Ginebra Kings not throwing in the towel yet

Ginebra Kings Game 5 win vs TNT

Down 0-2, but Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico is not intent on pushing the panic button at this moment.

“I know we’re 2-0 down, but we’ve been here so many times," said Uichico just minutes after the Kings absorbed a 90-82 beating from the Alaska Aces, their second straight in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series.

“We go back to the drawing board and take it one game at a time. I think if we come out on Sunday with the same frame of mind, we have a shot at winning."

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is set Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, with the Aces eyeing a commanding 3-0 lead against the embattled Kings and aiming to deliver the killer blows against a team known for its never-say-die spirit.

Alaska mentor Tim Cone, an astute PBA historian, is well aware of the fact that even up two games against the Kings is not always safe enough.

“The bottom line is Ginebra’s been here before. The bottom line is we’ve been here before. In our last series against Talk ‘N Text, we were 2-0 and lost. Talk ‘N Text was 2-0 against Ginebra and lost. Nothing’s safe," he stressed.

Cone recalled a similar situation the Aces were in during the Finals of the 2008-09 Philippine Cup when the Aces stormed to a 2-0 series lead against Talk `N Text, only to lose four of the next five games.

But one has not to look that far in the case of Ginebra.

The Kings appeared to be goners when the Tropang Texters stormed to a 2-0 lead in the previous quarterfinals series, but then won Game 3, took Game 4 after Talk ‘N Text walked out, before completing the comeback with another emotional triumph in Game 5.

For them to do so, however, key players Eric Menk and Celino Cruz should be in their Ginebra uniform beginning Sunday, while hoping that the explosive backcourt duo of JayJay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa will finally hit 100 percent form.

Rising star JC Intal, Ginebra’s best player in the quarterfinals, likewise has to step up. Averaging 23.75 points a game in the previous round, the former Ateneo stalwart has yet to hit the double-digit mark in scoring in the semifinals, limited to only seven points in Game 1 and to merely two points in Game 2.

Cone credits the Aces’ defense for that.

“Guys off the bench are playing good defense on the Intals, the Tubids, the Caguioas. It kind of contained their guards," said Cone.

Meanwhile, Purefoods will have Kerby Raymundo back in its roster for Game 3 of its own semifinals series against San Miguel Beer.

The series is tied at 1-1.

Raymundo, ejected in Game 2 after successive technical fouls including one that involved physical contact with referee Nestor Sambrano, was only fined P4,000 Saturday by the PBA and was spared of suspension.

Source: Author Unknown  | GMANews.TV