Shock the world

The Meralco Bolts. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals carries a lot of weight as far as coach Norman Black is concerned.

More than taking a 3-1 lead over crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra and sustaining their over-achieving run in the season-ending conference, Black and his Bolts have an even bigger motivation in their minds: To shock the world.

After regaining the series lead with a high-wire 107-103 nipping of the Gin Kings on Wednesday night, Black fought to keep an even keel going into tonight’s game.

On one hand, he did not want to apply too much pressure on his hard-working charges. On the other hand, there is that chance to lower the hammer on their foes.

“I don’t want to put my guys in a situation where if we don’t win it (Game 4), it would be the end of the world,” Black, whose last PBA title came with Talk ‘N Text in 2013, told the Inquirer. “But I told them that if you go 2-1 up, you have to go [for a 3-1 lead] already.

“We [cannot] give them (Gin Kings) life again,” he went on as he praised Chris Newsome (“Good work, son”) while the prized rookie was making his way out of the Meralco dugout after shooting 22 points and issuing six assists to earn Player of the Game honors for Game 3.

“I told them we have to come out (today) and win,” Black said.

“And, hopefully, shock the world.”

The Bolts have come up with an old-fashioned blue collar work ethic that continues to frustrate the Gin Kings in this series, as Ginebra’s Tim Cone confessed to being upset “the whole 48 minutes” of Game 3 because his boys “didn’t play to our identity.”

“If we had forgotten about that, then this (series) is going to get away from us,” Cone said.

Black got contributions from all around on Wednesday, the exact opposite of what Ginebra was able to come up with as Cone described his side to being “too Justin-reliant” that cost them the game.

Cone was referring to import Justin Brownlee who scattered 42 points but got little help from his local support.

LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson combined for just 36 points, which new NLEX and multititled coach Yeng Guiao said keyed the Ginebra fall.

“I felt that, as good as Brownlee was in that game, he failed to get his locals involved,” Guiao told the Inquirer in a separate interview after doing the television commentary of the soldout third game.

“You need sustained support from your locals, like what Meralco got from (Jimmy) Alapag, (Chris) Newsome and Reynel (Hugnatan),” Guiao said. “At the end of the day, no matter how good your import is, the locals will be the ones who can decide this series.
Alapag finished with 18 points and Hugnatan 17, with the duo shooting five of the Bolts’ 12 triples inside the final seven minutes.

Guiao knows what he is talking about, having won the season’s Commissioner’s Cup with the lowest-scoring import ever to win a title, Pierre Henderson-Niles, who averaged less than 10 points a game for Rain or Shine.

Guiao also said the fatigue factor could catch up with Brownlee.

“By this time, I think he is going to start feeling it, going into Game 4, 5 and 6,” Guiao said. “But I’m sure coach Tim (Cone) knows that.”