There’s life in Ginebra.

There’s life in Ginebra.

The Kings thrash the Beermen to stay alive for another day.

by rick olivares with pic by tunying p.

One hour before game time, Ato Agustin was asked about his thoughts on Game 5 of the semifinals series between San Miguel Beer, which was in the driver’s seat with a 3-1 advantage, and Barangay Ginebra.

“Yung last game ang laging pinakamahirap i-close out.” he said while digging back to his long and decorated career as a player and his burgeoning one as a coach. Along with his staff, they spoke to the team about complacency owing to their advantage and coming out with a sense of urgency. “We have to think na lamang sila – parang 0-1 – at kami yung naghahabol.

Some three hours later, the Beermen surrendered meekly into the good night 102-76 as the Kings bridged the gap to 3-2.

The crowd favorites were relentless all game long. Since the beginning of the Philippine Cup, the Kings would post huge leads against their brother club only to squander everything in the third canto and allow the Beermen to escape with a game winner or defensive stop. And after losing in double overtime in their last encounter, it seemed that San Miguel was on its way to winning its fourth straight playoff series against Ginebra and sixth in 10 matchups.

Just as Ginebra did in Game Three, they handled the expected Beermen rally in the third quarter to eke out the hard-earned win.

They took advantage of the absence of SMB starting guard Alex Cabagnot who was out with a fever, Ginebra summoned that fabled never-say-die attitude of theirs to push the ball on every opportunity and be aggressive inside.

Mike Cortez and Enrico Villanueva carried the fight early for the Kings who went up by a whopping 53-35 lead at the half while holding the Beermen to 31.1% shooting. Incredibly, the Beermen had 90 attempts from the field all match long but only converted 30 shots for a 33.3% accuracy clip. Ginebra only had 75 field goal attempts but shot 48%. They made up for the discrepancy by taking their game inside where they were awarded 32 free throws (23-32 for 71.9%).

It was, however, in the rebounding and assists department where Ginebra lorded it over the Beermen.

Ginebra pulled down 63 to the 44 of SMB. “We were able to keep Jay Washington off the boards,” said Rudy Hatfield after the game. Washington pulled down a career best 20 caroms in their Game 4 108-104 win last Wednesday.

The Kings also stole a page from the Beermen, who are known as a team that  plays unselfish basketball, as they dished off 25 assists to the mere 10 of San Miguel. With Cabagnot out, Olsen Racela, Dennis Miranda, and Paul Artadi accounted for only five assists between themselves.

However, it wasn’t only Washington and the San Miguel backcourt who had a miserable day at the office. Frontcourt partner Arwind Santos posted 3 points and eight rebounds in 26 quiet minutes. Shooting guard Dondon Hontiveros was also held to eight markers.

“It’s just another game,” deadpanned winning mentor Jong Uichico, after the match. “We just extended the series. If we win another game then it will be better.”

Said Agustin on his way out of the dugout. “Heto na nga ang kinakakatakutan natin. But we’re still okay. Sana sa next game.”

Ginebra 102 – Cortez 16, Villanueva 13, Menk 12, Caguioa 11, Hatfield 11, W. Wilson 9, Tubid 9, Miller 7, Helterbrand 7, Intal 4, Aquino 3, J. Wilson 0

San Miguel 76 – Yeo 14, Miranda 12, Salvacion 10, Ildefonso 10, Artadi 8, Hontiveros 8, Washington 5, Seigle 5, Santos 3, Racela 1, Pennisi 0, Peña 0