Never say die
Losing games in a best-of-seven playoff series is normal, but being down 1-3 in such a long bout is a whole lot different scenario. Just a single miscue, and one will see all their hopes fly out the window and eventually crash hard, shattered into pieces — all in a snap.
Still, Ginebra guard LA Tenorio is a firm believer of the Barangay’s Never Say Die spirit, saying that his team can also pull off what the San Miguel Beermen did in last year’s Philippine Cup Finals — staging a monumental comeback after being down three games in a series.
“Well, nagawa nila, so kaya rin naman namin yun,” shared the undaunted five-foot-eight floor general moments after their 94-85 defeat in Game Four of their title match Friday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Only two teams in PBA Finals history have rallied back from a 1-3 deficit with the Beermen being the latest, rising from a 0-3 deficit to the Alaska Aces to clinch the 2015-16 Philippine Cup title. And for Tenorio, they can replicate that feat firstly by winning Game 5 this coming Sunday.
“Again, we just have to get the game on Sunday. Yun lang iisipin namin. We’re not looking forward, we’re not looking at tying the series right away. ‘Di naman namin mata-tie yung series kung ‘di namin maipapanalo on Sunday eh,” the 32-year-old aimed.
And one thing that will help the Barangay overcome the deficit is by setting in their minds that they are not down 1-3.
“‘Di naman kami na-out eh. ‘Di pa tapos. We still have a chance. We just have to do it the right way. One game at a time.
“Yung Sunday’s game muna iisipin namin. ‘Di namin iisipin yung 3-1. We just have to play one game. Yun lang,” Tenorio added.
Looking at how Game Four rolled, San Miguel were able to thrash the Barangay by 26 points, 66-48, in the third canto. SMB scoring in bunches and thrashing their opposition has always been their mark especially in the Finals, and Tenorio hopes that they can find ways to neutralize those attacks.
“Well may potential silang gawin yun eh. Ginawa nila yun sa’min nung Game One. Ginawa rin sa’min nung Game Two nung third quarter. Capable sila to do that, so we just have to be more ready sa mga ganoong run nila na hindi dapat kami nagpa-panic,” pointed out the two-time PBA champion.
And as the must-win Game Five looms in just 36 hours, all that Ginebra has to do is to play top-notch defense to prevent being on an early vacation, which San Miguel hopes to, according to Tenorio, who has been contributing steadily with norms of 12 points.
“Kailangan lang namin maging aggressive talaga for 48 minutes defensively. Tsaka marami rin kaming lapses eh, so we’ll see in the video kung ano yung mga kailangan naming i-iadjust.
“We don’t have any choice now. We just have to do yung mga kailangan lang namin gawin,” said Tenorio.
