- Do-or-die as Ginebra cools off Hotshots
- San Mig, TNT in sudden death for finals berth
by Jonas Terrado
Joe Devance provided the big impact Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and its legion of fans had been waiting for since his return from a foot injury and defeated the Star Hotshots, 91-67, to force their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series to a deciding seventh game last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Devance played his best game of the series by firing all of his 14 points in the third quarter that saw Ginebra breaking away from a 52-all standoff in the third and made it a lopsided affair that forged a winner-take-all match for the right to face either San Miguel or TNT KaTropa in the finals.
“What a Manila Clasico be without a Game 7? I guess this is the way it’s meant to be,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Ginebra and Star slug it out for that spot tomorrow night at the Mall of Asia Arena – a schedule that seemed to be expected since the series started about two weeks ago. Game 7 became a reality thanks to Devance, who had been used for bits of the previous games to deal with plantar fasciitis on his left foot.
“Joe has been an inspiration for us with his resolve and his ability to keep on battling,” said Cone of his longtime player from their days with Alaska and Star, adding that Devance was injected twice minutes before tipoff.
Ginebra’s top guns, who responded from a frustrating showing in Game 5 to avoid elimination that prompted Cone to bench them throughout the fourth quarter of that 89-80 loss.
Sol Mercado topscored with 21 points, LA Tenorio had 15 of his 19 points in the first quarter and Jervy Cruz and Japeth Aguilar delivered 11 points each for Ginebra.
Marc Pingris played his usual toughness on both ends with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Mark Barroca added 13 points and four assists. But the Hotshots’ perennial leader got little contributions from the likes of Allein Maliksi and Paul Lee.
Maliksi had a hot start with seven points but went cold the rest of the way to finish with just nine. Lee’s struggles since his impressive first two games continued with only eight points on another 3-of-13 shooting.
The Hotshots appeared ready to finish it off at the start, leading 22-11, prompting Cone to call three quick timeouts. However, Ginebra responded with a huge way with Tenorio and company going on a 19-0 run bridging the first and second periods to lead 30-22.
Pingris and Barroca, however, keyed a Star rally and led 39-38 at the half. The Hotshots scored their first two baskets of the third for a 43-38 lead, setting the stage for Devance to deliver the goods for Ginebra.
Meanwhile, the San Miguel Beermen refused to embrace the role of favorites as they dispute a place in the finals against TNT KaTropa tonight in the deciding game of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena.
San Miguel forced the 7 p.m. duel after rallying from a 12-point third quarter deficit, 104-88. The victory has put the Beermen at an advantage, given their capability of erasing series deficits – particularly the historic 3-0 comeback against the Alaska Aces in last year’s Philippine Cup finals.
“If anything, it just gives us confidence,” said Beermen guard Chris Ross. “It’s kind of similar to Game Four of the finals (against Alaska) when we’re down and we had to crawl back.
“So…just like I said before, our team, we’ve been through everything, so any situation you put us in, we’ve been in it, so we don’t panic, and we just talk to each other and say, ‘hey, man, let’s turn it up, let’s go, and let’s play.’ It just works out for us, man.”
San Miguel forward Arwind Santos gave a glimpse of what Game 7 could look like.
“Ngayon, parehas kami ng nakikita. Mag-uuanahan kami ngayon, magtutulakan,” said Santos. “Lahat gagawin na. Bahala na. Magkikita kami sa dead-end kung sino makakapanik.”
Many are still forgetting that TNT has been in this situation in past, namely their veterans like Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Ryan Reyes, Larry Fonacier and Kelly Williams – who as a group won multiple titles in the early part of this decade.
GINEBRA 91 – Mercado 21, Tenorio 19, Devance 14, Aguilar 11, Cruz 11, Ferrer 6, Taha 3, Jamito 2, Thompson 2, Helterbrand 1, Ellis 1, Caguioa 0, Mariano 0, Marcelo 0.
STAR 67 – Pingris 14, Barroca 13, Maliksi 9, Lee 8, Ramos 6, Melton 4, Jalalon 4, Reavis 4, Sangalang 3, Brondial 2, Abundo 0, Dela Rosa 0, Simon 0.
Quarters: 25-22; 38-39; 62-54; 91-67.
