Ginebra make it to the Finals for the second straight conference
After battling through injuries and slumps during the elimination round, and falling to 0-2 and 2-3 holes during the semifinals, this batch of Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings showed great resolve, culminating in another crack at a championship.
Ginebra were not to be denied in front of 22,221 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday evening, starting off strong and bucking every comeback attempt of the Star Hotshots to take an 89-76, Game Seven win to advance to their 23rd finals in franchise history.
“Wow, seven-game Manila Clasico. Who could ask for more? And it was tough,” said a weary Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.
The Gin Kings will now face the San Miguel Beermen in the Finals. Game One is set to be played on Friday, February 24, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Ginebra’s MVP of the series, Sol Mercado, put an emphatic end to the series, leading the Gin Kings with 23 points on 4-of-6 shooting from distance. And his presence was greatly felt all throughout the game.
Even though they were bruised and fatigued from the first six games of the series, Ginebra was the quicker team and played with more urgency right for the get go, leading by as much as 21-7 during the first frame behind seven points from Mercado.
“Sometimes it can be really tough leading in those games because the pressure falls on you now, the expectations are on you to win, and you end up trying to be a little bit careful and play not to lose. But our guys did a good job of pushing and pushing and battling and battling,” Cone shared.
Later on, the lead ballooned to as high as 15, 33-18, after a Jervy Cruz basket with 7:41 remaining in the first half. In addition, the Hotshots struggled to stay in front of the Gin Kings, sending Ginebra to the stripe 12 times during the quarter.
Ginebra finished the game going 22-of-27 from the stripe compared to just 3-of-10 for Star.
It took long but the Hotshots finally got it going during the third frame. Behind Allein Maliksi’s 12 third quarter points and the hustle of Rafi Reavis and Marc Pingris, Star were able to cut the lead to as low as three points. Sol Mercado, just as he has done all series long, went mano-y-mano with Star, to keep Ginebra on top.
“Our guys did a great job of battling; they got it down to four or two points, before we were able to make another mini-run,” the 19-time PBA champion coach added.
Maliksi paced Star with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Pingris had 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.
And just as he has done all throughout his career, LA Tenorio provided the spark, stopping Ginebra’s bleeding with a booming triple to start a 13-2 rally and cut Star’s lifeline, as the lead returned to double-digits, 80-67, with 5:29 left. Star could not cut the lead to below eight points the rest of the way.
Tenorio added 21 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Japeth Aguilar went 8-of-10 from the field for 18 points. Scottie Thompson provided the hustle as well, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
Paul Lee was limited to just four points on 2-of-8 shooting in the series finale.
The Scores:
Ginebra (89) – Mercado 23, Tenorio 21, Aguilar 19, Thompson 10, Devance 7, Cruz 6, Ferrer 2, Marcelo 1, Ellis 0, Caguioa 0.
Star (76) – Maliksi 22, Pingris 17, Ramos 14, Barroca 8, Reavis 5, Jalalon 4, Lee 4, Melton 2, Sangalang 0, Simon 0, Dela Rosa 0.
Quarterscores: 26-16, 45-36, 65-61, 89-76.
