MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra worked on all cylinders through 48 minutes and thundered past Talk n Text, 104-81, in Game One of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinals showdown watched by a crowd of nearly 15,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Riding the momentum of their quarterfinals upset of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Kings blasted off from the opening tip and never looked back to sustain their Cinderella ride in the Cebuana Lhuillier PBA playoffs.
Though still crippled minus Mark Caguioa and Billy Mamaril, Ginebra made giant strides that a flat Talk n Text side couldn’t match, and the Kings went on to win the series opener practically by a mile.
“We just came out to play and we’re able to do the things we wanted done,†said Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua.
“Admittedly, our quarters series (versus Rain or Shine) helped us a lot. We got through a very tough time, giving us momentum and morale boost for this game,†Chua added.
It was a virtual no-contest with the Kings – 0-4 at the start of the conference – proving unstoppable in this game.
The Kings dominated the game completely as they seemed to just can’t do wrong while the Texters struggled badly with a terrible shooting, muffing layups and shots from point-blank range.
Vernon Macklin was a steady force throughout, coming through with game-highs of 25 points and nine rebounds, and Kerby Raymundo, Chris Ellis, Mac Baracael, Josh Urbiztondo, LA Tenorio and even Yousef Taha poured in the numbers.
The resurgent Raymundo had his own near double-double game with 14 points and nine rebounds while Ellis, Baracael and Urbiztondo added at least 12 points each.
A big key was Ellis, Baracael, Urbiztondo, Jayjay Helterbrand and Rico Maierhofer combining for 10-of-22 three-point shooting as against Talk n Text’s 1-of-18 clip from beyond the arc.
The Kings hit at a remarkable 61.9-percent clip as they set the tone of the match early, taking the opening period at 33-15.
Baracael went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and Helterbrand scored four points in the last 1.5 seconds to highlight Ginebra’s explosive first quarter.
The Kings kept the searing pace in the next period, leading by as many as 28 at 59-31 on a triple by Urbiztondo from way, way out.
Curiously, Baracael and Chris Ellis outscored the entire TnT team, 16-15, in the first 12 minutes of play.
The Texters also committed more errors, giving away seven points off turnovers right in the opening canto.