-shoot guy we all saw during the last few years. Even though he’s a stretched forward, bigger and younger guys are emerging in the PBA and the Bolts need to provide reinforcements for RDO and company if they want to continue to be a competitive team.

Recently, the Meralco Bolts inked deals with free agents Nico Salva, KG Canaleta, Mac Baracael and Jason Ballesteros – all frontline players- to provide the needed reinforcements especially with Cliff Hodge and Reynel Hugnatan taking extended resting periods. This decision by Norman Black to rest his stars will enable the new guys to have bigger playing minutes starting in the upcoming Philippine Cup which starts on December 17.

KG Canaleta, for one, has been around in the league and has an established reputation as a scorer and a good defender too- something that the Bolts sorely needed. Nico Salva is reunited with his college coach so it’s expected that he’ll be playing more for Meralco. Both Mac Baracael and Jason Ballesteros can beef up the defensive strength of the Bolts owing to their brute size.

Conclusion

Canaleta et al will definitely provide more firepower for the Bolts. Now, whether or not these signings by the Bolts will give Meralco its first-ever championship is something that nobody can ever predict because, at the end of the day, one’s consistency will dictate how far one can go, right? 

Balls-Eye: Will the Bolts Find Their Way to the Championship this Season?

1st Finals Appearance: Beaten by Ginebra on Game 6
2nd Final Appearance: Loss to Ginebra on Game 7

The Bolts moved one game closer to the championship, being able to survive game number 6 that brought them to despair two seasons ago against the People’s Champ and Defending Champ Barangay Ginebra. With this seemingly sprouting improvement, will they be able to bag the ever delighted title?

Who knows? No one has the knowledge that would bring us to certainty but here are some good points that will help us predict Meralco’s possible fate this year.

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1 – Ginebra’s a lot weaker without Brownlee

The Gin Kings were able to bag their recent championships with a huge help of their ever trusted import Justin Brownlee. It is safe to say that they couldn’t have made it happen without this guy who shot a miraculous trey on game 6 for their 1st title and played huge all throughout the finals series up to the thrilling do or die game 7. But without Justin, which is Ginebra’s edge against other teams in the league. 

The defending Champs is a whole lot different team. The big line up makes them a lot slower and besides, the team winning championships in an importless cup with the present line up can barely be remembered.

But does this mean the Bolts can finally dethrone their Rival?

2 – So as the Bolts

If Ginebra is weaker with an all Filipino lineup, so as the Bolts with the same fact as Ginebra, not reaching the finals without the two tine best import Allen Durham. Durham is relentless offensively, much better than Brownlee’s scoring especially on the inside. Ginebra’s big men could match his size but not his quickness and skills so Durham is the conqueror of the shaded area.

Without Durham, the dominance of the Twin Towers Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar will prevail plus a backup support of the rebounding point guard Scottie Thompson.

But what if Bolts are a lot stronger than Brgy. Ginebra is in an all Filipino match up?

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3 – Ginebra isn’t Bolts’ only opponent

In fact, the biggest and most powerful team in the all Filipino league can be the San Miguel Beermen led by the 4 time MVP ‘The Kraken’ June Mar Fajardo and their ferocious outside gunners, Lassiter, Ross, and Cabagnot. Not to mention but the addition of Christian Standhardinger is but huge. It will be like facing a bit smaller version of the Kraken.

Conclusion

Bolts’ lineup is getting old and reinforcement of new legs is their necessity to win championships. Chris Newsome shall step up huge and play the point guard position effectively. Hodge must dominate the boards. Taking down the weaker Brgy Ginebra won’t be enough to win them championships.

Prediction

If Meralco Bolts can show that they have kept up against the San Miguel Beermen, they will make it to the finals once again, the rest is up to be predicted once they are on the final stage.

Ranidel de Ocampo Signs a New Contract with Meralco Bolts

It looks like RDO will continue to play for the Meralco Bolts

Photo courtesy of Charlie Dy’s Facebook Account

The 35-year-old forward from Tanza, Cavite will have a couple of years more in the PBA as he signs what looks like a 2-year deal with the team who acquired him last season via trade, the Meralco Bolts. 

Facebook post of CEO of Virtual Playground Co. Charlie Dy reads

RDO @teamrdo still “bolting-in” with @meralcoboltsofficial @paolotrillo #PBA #2Years #MeralcoBolts#VirtualPlayground #Basketball #Family

Ranidel De Ocampo was the 4th overall pick in 2004 by the FedEx Express. He played for four years with the team who drafted him until he got traded to Talk n Text for Don Allado. From 2008 to 2017 he became one of the staples of Talk n Text and was instrumental to the team championship runs. He has compiled a total of 6 championships with 2 finals MVP  during his years with  TNT.

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Now with Meralco Bolts, he will get another chance to play major minutes as the Bolts do not have the luxury of height in his position.  Aside from Bryan Facundo who stands at an identical 6ft 6 inch with Ranidel, there is no one else on the Bolts roster that is taller than them, not even the centers.

A Wheeler’s Opinion: Both Meralco and GlobalPort are Winners if Terrence Romeo Trade Happened

Just imagine if the Bolts have Terrence Romeo against Ginebra during the Governors’ Cup Finals

Terrence Romeo wants to join a winning team.

Terrence Romeo has emerged as one of the league’s elite scorers since coming into the league back in 2013. Through his 5 years in the PBA, Romeo has received the following awards and recognitions:

• 2015 PBA Most Improved Player
• 3 times PBA All-Star
• 2-time PBA All-Star Game MVP
• 2-time PBA All-Star 3-Point Shootout Champion
• Member of the 2016 PBA First Mythical Team
• Member of the 2015 PBA Second Mythical Team
• Member of the 2014 PBA All-Rookie Team
• 3-time PBA Scoring Champion

However, one thing is still missing in the Terrence Romeo’s list of achievements: winning a PBA championship. 

No wonder why he requested to be traded during this season’s Commissioner’s Cup as rumor has it. And we cannot blame Romeo’s frustration towards GlobalPort’s lack of success. 

Why? In 5 years that they had Romeo on board, they were in the quarterfinals, 7 times, only making it to the semifinals, once. Despite numerous coaching changes, trades and other possible changes, nothing seems to have worked for the Batang Pier as they are still yet to reach the PBA Finals despite having one of the most exciting backcourt duos in Romeo and Stanley Pringle. 

Over the past few days, rumors of past attempts to trade Romeo has been raining down the social media and various sports website. Apparently, the Batang Pier first offered Terrence Romeo to the Talk N Text KaTropa for Moala Tautuaa- a deal which the KaTropa immediately turned down owing to the fact that they intended to develop Tautuaa into a stronger force, especially in the post. 

Next, it was reported that GlobalPort offered their superstar guard to the Meralco Bolts in exchange for a much heavier package: the backcourt duo of Chris Newsome and Baser Amer. But Bolts Coach Norman Black didn’t to part ways with Newsome so, nah. 

However, this trade would have worked for both sides especially for the Bolts had Romeo suited up for them during the Governors’ Cup Finals against the eventual back-to-back champions, Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. 

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2 for 1 Trade: It would have worked both ways

Assuming that there would be no chemistry issue, Terrence Romeo would have easily blended with the Bolts and would have provided Allen Durham a more consistent scoring reinforcement- something that they sorely needed in their 7-game series against the Gin Kings.

Sure, it’s heavy for Norman Black to let go of Newsome but had the deal went through, there’s a high possibility that the Bolts would have won the Governors’ Cup trophy. Mind you, folks, Terrence ended the 2016-2017 season by averaging 23 points per game. 

On the other side of the fence, the Batang Pier would have received a dynamic duo in Amer and Newsome. That deal would have allowed GlobalPort to establish a young but promising trio of Amer, Newsome and Stanley Pringle. Sure,  nobody can replace Terrence Romeo’s numbers but we all know that both Amer and Newsome are both capable players who can score both inside and from the three-point line.

Conclusion

Terrence Romeo is still on the trading block as rumor has it. And wherever Romeo will land come the 43rd season of the PBA, he will continue to dazzle around. He will continue to find ways to score and most importantly, Terrence Romeo will find more ways to win and it includes winning his first PBA championship. 

Who knows? We might be able to see him in a Ginebra jersey.

After all, the reason why he’s wearing #7 is that Robert Jaworksi was his father’s idol. 

54,000+ Witness Game 7 as Ginebra Wins it All, Finally

And they survived a furious 4th comeback from the Bolts

LA Tenorio may be playing with a problematic arm but that didnt stop him from hitting 5 threes in Game 7. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

After six games, no championship trophy was hoisted into the air. Yet.
After six games, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings couldn’t use their size advantage to the fullest.
After six games, the Meralco Bolts couldn’t hit their target. Consistently.
After six games, the series is still tied at 3-3 and that’s why we’re heading to a Game 7 so they can finally decide who will take home the PBA Governors’ Cup championship.

Ginebra Imposed Early Dominance

The defending champions started Game 7 with a 5-0 scoring blast as Meralco found it difficult to find the basket as the latter went scoreless until Allen Durham scored on a pair of charities 2 minutes into the game as he later added a lay-up to make it 7-4, in favor of the Gin Kings. Ginebra’s lead never reached beyond 5 points during the first 6 minutes of the opening quarter as Meralco was able to slice it down to 1, at 12-11. Compared to Game 6 when they were shooting miserably from deep, Ginebra already have 3 three-pointers made during that span- 2 from LA Tenorio.

Turnovers have began to hit the Bolts’ offense as evident by Baser Amer who have the ball tipped by Scottie Thompson  as the latter dished the ball to Japeth Aguilar for an easy lay-up to make 21-14, with under 3 minutes to play in the 1st quarter as Ginebra ended the first quarter on top, 27-19 with LA Tenorio leading the way for the Gin Kings.

