Freeman laments lack of chemistry in Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – Gabe Freeman failed to back up his talk of taking Brgy. Ginebra Kings deeper in the playoffs.

After a close overtime loss to Rain or Shine in his debut, Freeman said that he had no plans of making his Philippine comeback just a short two-game stint. But the former two-time Best Import ate up his words and ended his very brief stint in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup in a forgettable shooting night on Tuesday.

Talk n Text wing defenders forced Freeman to a woeful 2-of-17 from the field. He wound up with 15 points, helped by an 11-of-16 effort from the stripes, and grabbed 22 rebounds but still not enough to lift the Kings.  His counterpart Richard Howell turned in monster performance of 41 points, 22 rebounds and two steals in leading the Talk n Text Tropang Texters to a 97-84 blowout victory.

Playing with the Kings in only his second game, Freeman lamented the team’s lack of chemistry.

“By far, Ginebra is the best in the PBA. They just have to put it together. Sometimes you might have the pieces of the puzzle but you’ve got to find the instructions to the puzzle,” said Freeman without mentioning the Kings’ current set-up of UAAP champion coach Juno Sauler taking over this conference in a more active capacity helping out head coach Ato Agustin.

“We’ve got to put it on the court. On paper, we’re one of the best teams but on the court, we’ve got to put it together,” Freeman added.

In contrast, the 28-year old import praised Talk n Text for showing how it should be done.

“Talk n Text played cohesively. Even if their import scored 41 points, everybody got into the mix and got good shots,” Freeman said. 

The Tropang Texters remained unbeaten in 10 games and booked the first slot in the Final Four. The Kings, meanwhile, failed to get past through the quarterfinals  after making it to the semifinals last Philippine Cup following a massive rebuilding effort since their losing stint in the Finals of this tournament last season.