It’s no easy task to play out of position yet Stanley Pringle delivered beyond expectations that helped Barangay Ginebra a great deal, Friday night.
Asked to play more as a wing with the Kings heavily depleted in that spot, the 37-year-old produced 22 points and six rebounds to lead the crowd darlings in taking Game 1 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal bout versus Meralco.
“I was just trying to stay aggressive, picking my spots,” he offered during the postgame presser of their 92-88 victory at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“I know they were doubling down on Christian [Standhardinger] and Jap [Aguilar] in there, so that freed up a lot of us on the wings,” added the former scoring champion.
“So, I just tried to stay aggressive and picked my spots, and attacked.”
Pringle coming through was huge for a side that continues to miss key three-guys such as Jamie Malonzo, Jeremiah Gray, and Aljon Mariano.
Being undermanned reared its ugly head in the series opener when the crowd darlings trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, but the 2020 Philippine Cup BPC proved to be the difference.
(C) PBA Images
“We lost Jamie and of course, we’ve lost Miah, we’ve lost Aljon and that’s always a key position for us, that 3 position,” said head coach Tim Cone.
“And Stanley’s coming out and playing it — although undersized. It’s not really his position. He’s really more of a 1, 2 and he’s not really a 3.”
He scored 16 of his points in the second half, first dropping seven in the third quarter that saw the Barangay turn things around through a 33-point explosion to head into the final chapter owning a 73-61 advantage.
Pringle then scored nine in the fourth, none bigger than his floater against Cliff Hodge to strike the dagger with 40.1 seconds left after their rivals got to 90-86.
The PBA’s winningest mentor could only sing praises for the seven-time All-Star, who only averaged 4.3 points in their previous seven games.
“We’re playing him out of position, and he’s still being productive on both sides of the floor. He’s getting rebounds, he’s still defending at the post, playing bigger than he is. I’m not sure he’s a luxury at this point; he’s really our sixth man.”
“He’s coming off the bench, but we could start him at any moment. But… he’s the kind of guy that can take over a game at any given moment, and tonight he took over the game, especially in that third and fourth quarter,” Cone said.
However, Pringle did not take all the credit for himself, saying that everyone in Ginebra could deliver every night the way he did Friday.
“There’s gonna be nights where I can come and be aggressive and score; there’s gonna be nights where somebody else will be able to do it,” he said.
“That’s what makes us dangerous,” added the Penn State product.
“We’re an all-around team. You gotta pick your poison with us.”