Ginebra continued with their efforts to break the game wide open as LA Tenorio later hit another long bomb and Scottie Thompson added another lay-up to give their team, a 9-point advantage, 4 minutes into the second quarter as Norman Black called a timeout. Mark Caguioa scored on a floater and Justin Brownlee added another inside to make it 42-29 as the Bolts struggled to get anything on their offense. Ginebra’s lead later ballooned to 19 as Caguioa and Greg Slaughter took turns in scoring on the inside which led to another Meralco timeout with under 4 minutes to go before intermission. The champs held a huge 52-37 lead into the break as Meralco acted as if they needed a halftime filled with rants from Norman Black because their offense in the first half was a mess, really.

The Halftime Numbers

Tiyente LA Tenorio had 13 points while Justin Brownlee added 11 points and 4 rebounds. Offense-wise, Ginebra was the dominant team as evident by their 58% field goal shooting in the first half, including a whopping 65% shooting in the 2-point area. They also prevented the Bolts on the break, limiting Meralco to 0 FASTBREAK POINTS while Ginebra 6 points off fastbreak opportunities.

Surprisingly, Jared Dillinger had 11 points after the first two quarters for Meralco while Cliff Hodge added  8 makers. Allen Durham was almost a non-factor for Meralco as he only managed 6 points on a horrible 1 of 6 shooting while playing for 24 minutes, so far. Meralco’s inability to score consistently in the first half was what doomed them in the first place as they only made 35% of their shot attempts. Lots of clanks. Indeed.

Meralco’s Struggles Continued

After Meralco sliced the lead to just 12 points during the opening minutes of the second half, Ginebra unleased an offensive outburst to re-establish a 20-point lead with under 10 minutes to play- a lead sliced down anew to 17 after Allen Durham completed a three-point play. However, shooting slump hurt Meralco during the early goings. To make things worse, Jared Dillinger was called for a “deliberate” foul after a hard foul on Japeh Aguilar with under 4 minutes left. Despite Allen Durham’s commendable effort who produced 12 points in the 3rd quart alone, Meralco failed to contain LA Tenorio who already had 23 points after 3 quarters as Ginebra walked with an 81-64 leading into the final quarter. 

Meralco began the 4th quarter by cutting the lead to 12 anew thanks to Garvo Lanete’s trey which forced Tim Cone to call a timeout with barely 2 minutes into the quarter. But Justin Brownlee scored 5 consecutive points for the Gin Kings to quickly regain control and put his team up, at 86-69. Ginebra’s lead never reached below 11 points the rest of the first 7 minutes of the 4th quarter as every time Meralco attempted to cut the deficit, Ginebra instantly answered right back with an outburst of their own to keep the Bolts at bay. 

That was until Anjo Caram scored on a lay-up to bring Meralco within 9 points for the first time in a LONG time. However, for Meralco, Joe Devance made it 100-89  on a lay-up with under 2 minutes as time was already on the side of the Gin Kings. Chirs Newsome decreased the deficit down to 7 on a lay-up while he was fouled but missed the bonus charity as Allen Durham grabbed 2 offensive rebounds during the final minute and dished an assist to Jared Dillinger who in turn, drained a three-pointer to make it 100-95 with 40 ticks on the clock. Utilizing their height advantage, Japeth Aguilar was able to grab an important offensive rebound as LA Tenorio made 1 of 2 free throws to make it, 101-96 with 22 seconds left as Norman Black used up his final timeout of the ballgame. 

The Numbers that Mattered in the End

LA Tenorio led Ginebra with 26 points while Justin Brownlee added 23 points and 8 rebounds. Scottie Thompson chipped 14 points and 9 rebounds- leading the Gin Kings in rebounds in this victory. As expected, it was defense that won the title for Ginebra as they limited Meralco to only 41% field goal shooting throughout Game 7. 

Allen Durham’s 26 points and 24 rebounds were all for naught as Meralco, for the second consecutive time, against the same team, failed to win it all. Jared Dillinger’s 20 points came way too late and so were Cliff Hodge’s 14 points. Despite their 52-43 advantage in the rebounding battle, Meralco missed 7 of their 23 attempts from the free throw line. SAYANG, isn’t it? 

Scores:

Ginebra
Tenorio 26, Brownlee 23, Thompson 14, Slaughter 12, J. Aguilar 10, Devance 10, Caguioa 4, Ferrer 2

Meralco
Durham 26, Dillinger 20, Hodge 14, Newsome 11, Caram 9, Hugnatan 7, Amer 6, Lanete 3

Quarter scoring

27-19, 52-36, 81-64, 101-96

By the Numbers: 3 Reasons Why There will be a Game 7

Ginebra faltered. And Meralco pounded on

Jared Dillinger had 9 points in Game 6- his highest in the series.

No balloon fell. No confetti rained down. No mob ran to the floor to celebrate as the final buzzer sounded. And most importantly, no championship trophy was hoisted last night thanks to the Meralco Bolts’ 98-91 Game 6 victory over the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. As a result, both teams will face each other, for the last time, in tomorrow’s Game 7 and we can expect that the 53,000+ number of fans that watched last night to be broken, again. 

Why? 

Friday. Philippine Arena. Game 7. Ginebra. Championship. You name it.

The Gin Kings faltered during the early goings of Game 6 and in fact, Game 6 saw Tim Cone’s boys failing to take the lead all game long and three reasons were to be blamed why Ginebra is preparing for a Game 7 instead of partying with their fans:

Reynel Hugnatan: The Old Man’s Still Shooting

Back in Game 3 when Ginebra was on a verge of taking a 3-0 series lead, one of the oldest men from either side, Reynel Hugnatan exploded for 22 points while making it rain from deep, dropping 7 long-range jumpers. That’s 7 threes, folks.

Last night, just when Ginebra thought they could finally celebrate, Reynel Hugnatan was sent into the court just a few minutes after tip-off and drained his first trey of the night just a few possession after checking in. 

By the end of the night, the oldie but definitely still goodie Hugnatan totaled  24 points which were built on 6 THREES– including the last one with 16 seconds left in the game to stretch Meralco’s lead to 10, for the last time. Aside from that, Grandpa Reynel also had 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while playing for 37 minutes. No wonder why Norman Black trusts him especially with Ranidel De Ocampo out.

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Ginebra was Out-REBOUNDED

Rebounds. Rebounds. Rebounds. This is one statistics that the Gin Kings should have been dominating to begin but what happened in Game 6 was quite the opposite. Even though they were shooting better from the 2-point territory, Ginebra found themselves lagging behind in the rebounding department as Meralco got 51 rebounds as compared to Ginebra’s 41. 

What was more surprising is that the smaller Bolts actually got 22 offensive rebounds while the giant Gin Kings only managed to grab 12 offensive boards. Allen Durham grabbed 19 boards- 7 from the offensive end. Even Chris Newsome had 5 offensive rebounds. The result: 16 second-chance points for the Bolts. 

Ginebra’s Bad Habit: Turnovers 

18 turnovers in Game 6- converted by Meralco to 25 BIG points on the other end plus 12 fastbreak points. In any basketball game, more so a championship game, the higher your number of turnovers are, the higher the probability that you would lose the game. And Ginebra was uncharacteristically bad in terms of taking care of the orange whenever they had. 

Sure, they came within 4 points late in the 4th quarter but their consistent habit of turning the ball over was one of the primary reasons why they lost the game in the first place. The starters of Tim Cone alone, combined for 13 of those 18 mistakes and for any team who is hoping to clinch the title, it’s a horrible number of turnovers. Really.

Conclusion

Whether or not Reynel Hugnatan will torch the Gin Kings tomorrow, it’s up to Ginebra. Whether or not the Gin Kings will regain supremacy in the battle for the rebounds, it’s up to Greg Slaughter and company. Whether or not Ginebra will succumb to make silly and costly turnovers, it’s up to the Ginebra players alone. 

Ginebra is still heavily favored to win it all because if we look at them on paper, they are the more talented team. And whether or not they will use that talent and every advantage that they to win it all come tomorrow, it’s up to Ginebra. Alone.  

Hugnatan Hits 6 Threes, Durham has 28 to Force a Game 7

Meralco led all game along and held on in the 4th

Chris Newsome and the Bolts defied the odds to force a Game 7.

One team is hoping to celebrate their second consecutive Governors’ Cup championship by the end of the night while one team is hoping to stay in the title hunt and extend this series to a Game 7 on Friday at the Philippine Arena. For the defending champions, win Game 6 and you get to enjoy the rest of the night. 

For the Meralco Bolts, on the other hand, provide Allen Durham with the much-needed reinforcements and they might just extend this best-of-7 Finals series to a winner-take-all match. Might.

Nope. The balloons and the confetti will have to wait until Friday as the Meralco Bolts did what they have to do to extend this series to a rubber match after they beat Ginebra, 98-91 in Game 6.

Meralco’s Locals Sparked Early On

Garvo Lanete started things off in Game 6 with a three-pointer as the Meralco Bolts raced to a 12-4 advantage after Chris Newsome scored on a fastbreak lay-up halfway through the first quarter. Around that span of time, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings were only shooting 25% from the field which explained why Tim Cone called a timeout.

After Ginebra cut the lead down to 5, at 15-10, the Bolts answered right back with their scoring run of their own to put up a 9-point lead. Another trey from Lanete gave Meralco their first taste of a double-digit advantage, at 25-14 as Ginebra mysteriously struggled to get anything going on offense. Meralco held a 29-17 after the first 12 minutes of action as Lanete already have 8 points under his name as he nailed 2 of Meralco’s 4 threes to start the game.

