Ginebra Gin Kings’ Maverick Ahanmisi against Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—It took him some time but Maverick Ahanmisi is finally getting his shooting rhythm back in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.
With a pivotal 3-2 lead at stake, Ahanmisi caught fire and helped Ginebra take the 89-84 win over Meralco in Game 5 at Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
The Bolts let their guards down on Ahanmisi, who had been struggling as of late in the semis and the 32-year-old gunner certainly made them pay.
READ: PBA: Fatigued Ginebra digs deep to take pivotal semis lead
“I’m just taking what the defense is giving me. They left me open tonight, [maybe ‘cause] I haven’t been shooting that well from outside. That’s what they gave me and I just happened to knock them down this time,” said Ahanmisi with Inquirer Sports.
But Ahanmisi isn’t entirely happy just yet despite finding his rhythm especially since the Gin Kings still have unfinished business with Meralco.
“I don’t really care about my rhythm at this point. We got one more game, I just want to win,” he said.
READ: PBA: Ginebra comes back to beat Meralco and take 3-2 semis lead
Ahanmisi was efficient on the floor with a 41.7 percent shooting clip, making five of his 12 shots from the field.
That wasn’t his only contribution, though, as the spitfire guard also snagged five rebounds and four assists to push Ginebra to a win away from the PBA Finals.
Surprisingly, like his cohort Christian Standhardinger who scored 34 in the win, Ahanmisi could care less about the numbers on paper.
He also resonated with coach Tim Cone’s mentality of winning despite having a small or large margin for what could be the final game of the series in three days.
“All of us, we don’t care if an individual plays well. At the end of the day, we’re all looking at that scoreboard and seeing if we end up with a W or an L. That’s what matters,” Ahanmisi said.
“Like coach said, we don’t care how we get the W, as long as we get it.”
Ginebra looks to close out the series on Wednesday at Araneta Coliseum at 7:30 pm.