JOHN Pinto worked double time on both ends of the floor in helping Barangay Ginebra extend its PBA Governors Cup quarterfinal against TNT to a decider.
The 31-year-old guard shadowed talented rookie Mikey Williams, but at the same time came through with some clutch baskets down the stretch in the Kings’ 104-92 win on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Pinto scored all of his six points in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back three-pointers which kept TNT at bay at the height of a huge comeback from a 19-point deficit in the second quarter.
He opted to take his shots from the outside as nothing was going for him after missing a couple of open layups early on.
“Sobrang frustrated ako nung first half kasi open yung mga layups ko. So sabi ko nung halftime ang mindset ko dumipensa,” said Pinto.
Pinto shifts gears
But the opportunity presented itself in the fourth quarter, and the veteran playmaker out of Arellano University opted to try scoring from the outside.
“Open, e. Binigay nila sa akin yung tira,” he said of the two straight three-pointers he knocked down. “Maganda din yung pagka set up ni kuya LA (Tenorio). Buti naman pumasok.”
On top of that, Pinto alternated with Thompson in guarding Williams, who finished with 19 points and went 4-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc - the best Pinto could do in stopping the hot-shooting Fil-Am guard.
“Si Mikey naman kasi, para sa akin a, ang pinaka-mahirap bantayan, pinaka-mahirap na match up,” he said. “Pero wala tayong magagawa diyan, ang gusto lang namin -limit lang siya.
"Tignan mo naka-focus na kami sa kanya, pero ilang points pa rin siya. So gagawin lang namin ang lahat na ma-limit yung touches niya and magawa lang yung game plan para sa kanya.”
Doing both jobs earned Pinto praises for coach Tim Cone, especially with the Kings continue to miss the services of injured players Stanley Pringle, Aljon Mariano, and Jared Dillinger.
“The contributions Nards had given to us is absolutely, I can’t tell you how crucial it is with Stanley out of the lineup,” said the Ginebra mentor. “He’s just huge for us.”
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