Best not quite enough
Meralco came up with one of its best performances in the PBA Governors’ Cup conference, throwing in hot shooting to its staple defense to square the championship series at one game apiece.
The Bolts need to be even better in Game 3.
“We still had some lapses on defense,” said Allen Durham, who led the Bolts with 21 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. “[W]e’ve got to shore up our defense, that’s No. 1.”
Article continues after this advertisement“We need to find better ways to get everybody even more involved. If we can do that, I think we can do better in Game 3.”
Meralco silenced a pro Barangay Ginebra crowd at Quezon Convention Center to forge a 104-102 victory on Friday night as the Bolts’ bench came out to play with Nard Pinto and Nico Salva stepping up big time.
More importantly, Meralco nailed its shots this time around, going 16-of-38 from beyond the arc in Game 2 after draining just 7 of 28 looks in Game 1.
Article continues after this advertisement“I felt like Ginebra was clogging inside so we really need to make some baskets a bit from outside for the defense to extend,” Salva added as his teammates built leads of as many as 19 in the game. The Kings made their patented run in the stretch but regulars like Baser Amer hosed out the fire with timely clutch baskets.
“It’s a little bit scary in the final minutes. But a win is a win,” coach Norman Black said.
The Bolts’ shooting will be on top of coach Tim Cone’s drawing boards as he prepares the Kings for the pivotal Game 3, which tips off on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Norman talked about that. They got their shots in … We got to go to the drawing board and figure out what’s going on,” Cone said.
That means Black will have to be ready for the defensive adjustments Ginebra will bring into Game 3, including one the Bolts got a glimpse of in the Quezon game, when Cone threw a box-and-1 “defensive gimmick” to limit Durham.
“We’ll have box-and-1 offense [ready] on Sunday because Tim pulled it out,” Black said. “We did a pretty good job [countering it] in the second half once we realized [Ginebra was employing] it. But at the same time, it changed the momentum of the game. We will be more prepared for [that in the] next game.”
