CAN Barangay Ginebra follow up its rousing opening act?
It certainly hopes so, while San Miguel Beer looks to reverse the tide as the longtime rivals go at it again in the resumption of their best-of-five semifinal showdown in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.
Following their stunning comeback victory in Game 1, the Gin Kings are now shooting for a commanding 2-0 lead against the Beermen today at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone was thrilled to see his wards step it up after fighting off jitters to start the series.
He knows Game 2 is equally as important as the first one.
“To tell you honestly, it really looked like we were totally overmatched and that we didn’t belong in the same court with them at the start of the first game,” said Cone. “Our guys raised their game and we all were able to build confidence. Game 2 is a big deal now and hopefully we can use that and get another one.”
After shrugging off a tumultuous start, Barangay Ginebra needed a rousing second half in Game 1 to reverse its fortunes and conquer the talent-loaded defending champions.
The Gin Kings, who trailed the entire first half and as much as 12 points, turned in a sensational second half wherein they scored 69 huge points compared to the Beermen’s 51 to snatch and take the crucial game away.
“It was such a great win for us. That didn’t win us the series, but now, we believe in our selves more and we have our rhythm at this stage,” added Cone.
Justin Brownlee continued to show his worth and all-around prowess, scoring a game-high 39 points to lead his Ginebra Kings, while Japeth Aguilar had 22, most of which were in stretches where Ginebra badly needed a basket to prevent San Miguel from creating too much distance.
Ginebra got Game 1 despite LA Tenorio going scoreless.
Over at the other side, San Miguel coach Leo Austria is looking to make the necessary adjustments for his Beermen to be able to equalize.
“Maybe it will be a different situation for us in this next game,” said Austria, who added that he is seeking to use more of his team’s depth. “I’m looking to use more players and get more help from our bench.”
Austria’s only fielded in eight Beermen in Game 1 with all five starters doing much of the damage, contrary to Ginebra’s scattered production.
Meanwhile, top seed TNT KaTropa and Meralco are currently fighting it off to see who gets first blood in their own best-of-five semis series opener, as of this writing.