CHICAGO — Gifted with superior physical tools such as a 6-foot-9 frame, a 7’3 wingspan and a 9’1 standing reach, Chris McCullough is an elite forward.
Dizzyingly quick, fluid as water, and with an above average basketball IQ.
He is also bursting with confidence.
“Once I get going, it will be scary,” he told reporters before dropping 42 points in a semifinals game versus Meralco last May 29.
Before the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals started last Wednesday, C-Mac made another declaration.
“This is going to be one of the Finals that will be remembered for a long time.”
FORGETTABLE.
Ginebra beat McCullogh’s TNT, 102-100, to draw first blood.
And though Game One had a thrilling ending, calling it a classic would be a stretch.
McCullough had 25 points and 14 rebounds. Good but not exactly the type of performance that make historians giddy.
In fact, the one thing C-Mac did that was hard to forget was his turnover in the last 1:49 seconds of play.
The deflating miscue resulted in a backbreaking RJ Abarrientos 4 that reclaimed the lead for Ginebra, 96-95.
There’s no doubt McCullough will bounce back in Game 2 but for TNT to defend its title, C-Mac needs to be dominant on defense.
OFF LIMITS.
Ginebra’s bigs — Justine Brownlee, Troy Rosario and Japeth Aguilar — combined for 46 points on 20-of-36 shooting in Game One.
That can’t happen again.
McCullough, a top-flight defender whose 2015 NBA Draft scouting report had glowing reviews on his speed and lateral movement, needs to lock in.
Which means doing a better job of staying with Brownlee while helping TNT’s frontline in keeping Aguilar, Rosario and the Gin Kings off the paint.
After two ACL tears on his right knee, the question remains. is C-Mac, now age 31, still the same five-star talent out of blue-blood Syracuse?
I think so, McCullough is still a beast.
There’s just one problem.
Ginebra has the GOAT import, a perennial champion showing little, if any, signs of decline.
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