Dillinger fighting, but struggling against ‘big boys’ at Ginebra

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Outspoken against Ginebra going to the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, Jared Dillinger seems to have bit more than he can chew as Meralco stares at a 0-2 deficit in the championship series.

But the Fil-Am forward is man enough to admit that the Bolts, especially the locals, have their work cut out for them after a dismal showing in the first two games.

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“Something’s got to happen. Aside from Allen Durham, no one’s shooting that well – Del (de Ocampo), me, Baser (Amer), (Chris) Newsome, Cliff (Hodge). We got to make shots, that’s it. We’re not making our end and it’s tough on AD,” he said.

Through the first two games, Meralco has shot 23 percent from three, down from their average of 37 percent, the league-best, prior to the Finals.

Dillinger has also played subpar in the series, where he’s averaging 5.5 points on a 17-percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while committing two turnovers.

READ: Brownlee fires 32 as Ginebra draws first blood in PBA Finals

The 33-year-old acknowledges that the taller and bigger Gin Kings have played a part on intimidating and forcing the Bolts shooters to struggle in the series.

“It’s tough. Those guys are 20-30 pounds heavier than me. I’m fighting but they’re big boys over there. It’s not like we don’t know that to begin with, but it wears down on you especially when they post up on you,” he said.

But Meralco isn’t just going to roll over and die as Dillinger and company plot their revenge on Game 3 on Wednesday.

“We just got to go back and look at the film, keep doing the same routine you got to get some shots up, see the ball going a little bit. No excuses. It’s tough, but we got to adjust and we have to figure it out,” he said.