Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone is not to be lulled into celebrating after the Kings took a 3-2 lead over Meralco in their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-7 series.
Cone emphasized the Kings have not accomplished anything.
“All it has done was give us the lead for the first time,” said Cone after Ginebra’s impressive 92-81 victory in Game 5 last Sunday in front of more than 22,000 screaming PBA fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We haven’t been good in leads. It’s still very close and it could go either way. The onus is on us to close them out, and they’re (Bolts)going to play with great energy, intensity in the next game,” added Cone.
The win gave the popular team two chances of winning the championship, first in Game 6 tomorrow also at the Big Dome and in a do-or-die Game 7, if necessary, on Friday.
Ginebra import Justin Brownlee rebounded from his career-low 10 points in Game 4 by collecting 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Japeth Aguilar, a game-time decision due to a sprained left ankle, added 16 points and eight rebounds. Joe Devance, the hero in Ginebra’s Game 4 win, had 11 points.
Sol Mercado and rookie Scottie Thompson also came through with big plays for the Kings as they drilled booming three-pointers each that proved decisive in the end, including one by Thompson after Mercado got a free pass on a bordeline travelling violation.