BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel hopes to win it all in Game Six tonight to keep the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup crown.
But the Gin Kings are expecting a monumental fightback by the Meralco Bolts, who ran out of power in the crucial stretch of Game Five last Sunday and absorbed a 74-85 loss to fall back, 2-3, in the race-to-four series.
The classic showdown returns to the cavernous Philippine Arena in Bulacan and with the way the series has turned out, the 34,000-plus fans who trooped to the Bulacan venue would be breached.
The match starts at 7 p.m.
Ginebra won the first two games—102-87 and 86-76—and lost the next two—94-81 and 85-83. If the trend continues, Game Six could be going the Gin Kings’ way.
But for Ginebra coach Tim Cone, nothing beats a prepared team.
“They beat us in the last two games and it’s very important to stop whatever momentum they got. It’s important for us to get back on track,” Cone said.
Justin Brownlee was in his usual efficient elements and finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals in Game Five. He made his presence felt rather in non-highlight mode, quite a far cry with how his counterpart Allen Durham bullied his way for the Bolts. He had enough firepower, and so does the supporting cast as led by the combined 34 markers of
LA Tenorio and Greg Slaughter also rose to the occasion for the Gin Kings and combined for 34 points, while Joe Devance had a quiet yet effective 12 points to keep Ginebra on course to retaining the crown.
Cone said he hopes to sustain the firepower they unleashed in Game Five.
“Our mentality now is to come out and play one more game,” he said.
Durham was undeniably solid in Game Five with 27 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in Game Five. But he practically was the lone Bolt that electrified their opponents.
Garvo Lanete tallied 11 points, the most by a local on the Meralco bench. Shut down in Game Five were Cliff Hodge (six points), Jared Dillinger (six), Chris Newsome (five) and Baser Amer (four).
“I wish we could get a lot more out of our starters. I hope we get better contributions,” Bolts coach Norman Black said.
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