Dragged into a defense oriented contest, the Gin Kings tightened the noose on the enemy in the stretch and completed a come-from-behind 86-76 decision of the Bolts for a 2-0 lead before more than 16,000 screaming fans at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.
Unlike in the series opener where there was practically no endgame to speak of after the Kings played with command right from the start, Ginebra needed to step up big this time and closed out with a 19-1 bomb to gather all the momentum it needs going into the critical third game this Wednesday.
“We took a big punch from them early in the game and survived that,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said. “We managed to make it a possession-by-possession game [in the closing minutes] and had a good closing kick.”
LA Tenorio scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, seven of them inside the final 2:44, as the Kings erased a 75-69 deficit heading into the final 5:56.
Of the 36 teams that took 2-0 leads in a title series in the Philippine Basketball Association’s history, 30 teams went on to win the title.
It is a piece of history that Cone would not want his players to think of at the moment.
“We beat them two-in-a-row and they (Bolts) can certainly beat us two-in-a-row,” Cone said, showing a lot of respect on the team that topped the elimination round. “We’re certainly happy being 2-0 up, but you couldn’t be pleased with yourself. It doesn’t guarantee us anything.”
Justin Brownlee scored 19 points and was the other big offensive weapon for Cone in the fourth with eight of his total.
Earlier, Greg Slaughter was adjudged Best Player of the conference while Meralco’s Allen Durham won the Best Import award for the second straight season.
GINEBRA 86 – MERALCO 76
GINEBRA 86—Brownlee 19, Aguilar 16, Tenorio 14, Devance 10, Thompson 9, Mercado 6, Caguioa 6, Ferrer 3, Slaughter 3.
MERALCO 76—Durham 25, Amer 10, De Ocampo 10, Hodge 9, Newsome 8, Lanete 6, Dillinger 5, Tolomia 3, Caram 0, Hugnatan 0.
Quarters: 18-24, 40-37, 57-62, 86-76