Meralco’s offense vanished at the early moments of the second quarter which enabled the Gin Kings to cut down the deficit down to 6, at 29-23 as Ginebra’s defense held the Bolts scoreless for almost 3 minutes as the Bolts succumbed to commit costly turnovers. Garvo Lanete finally broke the spell of the Bolts on a teardrop and Aleen Durham added another lay-up to re-establish a nine-point cushion, at 33-24. Baser Amer later drained a trey and Durham added another inside basket as Meralco established a 14-point advantage heading into another Ginebra timeout.

5 points from Jared Dillinger plus a free throw from Amer made it 44-24 with 6 minutes to play as Ginebra was struggling terribly to put the ball into the basket as Reynel Huganatan drained another three-pointer to keep the Bolts by 17 points. Both teams walked into the halftime break with the Bolts leading, 54-17.

The Digits at the Half

Allen Durham, as expected led the way for the players of Norman Black with 13 points and 11 rebounds but this time, he had more reinforcements as Reynel Hugnatan had 11 points off the bench while Lanete added 10 as a starter. Three-point shooting has been the key for Meralco as it was evident in the first half of Game 6 which saw  the Bols make 7 of their 16 shots from outside

For Ginebra, Justin Brownlee matched Durham’s numbers with 13 points on his own but no one else followed through for the Gin Kings as Greg Slaughter had 8 points while LA Tenorio scored 6 points on 3 of 9 field goal shooting. Almost everything went terribly wrong for the champs, at least in the first half of Game 6 as Ginebra failed to match the intensity of Meralco as evident in their points scored on fastbreak opportunities, an area where Tim Cone’s boys only scored 2 points while allowing Meralco to score 12 points on the break.

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Ginebra’s Climb

From the highest of 17 points during the halftime break, Ginebra relied on Justin Brownlee as the Gin Gin Kings went on a scoring burst to cut the deficit down to 13 points, at 61-48 with under 8 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. After a Meralco timeout, Greg Slaughter unleashed a personal 4-0 run as part of Ginebra’s 9-0 run cut down the lead down to a single digit for the first time since the first half as Garvo Lanete scored on the inside for a rare Meralco basket. 

Later, Scottie Thompson drained a trey as both teams reached the halfway mark of the third quarter. Garvo Lanete scored on another three-pointer to make it a double-digit lead for the Bolts as Gnebra called a timeout with under 5 minutes to play. Ginebra managed to keep the deficit down to single digit the rest of the way as they entered the final quarter just down 6 points, 75-69. 

Meralco Regained its  Rthym 

Right after Ginebra cut down the deficit to 6 points anew, Meralco regained control as Allen Durham went to work to open the 4th quarter and Reynel Hugnatan drained another three-pointer to give Mealco, a 13-point lead at 85-72with 8:08 remaining in the 4th quarter.

Ginebra’s back-to-back threes off a timeout brought the deficit to a single digit, again but Cliff Hodge on a highly-contested lay-up as Chris Newsome added a free throw for an 11-point advantage with the 4th quarter already halfway done. 

One Last Push for Ginebra (?)

Ginebra’s slowly began to click as LA Tenorio’s trey with under 6 minutes left in the game brought his team within 6 points, at 88-82 prompting Norman Black to call another timeout. Moments later, Mark “The Spark” Caguioa drained a turnaround jumper to bring Ginebra within 4 points, at 90-86- the closest the Gin Kings came within all game along. But that indeed was the closest Ginebra came within as Meralco scored on a free throw plus a putback from Allen Durham to put the Bolts up 7 with under 2 minutes play. Then, Allen Durham scored on the inside with 40 seconds left on the clock and to lock up a Game 7 on Friday, Reynel Huganatn drained his 6th three-pointer of the game with 16 seconds left. 

The Digits that Mattered

Allen Durham scored 28 points and grabbed 19 rebounds while playing for 48 MINUTES. The good news was, he had help this time around as Reynel Hugantan scored 24 points which were built on six of 12 shooting from long distance. Garvo Lanete 15 points while Chris Newsome added 10 points and 11 boards. What were the keys for Meralco? 51-41 rebounding edge plus 42% shooting from long distance.

Justin Brownlee led the Gin Kings with 23 points and 9 boards while Greg Slaughter added 18 points in his second consecutive game as a starter in this series. LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson each scored 12 points but Ginebra only got 16 points from its bench players. 

Scores:

MERALCO – 98

Durham 28, Hugnatan 24, Lanete 15, Newsome 10, Dillinger 9, Hodge 6, Amer 6, Caram 0.

GINEBRA – 91

Brownlee 23, Slaughter 18, Tenorio 12, Thompson 12, Devance 11, J. Aguilar 6, Caguioa 6, Ferrer 3, Taha 0.

Quarter scoring:

29-17, 54-37, 75-69, 98-91

Back to Basics: 3 Things Ginebra Must Do Tonight to Win it All

Failure to do these things might force a Game 7. Might

With Sol Mercado out, the rest of the Ginebra guards must step up in Game 6. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

After a convincing outing from LA Tenorio who was held scoreless in Game 4, after Greg Slaughter started for the first time in the series and scored 17 points in their Game 5 victory at the Philippine Arena which was witnessed by more than 34,000 fans, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, the defending Governors’ Cup champions, can clinch the title with a win tonight in Game 6 at the Philippine Arena. 

The only question is: Can the Gin Kings pull it out and celebrate tonight? It’s up to the Gin Kings themselves. But one thing is certain: the Meralco Bolts will rely on Allen Durham anew to carry the majority of the Bolts’ scoring load come tonight’s Game 6.

Now, we all know that the Bolts can definitely force a Game 7 on Friday IF they can hit their target, especially from rainbow country. If you’re Ginebra, wouldn’t it better if you can celebrate tonight rather than go home and prepare yourselves for a slugfest on Friday? Should the Gin Kings do the things below, there won’t be a Game 7 to worry about:

Limit Allen Durham’s Output

Okay. This is easier said than done for any team who is playing against the Meralco Bolts. Keep in mind, folks, Allen Durham is a two-time Best Import awardee and his numbers don’t lie either. In their Game 5 defeat, Durham scored 27 points, leading all scorers from both teams, on 52% field goal shooting. He also had 19 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks If anything, the Gin Kings should be wary of Durham’s capability to unleash a scoring onslaught especially now that the Bolts’ season is on the line. 

What to do? 

Tim Cone should put his best defenders on Allen Durham. Throw in double teams whenever Durham is in the post. Frustrate him and you take away Meralco’s power source. Whoever Tim Cone will be sending in to guard Durham will have his hands full. Now, who among the giants of Ginebra can defend the smaller Durham? 

Answer: All of them. Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Justin Brownlee and yes, even Joe Devance can make life miserable for Allen Dirham especially on the offensive end primarily because of the formers’ height advantage.

The Guards Must Step Up

With Sol Mercado out indefinitely due to the injury that he sustained back in the closing seconds of Game 4 which was won by the Bolts, the play setting duty falls to the hands of Tineyte, LA Tenorio who played for 40 minutes in Game 5 and scored 17 points. Earlier this week, Tenorio indicated that he doesn’t mind playing for 48 MINUTES if the need arises but, he doesn’t have to do that, right? 

What to do?

Scottie Thompson MUST step out of his shooting slump and take parts of the defensive pressure away from Tenorio because in case you’ve forgotten, Tenorio is already playing with a problematic arm so the last thing you will need is Tenorio aggravating that arm injury due to the fact hat the rest of the Ginebra guards are struggling to pick up the pace. 

Tim Cone may even opt to allow Jay Jay Helterbrand play for longer minutes because whether we like it or not, Helterbrand can still contribute as we saw in last year’s Game 6 of the Governors’ Cup Finals. 

And, what a better way to clinch a title than with Helterbrand teaming up with old pal, Mark Caguioa, on the floor, for one final time, for possibly their final championship run, together? Fans will definitely go nuts if the old Fast and the Furious duo takes the court for one final ride.

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Shut Down Meralco Early On

Let’s make this simple, folks. Bury the Bolts during the early goings of the game and don’t allow Durham and company to turn the tide in their favor. In Game 1, Ginebra finished the first quarter with an 11-point lead and then outscored Meralco, 25-16 in the fourth quarter which enabled the Gin Kings to win the game. If Ginebra can do that again tonight, then the party starts right after the final buzzer.

Conclusion

Ginebra has been in the same situation last year when they were one-win away from the title. If they do the things above, they won’t be needing a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Justin Brownlee to take it all. 

Why Barangay Ginebra Will Be the Champion Tonight!

Kudos to Meralco But this Trophy Belongs to Ginebra

The headline after game 6, if  Meralco Bolts Starters fail to contribute as Norman Black hoped for.

Before we get started, take your cellphone flashlights up and let’s walk down the memory lane to last year’s Ginebra championship run against the same team they are facing today.

If history repeats itself then we better charge our cell phone batteries as we get ready for darkness because Meralco will be shut down tonight. 

As Ginebra faithfuls reminisce the memory of last year’s fateful night, it does, on the other hand, haunt the Bolts fans. Tonight, the game 6 of the 2017 PBA Governors Cup is a chance for Ginebra to defend the title and accomplish a feat that has never been done by the franchise. A back to back championship. On the flipside, Meralco is looking to extend the series and prevent history from repeating itself.

October 25, 2017, 7 pm, at the Philippine Arena, get ready for a stream of heavy traffic and basketball fun as this basketball-crazy country unite at one of the biggest arenas in the world for a possible last game of the 2017 PBA season. With the best of seven series at 3-2 in favor of Ginebra, the 55,000 capacity arena may be put to test as they try to conclude the series today.

We talked about a lot of stats in our previous articles but today we will give you our analysis mostly based on gut feeling and observation. We know we are taking a risk on this but we equally love to get those hate messages.

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Why Ginebra will win today?

