Ginebra gets its groove back

PBA IMAGES

Down big in a short series and playing with an underdog mentality for the first time, Barangay Ginebra on Thursday night broke away early and earned a new lease on life in its PBA Commissioner’s Cup Final Four series with TNT KaTropa.

It also helped a lot that the Gin Kings shot a lot better than they did in the first two games.

“We made shots today, and when we make shots, we’re much tougher to defend,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said after a runaway 125-101 victory that cut the Texters’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-five series at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

“We had a breakout game today and we’ll see if we can carry it over to Game 4,” added the two-time Grand Slam champion. “We haven’t done anything, exactly, we’re still down 1-2. Our goal right now is get this thing into Game 5 and let the chips fall where they may.”

The next game is slated on Saturday at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay, and Cone admits that they are not exactly aware what they would be up against, considering that burly TNT import Joshua Smith practically didn’t play.

“Obviously, the easy thing to say is that the import (Smith) didn’t get much minutes tonight,” Cone said. “We don’t know what’s going on with him.”

Smith delivered lethal blows in narrow TNT wins in the first two games, but was played less than 10 minutes in Game 3.

In the other series on Friday, San Miguel Beer tries to put Star away in their 7 p.m. match at Mall of Asia Arena.

GINEBRA 125 – TNT 101

BRGY. GINEBRA 125—Brownlee 31, Thompson 17, Aguilar 15, Mercado 12, Devance 10, Ellis 9, Cruz 9, Tenorio 8, Ferrer 5, Mariano 5, Taha 2, Jamito 2, Helterbrand 0, Caguioa 0.

TNT KATROPA 101—Garcia 16, Tautuaa 15, Carey 11, Reyes 9, Rosario 8, Castro 7, Rosales 7, Hernandez 6, Nuyles 6, Smith 4, Pogoy 4, Semerad 3, De Ocampo 3, Golla 0, Tamsi 0.

Quarters: 34-28, 61-47, 96-74, 125-101