Brgy. Ginebra not only fought with intensity but also ferociously.
Like a hungry pack of lions that has not been fed for days, the Gin Kings “devoured” their opponents like they were fresh meat straight from the slaughterhouse with a 96-81 shellacking on Christmas Day.
And naturally, the dominantly pro-Ginebra crowd cheered their voices hoarse with gusto as their court heroes drew first blood in the best of seven Commissioner’s Cup Finals Series.
Again, this was just the perfect time for an old reliable hand – a veteran of the war – to show what he still got.
The 5 foot 10 LA Tenorio poured in 22 markers from all angles that gave Coach Goorjian something to worry about.
The BAD mentor actually focused his attention on Justin Brownlee who is likewise unstoppable, top scoring for the Gin Kings and a double double of 28 pts and 15 rebounds.
Ginebra trailed at one time 26-34 but a 19-6 blast gave the Gins the drivers’ seat, enjoying the first half lead,45-41.
Andrew Nicholson as usual was burying threes but he was limited to just 27 and the fast paced running game employed by Tim Cone seemed to have tired him.
From all indications, Cone already had all bases covered as Nicholson’s teammates could not produce the points they ably did in their previous matches in the preliminaries.
The Gin Kings challenged every shot from the Dragons arsenal.
Besides, the Gins’ physical defense must have intimidated the visitors who had previously walloped with ease the other PBA ball clubs with their own brand of basketball.
JB and company matched every shot their opponents made and ably increased their lead to 8 at the conclusion of the third, 72-64,
Cone said playing on Christmas Days is a little overwhelming. “It is somewhat overwhelming to see people come to watch us play on a special time like this,” the amiable Ginebra mentor said in so many words during the post-game interview.
But hey, Goorjian will not take this loss sitting down.
He will go back to the drawing board and find out what went wrong with his boys.
If the Dragons don’t level back in Game 2 on Wednesday, I don’t know how they can crawl out of the hole with a 0-2 deficit.
Facing Ginebra whose championship energy seems boundless, Goorijan must make sure Brownlee is handcuffed as tight as possible.
But who among his boys can ably guard a shifty and intelligent playmaker like JB?
Yes, the Dragons have excellent snipers but they evidently lack bangers and dependable sentries.
This series should be over in six.
THE SCORES: GINEBRA – Brownlee 28, Tenorio 22, Standhardinger 16, Thompson 15, Japeth Aguilar 6, Pringle 5, Malonzo 3, Gray 2, Mariano, R. Aguilar, Pessumal 0.
BAY AREA DRAGONS = Nicholson 27, Yang 12, Zhu 12, Lam 11, Ju 6, Song 5, Blankley 4, Reid 0.
