San Mig Coffee’s Marc Pingris was one of the major reasons why the Mixers knocked off the Barangay Ginebra Kings in a seven-game series. Mark Giongco/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Marc Pingris headed out of the dugout and was greeted by a chorus of cheers from fans anxiously waiting just outside before getting stopped by a group of reporters, who circled around him, for an interview.
And even before San Mig Coffee’s emphatic Game 7 win over Barangay Ginebra could sink in on Pingris, realization set in.
“Wala pa kaming napapatunayan (We haven’t proved anything yet,” the do-it-all forward Pingris told reporters late Wednesday night just moments after outlasting the top-seeded Kings in a back-and-forth seven-game series.
For Pingris and the Mixers, their 110-87 ripping of the Kings, the most lopsided win in a Game 7, is just a victory that booked them a ticket to the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
And the proving point would come later, if ever they get past a familiar foe in another best-of-seven that also promises to go full length.
Asked what he thinks of the well-rested Rain or Shine side, the same team which denied San Mig Coffee a back-to-back championship in the 2012 Governors’ Cup in seven games, Pingris paused for a few seconds before letting out a deep breath.
“They (Rain or Shine) have bigger guards,” Pingris pointed out. “That’s one thing our guards have to be prepared for.”
“Both teams have good players but the size of their guards might be their edge,” Pingris acknowledged. “The team that has the bigger heart will win.”
Pingris also said Rain or Shine and Ginebra are the opposite of each other with the Kings having smaller guards but taller and more inside-oriented big men than of the Elasto Painters, whose hefty big men can extend the floor with their outside shooting.
PJ Simon and James Yap, who feasted on Ginebra’s smaller guards in Game 7 with a combined 58 points, are also wary of Rain or Shine’s big backcourt led by Paul Lee and six-foot-five Gabe Norwood.
“They have big guards, I don’t think we’ll be able to post them up, we might be the ones who’ll get posted up,” said Simon, who took advantage of a smaller defender in Ginebra’s Jayjay Helterbrand en route to a 28-point explosion in Game 7.
“[Rain or Shine] is really a physical team. We have to be ready for it (physical play),” said the two-time MVP Yap.
Straightforward, Pingris didn’t even have to say a word to know what he thinks of going up against the gritty Rain or Shine squad. He just let out a deep breath. That means he’s bracing for another tough series.