I personally think Ginebra will secure the win today! I know that Tim Cone and his crew are treating game 6 as a do or die game much like how Meralco will be playing tonight, the only difference is Ginebra has been really the better team in the series even during their losses. Even at the time Meralco last won in the series, Ginebra was shooting better. 

While Meralco’s got a number of talents on their roster, it isn’t exactly working as Norman Black hoped for especially in the last game when none of the starters of the team were able to produce double-digit scoring contribution. Ginebra, on the other hand, has been enjoying the benefits of having a deep and tall line up that steps up when it’s number is called. Take for example Greg Slaughter stepping up for Japeth Aguilar, Mark Caguiao providing a spark, so on and so forth.

Tim Cone also looked like he is ready to die for a championship as he emphatically shows appreciation and frustrations to players on the sideline. In the last game, Tim Cone was seen throwing a chair during the huddle as if to show his dismay and at the same time his desire to not let go of the situation.

Lastly, we know Ginebra will be banking on the crowd support that’s evidently always there for them. A win tonight will be a win for the majority of basketball fans in the Philippines.

How can  Meralco extend the series?

While I think Ginebra will get it done tonight, Meralco could still come up with a jolt of power which can extend the series but it would be much tougher than their first two wins. Meralco needs to be perfect and their starters need to be consistent especially from the outside. The Bolts cannot afford any short circuits. Durham needs to continue his exemplary basketball play and the locals need to complement him. 

If their outside shooting clicks for Meralco tonight, then they may have a chance of extending the series to a game 7, otherwise, it may already be lights out for them.

By the Numbers: Meralco’s Mess Cost them in Game 5

And Allen Durham was all alone. Again

Allen Durham had another Best Import awardee performance but wasn’t enough. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Poor, Allen Durham. He scored 27 points and grabbed 19 rebounds- 8 on the offensive end, all while playing for more than 44 minutes in last night’s Game 5 of the best-of-seven Finals series and yet, the Meralco Bolts are just one loss away from another disappointing Finals exit. We cannot blame Allen Durham alone, folks because he is the lone light that was shining for Meralco all series long. Take that lone light and the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings would have won the championship in 4 games.

Now, let’s not play the blame game and focus on the numbers alone. Why? If you were able to watch Game 5 last night, then you know how messy the rest of the Meralco Bolts, both offensively and defensively. To explain the mess  that hurt the Bolts’ chances of entering Game 6 with a chance to clinch their first-ever championship in franchise history, this basketball pundit on wheels listed down three important statistics that the Bolts clearly messed up, big time:

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50 Points in the Paint for Ginebra

If you allow a team filled with big men standing at 7 foot to score 50 points in the shaded area, you cannot expect your team to win. Yes, folks, the Bolts’ ever soft defense against the big men of the Gin Kings enabled the latter to bully their way into the paint and score 50 points in the process. Justin Brownlee and company were able to penetrate through the embarrassing defense of Meralco as they were able to score on all sorts of shots whether it’s a high-flying dunk or an acrobatic lay-up from LA Tenorio. Bad defense + bad offense= bad game overall.

33 Attempts from Rainbow Country

One of the main weapons that the Meralco could have fully utilized to their advantage is their ability to make it rain from deep. In Game 5, yes, they were able to make 9 three-pointers, 6 more than what Gineba. The problem was, Meralco heavily relied on their sharpshooters who missed 24 of the 33 attempts that the Bolts took from rainbow country. Let this basketball pundit on wheels emphasize that: Meralco attempted 33 attempts. From the three-point line. No wonder why they lost.

20 Turnovers

During the first four games of the series, it was Ginebra who was more careless with the ball every time they had the ball possession. In Game 5, it was the Meralco Bolts who were either showing their carelessness or were defended well by the Gin Kings as the former committed 20 turnovers. 5 of those 20 turnovers came from Allen Durham and we cannot blame him either for that. He was the only one consistently and diligently carrying the load for the Bolts so it’s only natural and human for him to commit mistakes especially when the Gin Kings threw two defenders at Durham. As a result of those Meralco turnovers, Ginebra was able to score 23 points off those turnovers and that was huge for the Gin Kings. 

Conclusion

Meralco will have two choices to make come Game 6 on Wednesday: clean up their mess and play like the league’s top-seeded team entering this conference’s playoffs to force a Game 7 or, create more mess and watch platoons of red-shirted fans celebrate as the balloons fall from the ceiling of the Philippine Arena, all while Ginebra hoists up the Governors’ Cup championship trophy. 

By the Numbers: Greg Slaughter Showed BPC Performance in Game 5!

Greg Slaughter Monster Performance proved that he’s worthy of the BPC award

This giant from Cebu is the primary reason why Ginebra is one win away from the title. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Sure, Justin Brownlee had another all-around performance with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals plus a block. 

Sure, Lewis Alfred Tenorio came alive after being held scoreless in Game 4 and scored 17 points in Game 5. 

But if there’s one specific player in Tim Cone’s rotation who stood up the tallest, both literally and figuratively, it’s their 7 footer center, Greg Slaughter. 

As mentioned by this basketball pundit on wheels during the first few games of this exciting best-of-7 Finals rematch, the success of the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings will depend on how Greg Slaughter plays. Why? He wasn’t around when both the Gin Kings and the Meralco Bolts met each other in last year’s PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, a series which was won by Ginebra in 6 games, on Brownlee’s heart slashing three-pointer at the buzzer.

Just a few hours after receiving his Best Player of the Conference award right before tip-off of Game 4, Greg Slaughter for 19 minutes, scored 6 points, missed 3 of his 5 shot attempts, only grabbed 5 rebounds and failed to block even a single shot. That’s not how one supposed to play after being named as the Best Player of the Conference. Absolutely unacceptable especially after Ginebra dropped a close 85-83 defeat at the hands of the Bolts.

Game 5 at the Philippine Arena came along last night. And came with it was Greg Slaughter’s dominant self. How dominant was Gregzilla last night? Below are his numbers:

17 Points: A Proof of Offensive Strength

In the first 4 games of the series, Greg Slaughter was only averaging 8 points per games with 14 points in the series opener being his highest point production. Then came along Game 5. Slaughter played for 33 minutes and just literally slaughtered the smaller Bolts with his 17 points even though he only made 5 of his 19 attempts. He made that up by making 7 of his 9 attempts from the free throw line. If Greg Slaughter is scoring this high again come Game 6 on Wednesday, it should be more than enough to help the defending champions to clinch their second consecutive Governors’ Cup title.

16 Rebounds: A Show of Height Advantage

One of the many advantages Ginebra is holding against the Bolts is their sheer height advantage and Greg Slaughter made sure that Meralco wished they had taller guys. In last night’s victory, the gentle giant from Cebu grabbed 16 rebounds, 5 of them came from the offensive end. Those 5  offensive boards, part of the 19 offensive rebounds that Ginebra had in the entire game, played a crucial role as the Gin Kings were able to score 23 points from those offensive rebounds. See? Height is might indeed especially if you know how to utilize that advantage.

6 Blocks: A Clear Sign of Defensive Might

In case you’ve still been wondering why Meralco opted to shoot from outside despite the fact that their shooters weren’t hitting the target during the entire series, it goes back to their height disadvantage as every time Allen Durham and company were trying to attack the paint, the giants of Ginebra were there to challenge and block the former’s way to the basket. As a result of that, the Gin Kings had 9 blocks at the end of Game 5, 6 of those came from Greg Slaughter. 

Now how do you avoid being blocked by Greg Slaughter? The painful answer to that is, you don’t. You just work around it unless you can create unblockable shots like you’re Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson. If Meralco wants to score, they should shoot as if they are Ray Allen, Stephen Curry or even Klay Thompson who can shoot and make threes even in their sleep. They can always try to attack but we all know that hasn’t worked for them, right? Not if the gentle giant, Gregzilla is standing right in the middle, waiting for you to take your next move.

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Conclusion

Le’s this simple, folks. Should Greg Slaughter dominate again in Game 6, then the championship is for Ginebra all to take come Wednesday. Why? Simple: The Bolts have no one tall enough to challenge Slaughter and prevent him from slaughtering them anew. The least Norman Black’s boys can do is to put him in difficult situations. Do that and we might have a Game 7, at the Philippine Arena. Might.

Ginebra Blows an 18-Point Lead, Still Wins to Move One Win Away from Title

Greg Slaughter proved why he is the Best Player of the Conference

Greg Slaughter silenced his critics with his huge double-double performance. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

There are two reasons why this best-of-7 series needed a Game 5 at the Philippine Arena. One: Ginebra won first two games. Second: they lost the next two against the smaller Bolts.

Historically speaking, whoever wins Game 5 when the series is tied at 2-2 will go on to win the championship. After Game 5, one team will go home needing to only win the next game to finally win it all.

They established an 18-point lead in the second quarter. They allowed Meralco to come back and even momentarily take the lead in the third quarter. In the end, the defending champions, Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings were able to regain control in the 4th quarter and consequently, regain the lead in the series as they won 85-74 over the Meralco Bolts, only needing one more win to clinch the championship.

Tinyente is Back!

The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings started Game 5 with a 6-0 run, 4 points from LA Tenorio who was held scoreless in Game 4.  The Meralco Bolts, like they were in the previous four games of the series, were struggling to put the ball into the basket for the first 4 minutes of the first quarter until Allen Durham made the Bolts’ first basket with a contested lay-up. The defending champs held a 6-point cushion during most of the opening quarter until Meralco started chipping away and cut down the deficit at 12-10 on Cliff Hodge’s lay-up with under 4 minutes to play, leading to a Ginebra timeout. Right after a Ginebra miss, Reynel Hugnatan drained an open three-pointer to give Meralco its first taste of the lead, something LA Tenorio did on the other end to make it 15-13 in the favor of the crowd darlings. Ginebra held onto the lead, at 21-15 to finish the first quarter. LA Tenorio exploded for 9 points after going 0 of 7 in the previous game.

