What would a Manila Clasico series be without a Game Seven?
With their backs against the wall, LA Tenorio woke up from his long slumber, leading the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to a 91-67 Game Six win over the Star Hotshots and extending the series to sudden death, Sunday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“What would a Manila Clasico series be without a Game Seven? I guess this is the way it was meant to be, we’re supposed to play a Game Seven,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone shared.
The deciding Game Seven will take place on Tuesday, February 18, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
For the first six games of the series, the 11-year veteran averaged just 7.2 points on 27 percent shooting from the field, and a more horrid 4-of-23 shooting from three-point range. But this time though, the Batangueño came out aggressively.
Ginebra struggled just to put up a shot to start the game, attempting just seven shots during the first eight minutes of the game as the Hotshots led by as much as 11, 20-9. But Tenorio brought life to the Gin Kings, scoring 10 first-quarter points to bring the fight to Star.
“I thought we were going to get blown out by 40 after the first five minutes, but we showed great resolve, got back into it,” Cone reflected. “Our guys have shown great resilience and resolve the whole conference, coming from the last championship. so many times, we could’ve quit and said no mas, but we find a way to keep battling.”
The 32-year-old went on to finish the game with 19 points — including three triples, six rebounds, and five assists.
As Star kept up with Ginebra early in the final frame, the supporting cast followed suit with their skipper. Jervy Cruz scored seven of his 11 points to give the Gin Kings a double-digit lead. The Tamaraw tandem of Mark Barroca and Aldrech Ramos tried to will the Hotshots back, but the “Sol Train” crashed all their momentum.
Sol Mercado went on a furious rally, scoring 10 straight points to turn the game into a whitewashing. Ginebra’s bench mob then cleaned up the mess, extending the lead to a game-high 26 points, 91-65.
Mercado added a game-high 21 points on an excellent 8-of-10 shooting clip.
Joe Devance also gave an inspiring third quarter performance, scoring all 14 of his points during the third canto, while Japeth Aguilar picked up a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We have to believe in leadership, LA and Jay [Helterbrand], Mark [Caguioa] and Joe. Joe’s been an inspiration to us,” the 19-time PBA champion coach said.
Ginebra limited Star to a horrible shooting night, as the Hotshots were just 31 percent from the field, including 25 percent from range. The Gin Kings, on the other hand, shot a series-high 49 percent and knocked down eight triples.
“Well, we got a couple of shots that went in for us, and that kind of ramped up our defensive intensity. They made a couple of errors as well,” Cone added.
Star were led by Marc Pingris’ double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mark Barroca added 13 markers as Paul Lee was limited to just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, while Jiovani Jalalon shot an equally horrid 2-of-12 from the field.
The Scores:
Ginebra 91 – Mercado 21, Tenorio 19, Devance 14, Aguilar 11, Cruz 11, Ferrer 6, Taha 3, Jamito 2, Thompson 2, Helterbrand 1, Ellis 1, Caguioa 0, Mariano 0, Marcelo 0.
Star 67 – Pingris 14, Barroca 13, Maliksi 9, Lee 8, Ramos 6, Melton 4, Jalalon 4, Reavis 4, Sangalang 3, Brondial 2, Abundo 0, Dela Rosa 0, Simon 0.
Quarterscores: 25-22, 38-39, 62-54, 91-67
