Aljon Mariano’s original task in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s match with Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters on Sunday night was guarding star forward Calvin Abueva. It was why he was included in the team’s starting unit.
“Ini-start ako ni coach para bantayan talaga si Calvin,” the four-year pro said.
Of course, trying to tame the Beast is and will always be a tedious task. With the pro-Ginebra crowd only firing him up, Abueva filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Add to that his on-court antics that drew either cheers or jeers from the crowd. There was one point in the match where Abueva gave the 26-year-old a slight bump while he jogged down the court after hitting a three-pointer.
“We all know him naman, na yun yung tactics niya sa game, and talagang may mga extra siya na ginagawa para ma-pump up yung crowd,” he said. “Sabi lang ni coach na it’s not you versus him; it’s our team versus Phoenix.
“So ‘wag mo ano… just play your game.”
And so, the former University of Santo Tomas standout obliged. He even got the last laugh versus Abueva.
Mariano finished with a career-high tying 20 points, including the game-clinching free throws with 4.5 seconds left, along with nine rebounds and two assists, to help the Gin Kings defeat the league-leading Fuel Masters, 100-97.
“Buti pumasok yung dalawang free throws nung huli,” Mariano exhaled. “Ano lang, sinabi sajkin kasi ni Sol [Mercado] before ako tumira, sabi niya you’ve been doing this everyday na pina-practice mo yung shooting mo.
“Pina-practice namin ni coach Tim [Cone] yung shooting ko. Ayun, eventually, nashoot ko naman dalawa.”
On the other hand, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said that Mariano’s clutch freebies reminded him of Sean Chambers, his import in Alaska.
“Not our best free throw shooter but he has been improving,” said Cone. “Showed up in the clutch. Reminds me of Sean Chambers. Sean couldn’t hit the whole game but if he had to make one at the end of the game, he always made them.”
But as impressive as his performance was, Mariano still lauded the Gin Kings as a whole for playing defense against a tough Fuel Masters, who have a chance to enter the 2019 Philippine Cup quarters with a win-once incentive.
“This past week we’ve been building talaga yung defense namin and yun yung focus talaga namin,” he said.
“Maganda naman yung pinapractice namin na help defense namin. And yun, lumabas naman sa outcome ng game.”