Ginebra’s Second Quarter Rampage

Greg Slaughter and Mark Caguioa teamed up in the opening minutes of the second quarter to give Ginebra an 11-point lead as the Bolts settled for mostly outside shots which were missing the mark, terribly. A three-pointer from Joe Devance made it 29-15 which forced a timeout from Norman Black as his team was held scoreless for almost 3 minutes.Chris Newsome finally broke the Bolts’ silence with a long one from deep.

Meralco Charged Back

Meralco went on a scoring run which was highlighted by an Allen Durham Dunk to trim down the champs’ lead to 11, at 35-24. Then, Garvo Lanete drained a rare long one for Meralco to bring the Bolts with 7, at 36-29 with 2:11 on the clock. Jared Dillinger hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to trim the deficit to 42-35 at the intermission

The Numbers at the Break

LA Tenorio and Greg Slaughter each had 9 points after the first two quarters for Ginebra who led despite only making 36% of their shot attempts and 20% of their shots from beyond the 3-point line was also the reason why their 18-point lead quickly evaporated.

As usual, it was Allen Durham yet again, shone the brightest for Meralco in the first with his 12 points as the Bolts only shot 31% from the field. Fortunately, it was their three-point shooting which brought them back in the game as Meralco dropped 5 long bombs of their 19 attempts.  

Meralco’s Electrifying Third Quarter

Meralco was able to sustain their shooting touch to open the second half with 7 points to come within 2, 44-42 during the first 3 minutes of the third quarter, a scoring run which was highlighted by another trey from the old man Reynel Hugnatan. LA Tenorio later put things back in control for the Gin Kings as he drained another jumper plus a driving lay-up to reestablish a 9-point lead. 

The Bolts then went on an 8-0 run to come within 1, at 56-55 with under 5 minutes to play in the third. After a Japeth Aguilar dunk, Garvo Lanete added another one from long distance to tie things up at 58 apiece and Allen Durham picked up his own miss and scored to make it 60-58, in favor of the Bolts as a visibly upset Tim Cone called a timeout.The  Gin Kings still held a 66-62 lead heading into the final quarter as Allen Durham scored 11 points in the entire third quarter.

Ginebra Regained Control. For Good

Ginebra went back to work as their defense shut down Meralco while building an 8-point advantage with under 9 minutes to play. But, Meralco quickly woke up from their nap as Allen Durham and company came within 74-70 on Chris Newsome’s basket.

However, a 3-point play from Justin Brownlee and a pair of charities from Greg Slaughter put the Gin Kings up, 79-70 as Norman Black was already complaining about the calls from the officials. A Greg Slaughter basket gave a double-digit lead for the Gin  Kings as Meralco was beginning to go back to their bad habit of fading away late in the game. LA Tenorio later scored on the inside to give Ginebra a 13-point advantage heading into the final 2 minutes of the game. 

The Numbers

Justin Brownlee led the way for the Gin Kings with his 20 points and 12 rebounds but it was Greg Slaughter’s 17 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocks that made the difference for the Gin Kings. LA Tenorio also scored 17 as Ginebra won despite only making 3 of their 22 attempts from rainbow country. 

Allen Durham had 27 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Bolts as Garvo Lanete played his best game in the series, so far, to score 11 points off the bench but nobody else scored significantly for Meralco which was one of the primary reasons why they one loss away from another disappointing Final defeat. 

Scores:

Ginebra

Brownlee 20, Slaughter 17, Tenorio 17, Devance 12, J. Aguilar 8, Thompson 5, Caguioa 4, Ferrer 2.

Meralco

Durham 27, Lanete 11, Hugnatan 8, Caram 7, Hodge 6, Dillinger 6, Newsome 5, Amer 4, Tolomia 0, Faundo 0.

Quarter scoring:

21-15, 42-35, 66-62, 85-74

By the Numbers: Three Things that Went Wrong for Ginebra in Game 4

Because of these things, the series is tied at 2-2 instead of Ginebra holding a 3-1 leading heading into Game 5

For the second straight game, Ginebra failed to utilize their height advantage. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Despite another 34-point performance from Justin Brownlee, despite the fact that we got to see the Fast and the Furious in action, and despite the vociferously deafening “GI-NE-BRA!” chants by the Ginebra faithfuls that this basketball pundit on wheels endured, those things weren’t enough as the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings suffered yet another stunning 85-83 defeat at the hands of the Meralco Bolts in last night’s Game 4 which knotted the series at 2-2. 

However, we must remember that the game wasn’t won until the final buzzer when Ginebra took 4 shots right after Allen Durham made a lay-up to give the Bolts the lead. 4 shots. 4 attempts. 0 makes. 

Even Coach Tim Cone admitted that even if one of his players was able to call a timeout before the last possession, he doubted that it could affect the outcome, stating that calling a timeout will also enable Meralco to make some adjustments. So, the players made the call. Justin Brownlee attempted a floater to force an extra period and he missed. Ouch!

Justin Brownlee may have scored 34 points while making half of his 24 field goal attempts but he had 5 turnovers and had 5 personal fouls. Joe Devance broke out of his shooting slump to score 15 points but fouled out late. 

There were many things that went horribly wrong for Ginebra in Game 4 so allow this basketball pundit on wheels to list down 3 things which basically denied the Gin Kings to celebrate tomorrow at the Philippine Arena- should they win Game 5:

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4 Points Combined from Tenorio, Thompson and Mercado

One reason why the defending champions struggled and eventually lost Game 4 was the fact none of their guards were shooting and scoring well. 

Scottie Thompson scored 4 points on 2 of 5 field goal shooting. LA Tenorio, the hero of Game 2, was pointless, literally as he missed all of his 7 attempts although he did have 6 assists and a steal. Sol Mercado, who gurt hurt late in the dying moments of the game, was scoreless too. He is likely to miss tomorrow’s Game 5 which means the rest of the Ginebra guards needed to make sure that their presence will be felt offensively.

14 Missed from Deep

If anything, Game 4 a reversal of roles. Why? In the first two games of the best-of-7 series, it was the Meralco Bolts who were shooting bricks from outside. 

In Games 3 and 4, it was Ginebra who was shooting bricks. Horribly. 

In Game 4 alone, the Gin Kings have attempted 22 shots from the 3-point line and they missed a total of 14. Only Justin Brownlee (4 of 8) and Joe Devance (3 of 5) had respectable shooting performance from long distance as they were the only ones who scored in double figures in the first place.  

17 Offensive Rebounds for the Bolts

This is another one of those nagging ironies of Game 4. The entire Meralco team out-muscled the much-taller Gin Kings on the offensive boards as evident by their 17-12 advantage in that category. Allen Durham, who top-scored for Meralco with his 28 points, grabbed 18 rebounds- 7 on the offensive end. The result: the Bolts also took a 13-9 advantage on second-chance points.

Conclusion

Assuming that Ginebra did get the timeout on the last possession of Game 4, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Sure, they made 43% of their atempts last night but failed to make even one of those 4 attempts in the 40 seconds of the game. Just one make to force an overtime. A 3 to win. Unfortunately, Ginebra faltered. Ginebra missed. And, Ginebra lost. Again. 

Allen Durham Makes Crucial Basket to Lift Meralco Against Ginebra in Game 4, Series Tied 2-2

Ginebra Gin  Kings falter late. Again

Baser Amer made some crucial baskets down the stretch for the Bolts (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Just when Ginebra thought that they could sweep the series, the Bolts came out alive in Game 3. And just when the defending champions thought that they could take a commanding 3-1 series heading into Sunday’s Game 5 at the Philippine Arena, the Meralco Bolts got the job done as they held on to win a close one in Game 4, an 85-83 victory against the crowd darlings which knotted the series at 2 games apiece.

Right from the tip-off, it didn’t take long until both squads started scoring. Justin Brownlee started things off with a dunk to energize the almost all Ginebra crowd as Joe Devance provided the early reinforcements as he drained two baskets, a trey and a 2-point basket to put Ginebra up, at 7-4 but the Bolts, coming off a much-needed Game 3 victory, roared back with 6 unanswered points to take a 10-7 advantage. The rest of the opening chapter of Game 4 was an up and down roller coaster ride as both squads were trying to pull away from one another. The first quarter ended with both teams tied at 17-all.

When the second quarter came along, that’s when things began to heat up for the Bolts as their Game 3 hero, the old man Reynel Hugnatan drained 2 three-pointers in the early moments of the quarter as the rest of the Bolts slowly chipped with Chris Newsome attacking the paint, so was Allen Durham. Even Baser Amer and Anjo Caram scored on numerous occassions.

However, the Gin Kings didn’t allow Meralco to run away as they went on a scoring run which was highlighted by Justin Brownlee’s 10 points which brought the champs within 38-37 with under 2 minutes to play in the first half.  Brownlee dropped a long-distance bomb to put Ginebra up, at 40-38 with 40 seconds to play but Chris Newsome answered right back with a trey of his own to give the Bolts, a 41-40 heading into the halftime break.

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A Touch of the Fast and the Furious: The Third Quarter Comeback

Thanks to Allen Durham, Hugnatan and Newsome, the Bolts built a lead which ballooned to 13 points. With his team down after Durham made a pair of freebies, Tim Cone first sent Mark Caguioa into the game and immediately scored a 2-point shot to decrease the deficit down to 11. Then, the crowd went nuts, really nuts as Jay Jay Halterbrand checked in for the first time and all of a sudden, the famed Fast and the Furious of Caguioa and Helterbrand was back in action and it really rippled to the reaction of the crowd as the chants of “GI-NE-BRA! GI-NE-BRA!” went louder and louder. Another basket by the Spark brought down the deficit to single digit from that moment on, Justin Brownlee 4 free throws to make it 65-58 with 1:11 left in the 3rd quarter. Mark Caguioa later added another lay-up as Justin Brownlee made another 3 to bring his team within 5, at 68-63 heading into the final quarter.

