As Bay Area’s hopes rise for Nicholson return, Ginebra worries over Tenorio’s status

Japeth Aguilar (right) of the Gin Kings delivers a thunderous dunk against Qilong Zheng of the Dragons during the Game 5 duel between the two teams.
—AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Bay Area sputtered against Barangay Ginebra on Sunday night, absorbing a 101-91 defeat that put the Dragons’ championship aspirations in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup in peril.

Brian Goorjian and his charges are now trailing the best-of-seven title series, three games to two, but the Aussie mentor hardly sounded dejected despite the rut they’re currently in.

And for good reason.

“I’m proud of the way the guys kept fighting,” he said on the way out of Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. “I’m proud that we had a few guys, who don’t [usually] play, got an opportunity [tonight].”

“Scotty Ewing, Qilong Zheng … the men who haven’t been playing minutes, and they performed well,” he went on.

Added depth

Ewing and Zheng were both averaging under four points throughout the midseason showcase, but with import Andrew Nicholson and skipper Glen Yang both down with an ankle problem, the reserves each turned in twin-digit scores that should augur well for the visitors.

“I’m pleased about that as that adds depth [for us going] to the next game,” said Goorjian.

Aside from a welcome contribution from his seldom-used players, Goorjian is also drawing solace in the possibility that Bay Area could play at full strength in Wednesday’s Game 6.

“If there’s any chance, we’ll roll the dice. I’m putting 50-50 there,” he said of Nicholson’s status. “And I’m putting 75-25 on [Yang].”

By Wednesday’s tipoff, Nicholson would have rested his injury for almost a week, which means the Canadian standout should have strengthened the left ankle he hurt in Game 3.

As things begin to look up for the guest crew, the Gin Kings, on the other hand, grapple with uncertainty.

“LA [Tenorio] is day-to-day with an abdominal strain,” Tim Cone told the Inquirer on Monday. “He’s questionable to play on Wednesday.”

Tenorio was seen limping on his way out of the bayside arena that night. He has been playing for around 30 minutes per contes,t but suited up for barely 20 minutes in Game 5, ultimately finishing with just eight points.

“He’s so key to what we do, especially in the playoffs,” Cone said. “He’s our leader, he is our ball-handler, he is our organizer. He’s our big-shot guy. He’s our emotional leader as well.”

“We’re gonna be missing all those things if he doesn’t get a chance to play,” he added. INQ