DURING the postgame press conference of Game Three of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, Meralco coach Norman Black was reminded by reporters of the fact that the Bolts blew a 2-1 lead in 2016 against the same Ginebra team.
“You guys have been reminding me of that a lot,” said Black with a smile.
The Bolts are indeed back in familiar territory. This time around, they will look to seize a two-game advantage in the best-of-seven series when they face Barangay Ginebra in Game Four at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Gametime is at 6 p.m.
Back in 2016, Meralco also had a 2-1 series lead in its first face-off against Ginebra in the finals after the Gins won three consecutive games after Game Three.
Black said that the collapse won’t be in the minds of the players.
“I think that was six years ago. Just live in the present which is we are up 2-1 and we will be back on Wednesday,” said Black.
'You can't live in the past'
“In this business, you can’t live in the past. You have to live with what’s going on in the future,” said Black.
That will be the same mindset of Meralco when it faces Ginebra in Game Four. The Bolts defeated the Gins, 83-74, in a low-scoring, defense-oriented affair with Tony Bishop, Chris Newsome, and Allein Maliksi nailing the critical shots in the endgame.
Meralco outscored Ginebra, 21-13, in the fourth quarter to seize the victory.
Black expects a different Ginebra team come Game Four especially with the possibility that Japeth Aguilar will be back in action after a calf injury.
Justin Brownlee is also coming off a relatively off-night offensively when he had 19 points, the lowest in the conference, on a cold 1-of-10 shooting from threes.
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