Early Struggles in the 4th

Both squads were struggling to get anything going in the early goings of the final frame as Joe Devance finally scored the Gin Kings’ first three points to make it 68-66 which was answered right back with Allen Durham yet again, scoring on a jump shot. Missed shots, missed free throws, turnovers and fouls mired the first four minutes of the 4th quarter until Japeth Aguilar slammed it home to make it 70-68 off a lob from Brownlee. And finally, Jay Jay Helterbrand scored his first field goal of the series on a lay-up to tie things up at 70-all with under 8 minutes to spare.

Up and Down. Until the End

Knowing the importance of a victory in Game 4, both teams engaged on a close slugfest as the teams took turns in either taking the lead and tying the score. Both imports played essential roles for their teams as they delivered the heavy blows in the closing minutes of the game.

Then came the final two minutes which began with Japeth Aguilar slamming it home anew plus a bonus free throw off a Cliff Hodge foul to give Ginebra, an 81-78 lead which was followed by Noman Black calling an important timeout. Allen Durham then had the chance to tie the score again after scoring inside while drawing a foul but missed a free throw, again. After several misses by both teams, Durham found an open Baser Amer who in turn, drained one of the most important treys of his young career to give the lead back to the Bolts, at 83-81 with 1:18 left on the clock.  Justin Brownlee tied the game with a pair of charities but it was Allen Durham’s basket with 47 seconds that gave Meralco the lead and the WIN as Ginebra missed several opportunities to tie or even take the win- even missing the opportunity to draw out a play with under 20 ticks left with a timeout. No timeout. No play was drawn out. Missed baskets. Missed opportunities. Everything is back to zero.

The Numbers

Allen Durham, yet again, led the way for Meralco with 28 points and 18 rebounds. Chirs Newsome finally broke out of his slump to score 18 points and grab 11 rebounds. Grandpa Raynel Hugnatan contributed 14 points off the bench. Exactly like they did in Game 3, the Bolts shot better from rainbow distance in Game 4, making 8 of their 19 shots from that area. They also held a 13-9 advantage in the second-chance points. Irony, isn’t it?

For the defending champions, Justin Brownlee had 34 points while Joe Devance added 15 but nobody else followed suit and that doomed Tim Cone and the rest of the Gin Kings as they turned the ball over, 19 times, again. They were also out-rebounded, 17-12 on the offensive end- by the smaller Meralco players. Again, irony, isn’t it?

Scores:

Meralco

Durham 28, Newsome 18, Hugnatan 14, Amer 11, Hodge 7, Dillinger 2, Faundo 2, Caram 2, Lanete 1, Atkins 0, Yeo 0, Sedurifa 0, De Ocampo 0, Tolomia 0

Ginebra

Brownlee 34, Devance 15, Caguioa 8, J. Aguilar 7, Slaughter 6, Thompson 4, Cruz 4, Ferrer 3, Helterbrand 2, Tenorio 0, Mercado 0, Jamito 0, Mariano 0. R. Aguilar 0, Taha 0

Quarter scoring

17-17, 41-40, 68-63, 85-83

Back to Basics: 3 Things Ginebra MUST Do in Game 4

To avoid complications. That is.

.

Defending Allen Durham is a priority for the Gin Kings.

Like it or not, the Meralco Bolts didn’t look like the team that the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings defeated in the first two games. 

In fact, if you managed to see last night’s Game 3 which the Bolts won, of course, the Bolts weren’t clanking most of their shots especially from outside. The Bolts weren’t bullied by the giants of Ginebra. 

And most importantly, Allen Durham, the reigning and now, two-time Best Import awardee, wasn’t bothered by Justin Brownlee or any of the Ginebra big men for that matter. For one game, the Bolts were making their shots and the Gin Kings faltered in the second half.

Fortunately for Ginebra, their Game 3 loss to Meralco only did one thing: extend the best-of-7 series to a Game 5 to say the least, and if they win tomorrow’s Game 4, a win in Sunday’s Game 5 will allow fans at the Philippine Arena to celebrate Ginebra’s 2nd consecutive Governors’ Cup championship. 

That, if they win tomorrow and, on Sunday. 

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and simply focus on what the Gin Kings need to do come tomorrow’s Game 4 to avoid extension of this series:

Defense on Durham

In the first three games of the series, Allen Durham showed us why he is indeed, this year’s Best Import of the Governors’ Cup. Through 3 games, he normed 30 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. In a victorious Game 3, Durham exploded for 38 points while making half of his shot attempts. If anything, it was Durham’s marvelous performance last night proved that the defense of Ginebra on him wasn’t clicking unlike in the series opener when he scored 27 points but missed 12 shots. 

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What should Ginebra do?

Simple. Make life miserable for Durham. The Gin Kings must use their tremendous height advantage to frustrate the smaller Durham and the rest of the Meralco big men. Do that and the Bolts might just opt to shoot AND miss threes. Again. You shut down Durham and you disrupt Meralco’s offense. 

Clamp Down on Shooters

You want to know why Meralco won last night? Three-pointers. After making 13 combined threes in the first two games, Meralco dropped 11 long-distance bombs in Game 3 alone. 11 out 31 attempts, folks. 

And mind you, folks, Ranidel De Ocampo only played for 4 minutes before being taken out of the game due to an injury. It was the 7 three-point shots by the old man, Reynel Hugnatan, that proved to be the difference as Hugnatan provided the reinforcements for Durham with his 22 points off the bench, making him and Durham as the only Meralco players who scored in double figures.

What should Ginebra do?

Contest every Meralco basket regardless if it’s a two-point basket or a long one from outside. You leave one guy open. You’re gonna pay the price. You leave a shooter unguarded. He’ll find his rhythm eventually and it happened in Game 3. We all witnessed Reynel Hugnatan drain those threes as if he borrowed Jimmy Alapag’s shooting touch.

The Bench Must Produce. More.

Sure, Greg Slaughter had 12 points while making 50% of his shots in Game 3. Sure, Mark Caguioa scored 8 points on an efficient 3 of 4 field goal shooting. But the rest of the guys from Tim Cone’s bench? ZERO. Sol Mercado played for 12 minutes and Ginebra got nothing but 2 turnovers. The masked man, Kevin Ferrer also played for 12 minutes but only grabbed 5 rebounds and 2 assists. 

What should Ginebra do?

Simple. The bench players of the Gin Kings should score more and it is imperative that they do especially in situations when the Bolts are on the run and Ginebra’s starters are either resting or struggling to get anything going on the offensive end. If Tim Cone can get his bench players going, then Ginebra will become much harder to deal with. 

Conclusion

While everyone is expecting the Bolts to keep on fighting for their lives in this series, we all witnessed what happened to the opponent who handed a defeat to the Gin Kings in their previous meeting. What happened? That team lost two straight games which ended their season. 

By the Numbers: Durham, Hugnatan and the Threes that Lifted the Bolts

For one game, Meralco was able to work around their height disadvantage and won one against the giants

Allen Durham played Game 3 like the Best Import he should be.  

Just when Ginebra thought that they can sweep the series and celebrate by tomorrow night, just when Ginebra defenders thought that the Meralco Bolts would continue with their brick-shooting habit, the defending champions were proven wrong as the Bolts came out from nowhere as they regained their shooting touch, torched the Gin Kings and the result: a 94-81 victory which trimmed down the series deficit to 2-1.

Of course, this victory by the Bolts changed nothing primarily because Ginebra is still 2 wins away from clinching the championship while Meralco will need to win tomorrow’s Game 4, win Game 5 and then a victory in Game 6 will give them their first championship in franchise history.

If any of you missed last night’s game and are wondering what on Earth happened, let this basketball pundit on wheels run some numbers for you:

11 Threes Made

Since the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings are relatively filled with giant players, the alternative for the Bolts of Norman Black was to shoot from the outside and that was something they did horribly back in the first two games of this best-of-7 series. How bad was it?

Game 1

8 out of 34

Game 2 

5 out of 18

In total, the Bolts only made 13 of their whopping 52 ATTEMPTS from deep. That number changed dramatically in Game 3 where Meralco made 11 of their shots from rainbow country. 7 of those 11 made baskets came from the old man, Reynel Hugnatan. See? If the Bolts are shooting better especially from beyond the three-point line, they can beat the champs. In fact, if they can keep this kind of shooting come tomorrow, they can even dethrone Ginebra. Consistency is the key here for the Bolts especially with the fact that Ranidel De Ocampo only played sparingly but was taken out of Game 3 due to injury. Jared Dillinger needs to keep making more of those long-distance bombs instead of missing them. 

22 Points from Reynel Hugnatan- Surprise!

We all know that one of the oldest players sitting on the bench of Norman Black, Reynel Hugnatan- can make those three-pointers as if he is Jimmy Alapag. And that’s not a surprise, really. Hugnatan used to drain away those bombs during the last time both teams met in the Finals last year. His 22 points in last night’s Game 3 were built on 7 three-pointers, making 7 of his 12 attempts- a 58% 3-point shooting. If anything, the Meralco Bolts will need more from Grandpa Reynel if they seriously want to challenge the supremacy of the Gin Kings. 

38 points, 19 rebounds, 5 blocks for Allen Durham

That stat-line above is a testament that Allen Durham is indeed, deserving of his back-to-back Best Import awards. He made 50% of his 30 attempts in Game 3 and 72% of his 11 free throw attempts. And yes, Durham is one of the primary reasons why the Bolts won last night because he was the lone starter for Meralco who scored in double figures. 

