Ginebra Gin Kings guard Stanley Pringle during a PBA Philippine Cup semifinals game against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
MANILA, Philippines—Stanley Pringle did what he does best and hit shots that bailed Ginebra out in Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against Meralco.
The Gin Kings turned to the veteran guard Pringle to make clutch buckets late in the fourth to emerge victorious over the Bolts, 92-88, for a 1-0 lead.
Already 10 years in the league, Pringle has had his fair share of hitting daggers since his uprising in the now-defunct club Globalport and he’s still delivering the same thing for Ginebra.
READ: PBA: Stanley Pringle, Ginebra slip past Meralco for 1-0 semis lead
“I wouldn’t say it gets easier as you get older but I’ve been through those moments so I just try to focus on each possession. [I’m] not worried about pressure, I just focus on each possession, give it my all and that’s it. That’s all I think about,” said Pringle after dropping a season-high 22 points with six rebounds to match.
“In the fourth quarter, I was just trying to stay aggressive and picking my spots. I know they’re doubling down on Christian (Standhardinger) and Japeth (Aguilar) and that freed up a lot of us on the wings so I just tried to stay aggressive, pick my spots and attack.”
Pringle made up for some Gin Kings having a slow night at the office.
READ: PBA: Ginebra starting to click but facing injury woes
Standhardinger, who is averaging close to 22 points per game, only dropped 14 points on a lowly 37 percent field goal shooting clip.
Pringle though made sure that won’t affect the Gin Kings effectively as he built his 22 points on a blistering 69 percent shooting clip.
Ralph Cu also helped Pringle on offense in the backcourt with 18 points, showing how lethal Ginebra is even when its star players are having a shooting slump.
“Honestly, we’re a deep team and it’ll be nice if I can come up aggressive and score, it’s [also] nice if somebody else does. That’s what makes us dangerous. We’re an all-around team and you have to pick your poison with us.”