Beware the Kings' heart

Ginebra San Miguel’s show of strength was startling as the Kings crushed San Miguel Beer, 95-78, in Game 3 of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series before 17,500 fans at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday.

It was Ginebra’s first win over San Miguel in five meetings this conference but none of the previous four outcomes was as decisive. 

In the eliminations, San Miguel repulsed the Kings twice, 69-68, last Oct. 17 and 79-78 last Nov. 21. In the semis, the Beermen got the jump on Ginebra, 86-84, in Game 1 and repeated, 108-102, in the rematch.

Clearly, San Miguel is tough to beat when the game is close and the verdict is on the line. Poise under pressure is what sets San Miguel apart from other teams because of its championship experience and star-studded lineup. That’s why in Game 3 last Sunday, Ginebra coach Joseph Uichico wanted his boys to start strong, realizing the difficulty of turning back San Miguel in a tight contest down the stretch.

Mark Caguioa knew it, too. The Spark revealed in a TV interview that he asked Uichico to insert him in the starting lineup, obviously to get off to a jackrabbit burst. The ploy worked like a charm. Ginebra ended the first period up by 16 and padded the cushion to 25 in the second quarter. The Beermen made their run in the third period but the mountain was too high to climb. Ginebra held on to win by 17.

Caguioa didn’t start in the first two games of the semis and last Sunday’s tweak proved to be crucial. Willie Miller came off the bench to deliver 19 points, two more than Caguioa, so it didn’t make a difference whether the Thriller started or not. Nobody complained because the bottom line was the proof of the pudding. 

What led to Ginebra’s victory was its never-say-die spirit. Kings fans call it heart. If Ginebra lost, San Miguel would’ve opened a 3-0 series lead and dug the Kings in a deep hole. Beating the Beermen three in a row is next to impossible and Uichico knew Game 3 was a must-win situation.

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The Kings’ heart was evident in the way they played unforgiving defense, holding San Miguel to .376 shooting from the field. In Game 1, San Miguel shot .434 and in Game 2, .452 so it was the first time in the semis that the Beermen were limited to less than 40 percent accuracy. The key was Ginebra shutting down San Miguel’s passing lanes. The Beermen finished with only 13 assists after compiling 21 in Game 2. On offense, the Kings were just as driven. They attacked relentlessly and put San Miguel in the penalty in all four periods. In the final tally, San Miguel had 30 fouls to Ginebra’s 17 and the Kings hit 20-of-35 free throws to the Beermen’s 5-of-10. 

Ginebra translated its toughness in defense to easy baskets as the Kings notched 20 turnover points to San Miguel’s eight even if the Beermen had only two more miscues. It meant Ginebra capitalized but San Miguel didn’t.

Game 4 is scheduled today and once again, the Kings will be tested.

Ginebra is not out of the woods yet. A Ginebra loss will propel San Miguel to a 3-1 series lead and put pressure on the Kings to win three in a row. In the 2006-07 Philippine Cup, Ginebra and San Miguel squared off for the title. San Miguel surged on top, 2-0, after winning Game 1, 118-94, and Game 2, 104-101. Then, Ginebra came back with a vengeance to sweep the next four encounters, 131-101, 146-111, 94-82, and 96-94. Note that Ginebra’s comeback was triggered by a 30-point blowout in Game 3. Instrumental in leading the charge for the Kings was Caguioa who averaged 26.3 points in the finals. The Ginebra players who saw action then and are still with the team are Caguioa, Rudy Hatfield, Eric Menk, Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Billy Mamaril and Ronald Tubid. The San Miguel holdovers are Olsen Racela, Danny Seigle, Dorian Peña, Dondon Hontiveros and Danny Ildefonso. Two players who switched squads were Sunday Salvacion (now with San Miguel) and Willie Wilson (now with Ginebra).

The last time San Miguel and Ginebra faced off in a best-of-seven series was in the 2008-09 Fiesta Conference finals. The Beermen were down, 2-3, but won Game 6, 98-84, and Game 7, 90-79, to capture the championship.

Siot Tanquingcen was then San Miguel’s coach. He has since moved to Ginebra as Uichico’s assistant with Ato Agustin taking over the Beermen reins.

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Rain Or Shine guard Sol Mercado reacted sharply to a comment I made about James Yap’s nudging move to create separation from a defender during a recent B-Meg game. I said Michael Jordan used to do it, too. 

 “I didn’t agree with comparing it to Jordan but that’s just my opinion,” he said in a text. “Jordan is known as having one if not the quickest first step and in my opinion, I don’t think James does. I think James is one of the best players in the league but he doesn’t even belong in the same breath as Jordan. I don’t even agree with people comparing Kobe to him, let alone James. But this is just my opinion.”

As to Mercado’s comment bashing me in his twitter account, he admitted “it was definitely an impulsive statement.” Thanks, Sol. Actually, I don’t mind constructive criticism but let’s not get personal or violently offensive particularly in sending messages on twitter and facebook. There’s a temptation to be licentious and irreverent because of the freedom that social networking allows. We should realize the responsibility is greater when given wide access to media. In the final analysis, it all boils down to a conscience call.