Conclusion

One game doesn’t change anything- at least for the defending champions. But for the challengers to the champions, it means everything to them. For one game, the Bolts were able to take down the giants. For one game, Meralco was able to electrocute the Gin Kings with their three-pointers. For one game, Norman Black and the rest of the Bolts walked out victorious. The next step for them: do them all over again for 3 more games- starting with tomorrow’s Game 4. 

By the Numbers: 3 Electrifying Reasons Why Sweep is No More for Ginebra

And they can only blame themselves for it

LA Tenorio had 5 of Ginebra’s 19 turnovers in Game 3. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau) 

After winning the first two games of the best-of-7 finals series, a sweep was inevitable for the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. In fact, even after the defending champions dominated the series opener, there were already predictions being made by fans that the Gin Kings would sweep the series and take their second successive Governors’ Cup championship in a snap. Nope. No sweep. No celebration for the Gin Kings just yet as the Meralco Bolts found their shooting touch in time for Game 3 and beat the champs, 94-81 to extend this series to a Game 5, to say the least.

There were many things that went terribly wrong for Ginebra but let us focus on the three main reasons that doomed them in Game 3 and their chances for a sweep:

41 Heavy Minutes for Justin Brownlee

Time and again, Game 3 saw the Gin Kings tendency to rely on their import, Justin Brownlee who had to play for 41 minutes last night. 

That- despite the fact that Brownlee wasn’t shooting efficiently the entire game as he only made 7 of 20 field goals en route to finishing 15 points, his lowest in the series, so far. He also missed 3 of his 4 attempts from deep and also turned the ball over, 3 times.  

This failed Ginebra in many ways primarily because it took away the height advantage that the Gin Kings hold against the Bolts as the Twin Towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar played for 29 and 28 minutes respectively Although both giants combined for 26 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, they could have produced more had Tim Cone employed to give them more minutes. But that was Tim Cone’s call to make. 

19 Turnovers

In any game of basketball at any given league, you turn the ball over, you lose an opportunity to score and you give your opponents that opportunity to score at the other end. That was what exactly happened last night. 

The Bolts forced Ginebra to uncharacteristically commit 19 turnovers which the former converted into 14 points. LA Tenorio had 5 of those miscues. Those 19 turnovers can be looked at two different ways: either Meralco was defending well or, the Gin Kings were occasionally careless every time they had the possession of the orange. Either way, turnovers hurt them in Game 3 and will hurt them tomorrow if they control their turnover number.

10 Offensive Rebounds

One evidence that the Gin Kings failed to take advantage of their height advantage in Game 3: they weren’t aggressive in getting those offensive rebounds as they only managed to grab 10 rebounds on the offensive end. The Bolts, smaller team, grabbed 17 offensive boards. The only plus point in this was that Ginebra was the more aggressive team in terms of scoring more on those second chances as evident by their 13-7 advantage in second-chance points. 

Conclusion

Make no mistake, folks. The Gin Kings are expected to go all-out come tomorrow’s Game 4 and when that happens, the Bolts can only pray that their threes will hit their target because if not, then the balloon and the confetti will fall upon the fans come Game 5 at the Philippine Arena- assuming that Ginebra goes on to win Game 5, too. 

Hugnatan’s 7 Threes, Durham’s 38 Points Lift Bolts in Game 3

Meralco prevents getting swept after Hugnatan provided the needed voltage from outside

Reynel Hugnatan shot 58% from beyond the arc in Game 3. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

With the title almost upon their reach, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings need two things: make sure that they win Game and secondly, not just win Game 3 but, dominate it to the point that it will make the Meralco Bolts desperate. 

For the Bolts on the other side, winning Game 3 is the first step towards keeping their championship aspirations alive. The next step? Well, keep on winning the next 3 games and the championship is their- that if they are able to stop shooting bricks and start hitting their target: the basket.

Just when the defending champions thought they could finally celebrate on Friday,  they were terribly wrong as Allen Durham AND Reynel Hugnatan sparked the Bolts after Meralco scored a 94-81 Game 3 win that put the Bolts back into the series, only trailing 2-1 heading into Friday’s Game 4.

Meralco Faltered and Recovered. 

Both teams started out flat during the first three minutes of Game 3 but once Scottie Thompson hit his first field goal, the Gin Kings held the Bolts to only 3 points in the first 4 minutes of the first quarter as Meralco fell 8-3 which was the reason why Norman Black called a timeout. Desperate to get anything going, the Bolts went to attack the paint only to be blocked by Ginebra defenders. Meralco was able to score a few possessions later but they couldn’t attack the shaded nor shoot from the outside as Japeth Aguilar’s inside basket gave Gin Kings, a 14-5 edge with under 5 minutes to go. 

Back to back treys from Reynel Hunatan and Anjo Caram brought the Bolts within 3, at 14-11. The Gin Kings answered right back with a three of their own but Hugnatan took it back with another trey of his own. Caram added another long-distance bomb to make it 19-18 with under 2 to play in the first quarter. He made a free throw to tie the score at 19-all. Both teams tied at 21 apiece after the first minutes of action as the duo of Hugnatan and Caram along with Allen Durham kept the Bolts within striking distance.

Meralco went back into it: Shooting Bricks

Greg Slaughter has already outscored himself in Game 2 when he scored 4 points during the opening moments of the second quarter as Justin Brownlee drained one from deep to make it 27-23. But Meralco roared back into it as Garvo Lanete’s lay-up gave the Bolts the lead, at 28-27 which was followed by Tim Cone calling a timeout. However, right after the champs regained the lead, the Bolts went back to their bad habits: shooting bricks especially from beyond the three-point land, an area where the Bolts made 4 of 8 attempts back in the first quarter. That Meralco slump enabled Ginebra to re-established a 7-point advantage with 5:50 left before intermission. 

Despite that, the Bolts were able to get themselves back within striking distance after they went on a scoring which was highlighted by a Hugnatan trey which made it 44-42 approaching the closing minutes of the first half as Ginebra carried a 47-46 lead into the break. 

Numbers at the Half

After scoring just 3 points in the previous game, Greg Slaughter already had 9 points after the first two quarters to lead the defending champions. His other half of Ginebra’s Twin Towers, Japeth Aguilar also had 9 at halftime while import Justin Brownlee added 8 points. Thanks to their height advantage, the Gin Kings were able to take advantage of their offensive boards which in turn, they converted to 9-second-chance points. They also held a 7-5 advantage in points scored off turnovers. 

Allen Durham meanwhile scored 15 first-half points to lead all scorers to go along with his 10 rebounds but it was the 12 points of Reynel Hugnatan which allowed the Bolts stick around. Both teams had a very contrasting performance in the 3-point line as the Bolts scored 6 of 18 from outside which was a far cry to Ginebra’s 2 of 12 from that area. 

Third Quarter: A Roller Coaster Ride

The first 3 minutes of the second half was an up and down battle both teams as the lead switched hands twice before LA Tenorio made 52-48 with a 3-point shot although he was called for a traveling violation on the next Ginebra possession. Inconsistency went back to hurt Meralco as they fell behind by 6 points during the next minutes until LA  Tenorio’s fastbreak lay-up made it 60-52 approaching the 5-minute mark of the third quarter. 

Coming off a timeout, Meralco unleashed an 8-0 run to tie the score at 60-all. After Ginebra gained the lead back momentarily, Reynel Hugnatan added another one from long distance and Allen Durham added a pair of charities to put the Bolts up, 66-64 with barely a minute before the end of the 3rd period.

Meralco’s Stuck Around 

Joe Devance and Justin Brownlee each nailed a three-pointer to open the 4th quarter as Norman Black immediately called a timeout to avoid any more damage as the crowd darlings had regained the lead once more. Garvo Lanete broke Meralco’s scoring drought with a trey but Greg Slaughter continued to pour in the points. Lanete later added another inside basket to bring his team with 1, at 74-73 with 8 minutes remaining in the game as the Bolts began to turn the ball over anew. Meralco later regained the lead on Allen Durham’s dunk but Japeth Aguilar gave it back to Ginebra upon completing a 3-point play.

A technical foul was called on Japeth Aguilar and Meralco made the technical free throw to be followed by an Allen Durham basket and another, yes, another long-distance bomb from Reynel Hugnatan to put the Bolts up, 83-77 with under 4 minutes to play as Ginebra called another timeout.

Durham then blocked Justin Brownlee and scored on a 3-point play to give the Bolts, a 9-point cushion. LA Tenorio scored on a three-pointer but Hugnatan handed out a nice dish to Durham who made the basket to keep it an 8-point  for the Bolts heading into the final 2 minutes of the game. And, Ginebra left Jared Dillinger beyond the arc and they paid the price as Dillinger finally nailed one from outside put the Bolts up by 11. 

The Numbers that Won and Lost the Games

Justin Brownlee played his yet best game of the series as he finished with 38 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks. But it was Reyenel Hugnatan’s 22 points, 21 on threes, proved to be the dagger that was buried in the hearts of the Ginerba faithfuls as he provided the needed spark that wasn’t coming from the rest of the Bolts. Key to victory for Meralco? Simple. 3-point shooting. They made 11 of 31 from deep.

Justin Brownlee was limited to 15 points on 7 of 20 field goal shooting while LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar each had 14 points. Even though Ginebra was shooting better throughout the game, their 19 turnovers cost them a chance to get a commanding 3-0 series lead. 

Scores:

Meralco 

Durham 38, Hugnatan 22, Dillingr 9, Lanete 8, Caram 7, Newsome 7, Hodge 3, Amer 0, De Ocampo 0, Atkins 0, Yeo 0, Sedurifa 0, Faundo 0, Tolomia 0

Ginebra

Brownlee 15, Tenorio 14, J. Aguilar 14, Slaughter 12, Thompson 10, Devance 8, Caguioa 8, Mercado 0, Helterbrand 0, Ferrer 0, Jamito 0, Cruz 0, Mariano 0, R. Aguilar 0, Taha 0

Quarter scoring:

21-21, 46-47, 66-64, 94-81

A Wheeler’s Opinion: Can Meralco Power Themselves Back?

