LA Tenorio. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
BOCAUE — The crowd has always been one of the main advantages for Ginebra whenever it took the court, and in Game 6, 53,642 fans trooped to the Philippine Arena here expecting a celebration.
Unfortunately, Meralco rained on the Gin Kings parade and scored the 98-91 victory on Wednesday to extend the series to a winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday.
“We disappointed 50,000 fans tonight,” said Ginebra playmaker LA Tenorio, who struggled to hide his frustrations over the lackluster play of his side in what could have been the title clincher.
The seasoned point guard acknowledged that the Bolts did everything they wanted for the night—including taking away what felt like the Gin Kings’ home court advantage.
“From the start, Meralco wanted to silence the crowd. I’ve been to other teams also playing against Ginebra and the key for them is to silence the crowd. (Meralco) did it from start to finish. They silenced the crowd with the way they played in the first half,” he said.
It’s indisputable that Ginebra didn’t show much effort in Game 6, losing ground in the first half and trailing by as much as 20, 24-44, as Meralco beat them on looseballs and 50-50 possessions with the latter winning the rebounding battle, 51-41.
“We started out flat. I think that’s the game. From the start, they were on point on everything against us. Looking back, it’s really the first half, the first minutes of the basketball game that did us,” he said.
Tenorio said that Game 6 exposed a lot of pressing matters for the Gin Kings, who cannot afford another dismal start in the clincher.
“We cannot do that on a do-or-die game. We have to be prepared again to be the more aggressive team going to Game 7,” he said.
Tenorio is also looking forward to the better performance that could trigger the necessary lift Ginebra needs from what is expected to be another massive audience inside the world’s largest indoor arena.
“We have to involve the crowd because they’re a part of us and we have to take advantage of them giving us a boost. We just have to bounce back and prepare for the game on Friday.”