Kerby Raymundo vs Jerome Jordan and Ranidel De Ocampo. Nuki Sabio/PBA
MANILA, Philippines — Ginebra came out firing in the best-of-five semifinal series, startling Talk N’ Text with its sizzling shooting, 104-81, Friday in the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings just didn’t seem to miss while the Texters struggled mightily from the field. The most striking difference was Ginebra’s 10 triples compared to Talk N’ Text one.
“The kids played really well, and we also caught the Texters in an off night,” said head coach Alfrancis Chua. “They’re a champion team with a champion coach, I’m sure they’re going to bounce back.’’
On Friday, though, Ginebra just looked like the much better team as it led by as many as 28 in the first half alone then by 29 — the biggest in the game — with 2:26 left to play.
“I told them in the dugout that we if we let go of what we worked on the first half, parang wala lang. I told them to stay humble and work hard,” said Chua.
Vernon Macklin finished with a team-best 25 points along with nine rebounds while veteran forward Kerby Raymundo scattered 14 points.
Jerome Jordan, who hasn’t been really dominant in the Texters’ last few games, fared well again Macklin but Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Larry Fonacier and Jimmy Alapag hardly had impact.
Jayson Castro added 18 and Ranidel De Ocampo 12, but Al-Hussaini, Fonacier and Alapag just combined for 13 points.
The scores:
GINEBRA 104 – Macklin 25, Raymundo 14, Ellis 13, Baracael 12, Urbiztondo 12, Tenorio 8, Helterbrand 8, Maierhofer 5, Labagala 2, Wilson 2, Hatfield 2, Taha 1, Espiritu 0.
TALK N’ TEXT 81 – Jordan 21, Castro 18, De Ocampo 12, Al-Hussaini 6, Reyes 6, Ferriols 5, Fonacier 4, Alapag 3, Raymundo 2, Aban 2, Carey 2, Dillinger 0.
Quarters: 33-15, 59-36, 81-56, 104-81