BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel tries to inch closer to retaining the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup when it shoots for a commanding 3-0 lead over Meralco today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game Three of the best-of-seven Finals is set at 7 p.m., with the Gin Kings possessing the confidence and composure that is hard to beat—and the Bolts losing the steam that once got them on top of the elimination round.
The league’s winningest coach, Tim Cone, is best exemplified as a court genius who has nothing more to prove with a collection of 19 titles. He was also the architect behind Barangay Ginebra’s first championship in eight years.
Despite the huge advantage in momentum, plus the unlimited ceiling it has on the court, Cone wants the team to remain hungry for their second straight Governors’ Cup title.
“They’re a tough mental team. They’re very hard to crack. I think they have a lot of punches left to throw at us,” Cone said.
The Gin Kings won the series opener, 102-87, then completed a come-from-behind win in Game Two, 86-76, last Sunday.
LA Tenorio, the reigning Finals Most Valuable Player, led the decisive late-game onslaught that pulled them away from danger. He scored seven of his 14-point output during an spirited 17-1 run midway into the final frame.
Justin Brownlee was impressive as ever with his 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Japeth Aguilar added 16 markers and eight boards.
Far from its show of dominance in the elimination phase, the Bolts are looking for answers on how to divide the scoring load with the locals.
Import Allen Durham was acting like a lone wolf with his 25 points and 22 rebounds. Only Baser Amer and Ranidel de Ocampo contributed double-digit efforts of 10 markers apiece.
That worries Head Coach Norman Black.
“No question, our locals need to step up a little bit to support Allen and make their shots. That’s really the problem right now,” Black said.
“They’re not performing right now at a level they performed in the elimination round,” he added.