PBA Finals: Tied at 2-2, Ginebra and TNT gun for inside position in Game 5

Calvin Oftana-MARLO CUETIO/INQUIRER.net

Defending champion TNT and Barangay Ginebra go at it again on Wednesday in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, with the powerhouse clubs looking to bring entirely different versions of themselves from the last time they met.

Coach Tim Cone promptly put the series-leveling 106-92 triumph last Sunday behind as the Gin Kings now navigate a shorter race with their best-of-seven showdown with the Tropang Giga now a battle for two wins.

“All we did was tie the series,” the seasoned coach said. “It’s 0-0 now. We can’t live off the last two games and just feel good about that. We got to keep forward-moving and forward-thinking.”

Cone feels that the two-day break going into Game 5 set 7:30 p.m. again at the fabled Big Dome will be transformative for both Japeth Aguilar and Justin Brownlee, who have been toiling for the crowd darlings this series.

The indefatigable Brownlee has been, to nobody’s surprise, Barangay Ginebra’s foremost weapon thus far with 23.5 points per night. Aguilar, meanwhile, is close behind as the finest local with 13.2. So whatever rest that they could use in between the games would allow both to come into the next one refreshed.

Defense took a break

“Just giving Japeth and Justin a break is huge. Remember Japeth is basically without a true backup. Isaac (Go, who is injured) is supposed to be his backup so he is being forced to play a lot of minutes,” Cone said.

“We are really hard on Japeth, pushing, pushing, pushing,” he went on. “He’s such a great person, he never gets upset, but we’ve been hard on him to keep going and it’s been a tough role for him going so far.”

For Poy Erram, one of the steadier players for TNT in this duel, the key is reclaiming their defensive efficiency which he feels his team abandoned in the last meeting.

“It seems like we’ve forgotten our calling card, which is our defense,” Erram said. “That’s really just about it, plus not knowing where our man is and not being aware with the [player] rotations.”

With four games in, TNT remains the statistically superior shooting team, accounting for 45.7 percent over Ginebra’s 44.6. But the crowd darlings are a better lot with the four-point shot as a weapon with a 4-1 edge.

While a tweak in approach is likely in Game 5, don’t count on the Kings to start seeking out four-pointers just yet.

“I’ve said it before, the reason I don’t like it is because I don’t like this being just a shooting game. There’s more to the game than just shooting 3s or 4s,” said Cone.

“There’s getting to the rim, there’s defense, there’s execution of plays,” Cone explained. “There’s so much more to the game … and I think the young players take a key from us if we’re constantly doing that, then we’re encouraging them to be just 3 or 4-point shooters when we want them to be more, I want them to be more.” INQ