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Star guard Paul Lee has been super the first two games of the semifinals series but in Game 3, he found his kryptonite in Barangay Ginebra’s defense.
Lee is averaging 17.5 points in the semis, but on Monday night, he was held to just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field.
“It’s not our day, it’s not my day and credit to Ginebra’s defense,” Lee told reporters.
“It’s not just one guy who tried to stop me. The whole team really made it hard for me. They gave me different looks so I need to adjust to that next game,” Lee, who turns 28 on Tuesday, said.
The 6-foot Lee has been clutch throughout the series but he just couldn’t get it going this time for the Hotshots, whose eight-game winning streak was snapped following a 73-62 loss to the Gin Kings.
Lee added Star shot itself in the foot with the way it started the game. The Hotshots fell behind by as much as 13, 17-4, early and though they were able to recover and even take a 60-59 edge with 5:56 left, the damage had already been done.
“We started slow and we played their kind of tempo which was slow,” he said.
The Hotshots hope to bounce back on Wednesday in Game 4.