Or will the Bolts lose their charge against the champs

Allen Durham can’t do it all alone. There’s no way he can possibly do it. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Two games. Gone. Two games. Lost. 

If you’re a fan of the Meralco Bolts, then you are definitely praying that the Bolts will win tomorrow’s Game 3 because first and foremost, Meralco is playing against the defending champions, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, the same team who beat the Bolts in last year’s championship series of the PBA Governors’ Cup, and secondly, only one PBA team has forced a Game 7 after burying themselves in a 0-3 hole and yet, went on to win the championship. 

That team was the San Miguel Beermen who accomplished the feat against the Alaska Aces during the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup. Unless Norman Black and his wards can somewhat find a way to borrow the auras of the Beermen who did it, it’s not recommended that the Bolts put themselves in a silly position because they are currently in a disadvantageous position, to begin with- owing to the gigantic height advantage that the Gin Kings hold. Also, the Bolts are playing a complete Ginebra team this time around with the Best Player of the Conference Greg Slaughter back, healthy and playing.

After faltering, yet again in Game 2 which saw the Gin Kings win, 86-76 to move the Ginebra two wins away from the title, Meralco on the other hand, is still searching for answers, and more importantly, for more made baskets. Why? The Bolts went 13 of 57 from long distance in the first two games of the best-of-7 series, a horrible 24% shooting. The way the Bolts were playing, they appeared to be engaged in a brick-building contest instead of an actual basketball game because they were shooting bricks in both games, literally and figuratively. When they couldn’t find a way to attack the paint, they would settle to shoot threes. And they missed. A lot.

Coming into Game 3, the question in the title can be looked in two, different ways:

Yes. The Bolts will regain the charge that enabled them to get back to the Finals

For this to happen, Jared Dillinger must score, not just consistently but, score more baskets. It doesn’t matter how many shots you’d miss in a game as long as you make some, too and, help the team get the win. In case of Dillinger, he took 11 shots, 9 from the outside, in Game 1 while only making 2. In Game 2, he had 7 attempts including 5 from the 3-point line, and only made 1 of those 7 field goal attempts. Many basketball analysts are claiming that Dillinger will be the x-factor for Meralco in this series owing to the fact that he wasn’t around the last time when Ginebra beat Meralco in 6 games to win the former’s first championship in 8 years. 

X-factor, they say? Jared Dillinger has become more like a liability to the offense of the Bolts.

Given the fact that Jared Dillinger is struggling, the Bolts must now lean on outside of Best Import awardee, Allen Durham, to get the offense going because Allen Durham can only do so much and he can’t carry the entire Meralco team on his back. Chris Newsome must regain his awesome self.  Baser Amer must find a way not to be trapped by the defense of Ginebra when running pick-and-roll plays. Ranidel De Ocampo must now prove that he can provide the leadership, especially in the 4th quarter and score when needed.  And more importantly, the bench must provide the needed spark especially when the starters are resting. 

The Bolts must find a way to regain that spark which enabled them to finish the elimination round on top, eliminate the Blackwater Elite who forced a do-or-die match in the quarterfinals and, sweep the Star Hotshots in the semifinals. They need the spark tomorrow and they need that spark to be as powerful as possible.

or

No. The Bolts don’t have the enough to power to dethrone Ginebra

Height. Heart. Hustle. These are the three H that the Bolts don’t have against the defending champions. 

Height

Sure, the Bolts shut down Greg Slaughter to 3 points just a few hours after officially winning the Best Player of the Conference award. But Greg Slaughter wasn’t the lone giant in the Ginebra roster that the Bolts need to worry about. Justin Brownlee had 19 points, Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance scored 16 and 10 respectively. The Gin Kings know how to use their height advantage against the Bolts. It’s like a 3-headed dragon. You take one head. There are two more. Perfect monster, isn’t it?

Heart

Ginebra proved in Game 2 that “Never Say Die” is more than just a mantra. At one point, the Gin Kings were down 9 points but they clamped down on defense and came back to win the game- with a little prayer as LA Tenorio admitted it when he drained that long-distance bomb that was proven to be the game-winner. 

Hustle

In Game 2, Brownlee had 13 rebounds. Scottie Thompson had 9, 4 on the offensive end. Aguilar added 8 rebounds. The entire Ginebra team had 13 offensive rebounds which they converted into 13 second-chance points. They also had 9 steals and blocked 7 shots while forcing 21 Meralco turnovers. If this performance is not hustling for you, then what else can you call it?

Conclusion:

Let’s make this one real simple, folks. Ginebra’s height advantage won’t disappear in a snap. Allen Durham can carry 40+ points if needed but there’s a limit to everything. The Bolts can only hope, and pray to the basketball gods that Jared Dillinger will tear a page from Ray Allen’s playbook and become the shooter the Bolts need him to be. Otherwise, it will be a sweep. 

By the Numbers: 3 Flaws Ginebra Can’t Show in Game 3

Because they were lucky that Meralco was shooting bricks in Game 2

Greg Slaughter’s limited production is one of the reasons why Ginebra didn’t dominate Game 2. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Whether Ginebra fans around the world will admit it or not, the defending champions’ Game 2 86-76 victory over the Meralco Bolts which gave them a 2-0 series lead, showed some flaws which could hurt Ginebra’s chances of winning back-to-back titles if they continue to play the same way come Game 3 on Wednesday. 

Given the mere fact that Ginebra’sa biggest lead was at 10 points, many were saying, including this basketball pundit on wheels that the Gin Kings have either gone softer in Gane 2 or, the Bolts were simply defending better than they did in Game 1. Regardless of which was what, the Gin Kings can’t afford to show the same flaws in Game 3 and beyond because yes, a 2-0 lead means they are halfway done but it can be erased in a snap.

What are those flaws that this basketball pundit is saying? Let’s run the numbers then:

1 Assist for LA Tenorio

Okay. Let’s begin this one by saying that it was actually the late-game heroics of Lewis Alfred Tenorio lifted the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in last night’s win particularly in the dying minutes of the 4th quarter when the crowd darlings were holding a slim margin. It was Tinyente’s three-pointer which gave Ginebra, a 6-point cushion approaching the final minute of the contest. That bomb proved to be the game-winner as Meralco faltered the rest of the way, fading away exactly like they did in the opener.

In the end, Tenorio had 14 points while 3 of his 9 attempts from deep. That was relatively a good shooting percentage especially if you got the big W. The flaw: Tenorio only had 1 ASSIST in almost 35 minutes of action. In Game 1, Tenorio had fewer points but got 5 assists. This basketball pundit isn’t saying that Tenorio shouldn’t shoot the ball because Tenorio is first and foremost, a good shooter to begin with. But Ginebra also needs his playmaking abilities which made him one of the best floor generals in the first play.

Now that 1 assist that Tenorio had last night can be looked at two scenarios: Either he wasn’t passing enough or, he was passing but his teammates weren’t taking advantage of those passes. Either way, the Gin Kings will need more from Tinyente if they want to finish this series and celebrate, as soon as Friday.

3 Points for Greg Slaughter

As this basketball pundit on wheels has been mentioning in most of his articles, Greg Slaughter’s performance will play an important role in this championship run. He may have won the Best Player of the Conference award before tip-off, beating fellow Cebuano, June Mar Fajardo, but if anything, his 3 points and the Best Player of the Conference award didn’t add up. Gregzilla only made 1 of his 6 field goals, went 1 of 3 from the free throw line and, turned the ball over 4 times in 33 minutes of play. Now you tell this basketball pundit, is this how you perform after winning the Best Player of the Conference award? 

Fortunately for the Gin Kings, Japeth Aguilar was playing more efficiently than the other half of Ginebra’s Twin Towers. In just 28 minutes of action, Aguilar accumulated 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds, a steal and a block. However, if you want to win a championship against a smaller Meralco team, one thing you can do is to take advantage of your height, right? In Game 2, the Gregzilla wasn’t dominating in any other way which explains why Ginebra wasn’t able to dominate in the entire game. 

10 Missed Free Throws for Ginebra

Let’s remember the one fact that Nash Racela hates the most: Ginebra is good at drawing fouls. Now, if you can consistently draw fouls from defenders, free throws will be awarded to you especially if the other team has already reached the limit for the number of fouls in a quarter. 

Last night’s Game 2 saw the Gin Kings attempt 21 charities. The flaw was: the Gin Kings missed 10 of those freebies. While that stat won’t matter to fans as long as their team gets the big W, it will matter to Tim Cone. 

It will also matter to Norman Black because he can employ a “Hack-a-Scottie” strategy because Scottie Thompson shot 2 of 9 from the line last night- making the 2 charities in the closing minutes to widen the cushion of the Gin Kings. Despite the win, there’s no way you can miss 7 straight free throws and make 2 at the endgame because given how close the final score was, Ginebra was already lucky that Meralco was clanking all night long from the three-point line. 

If Ginebra is good at drawing multiple fouls from multiple defenders, then they should be able to make more free throws, right?

Conclusion:

If Ginebra wants to celebrate by Friday night, a good outing in Game 3 is a must. Fortunately, they have the winningest coach in the history of the PBA in Tim Cone at the helm. 

One way or another, he will find ways to make Ginebra get back its dominating ways come Wednesday and when that happens, the Meralco Bolts will be in a terrible situation and mind you, folks, not everyone can win a championship by erasing a 0-3 series deficit. 

Check out last game highlights: Meralco vs. Ginebra | PBA Governor’s Cup 2017 

(video courtesy of YouTube/Sports5)