BARANGAY Ginebra shoots for a 2-0 lead in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup finals after a dramatic win to open the series.
On the other hand, a 0-2 deficit could spell trouble for TNT. Coincidentally, the last time a team triumphed in the first two games of the title round was during the 49th Season Governors’ Cup, when the Tropang 5G began with back-to-back wins before claiming the crown in six games.
Here is a preview of this Game Two:
TNT VS. BARANGAY GINEBRA
Barangay Ginebra leads series, 1-0
When: Friday, June 5. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Gin Kings go for 2-0 lead
Ginebra looks to snatch a 2-0 lead after drawing first blood in dramatic fashion, with Justin Brownlee draining a jumper with 0.6 seconds left for a 102-100 win over TNT.
RJ Abarrientos top-scored with 24 points after also delivering in the clutch with a pair of four-pointers to open the opportunity for Brownlee to hit another of his now-signature game-winners. Brownlee wound up with 23 points.
Unselfish basketball
The ball was moving for Ginebra in Game One where it collected 30 assists, its highest this conference since it had 31 against Terrafirma last April 18. Lost in their incredible shotmaking was how Brownlee and Abarrientos were unselfish, as the former dished out eight assists and the latter chipped in seven of his own.
Troy, Cu make impact
Troy Rosario and Ralph Cu were beneficiaries of TNT’s defense collapsing on Brownlee and Abarrientos.
Rosario scored 16 points, some of which coming from drop passes. He also had nine rebounds, four on the offensive end to also get makes from follow-ups.
Cu got a couple of open looks from kickouts, and made three triples on his way to finishing with nine points, while continuing to contribute in other areas with four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Ginebra wins even after being outrebounded
If there is something to nitpick about Ginebra’s Game One, it’s their rebounding. The Gin Kings were outrebounded by TNT, 42-31, including a 14-8 disadvantage in offensive rebounds.
The Tropang 5G got 18 second-chance points from those boards, compared to Ginebra getting only seven. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Calvin Oftana totalled seven offensive rebounds for TNT, with some coming in that third quarter where the Tropang 5G made their rally.
'Sting-Rey' comes alive
TNT got a boost from Rey Nambatac in Game One. After being held scoreless twice and scoring only five points in the closeout game during the Meralco semifinals series, Nambatac had 19 points, making 3-of-5 threes, as well as a four last Wednesday.
Nambatac was tasked to defend Abarrientos, all while also making him work on defense. Nambatac needs to sustain this form that got him the Finals MVP last season in order for the Tropang 5G to even the series.
Foul trouble for Heading
Jordan Heading couldn’t get going offensively after he was tagged with two fouls in the first quarter that limited his minutes in the second half. Heading finished with only five points on 1-of-4 shooting from threes, a far cry from the 30 points on 7-of-10 from threes during Game Six of the semis against the Bolts.
Quitevis’s defense against Abarrientos
With the way Sean Quitevis played on defense against Abarrientos in Game One, he might have earned for himself more playing time for Friday’s important clash. Quitevis was inserted in the third quarter to defend Abarrientos, and did a fine job in six minutes of work, with Abarrientos being limited to four points and 1-of-5 from the field in that period that also helped TNT mount a comeback.
Ginebra was already up, 64-46, early in the third quarter, but that was chopped down to 79-72, at the end of the period with the help of Quitevis’ defense.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
