Tighter showdown looms in Game Two

MANILA, Philippines - An extra five minutes to determine the outcome of Game One has raised expectations of a slam-bang, cutthroat title showdown between the Meralco Bolts and the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

Having sized up each other in the Friday series opener, the Bolts and the Kings are likely to figure in a more competitive, intense duel in Game Two of their PBA Governors Cup best-of-seven titular series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. preceded by the awarding of the Best Player of the Conference trophy which is a tossup between TNT KaTropa top gun Jayson Castro and San Miguel Beer main man June Mar Fajardo.

The title protagonists are again slugging it out before a sellout crowd with the pressure a little bit heavier on the Kings with their 109-114 loss in overtime Friday night.

The Kings know it would be hard to fall on a 0-2 hole in this series, especially against a Meralco side looking so determined to go all out in chase of a breakthrough PBA championship.

Taking one game at a time is a cliché but that’s what the Bolts have in mind.

“We will just focus all our energy on winning Game Two. We know that Ginebra will come out strong so we have to be prepared,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

“Our focus will be on playing better in Game Two than we played in Game One, and also to try to slow down LA Tenorio,” Black also said.

Fighting with the energy and passion that carried them to their first PBA finals, the Bolts pulled one over the Kings for the first time this season.

A big key was Allen Durham with his monstrous 46-point performance.

Ginebra coach Tim Cone felt the full five-game route they had taken in the semis might have taken its toll on them.

Cone insisted though that they’re not discouraged.

“We feel we have a lot more to show in Game Two. Needless to say, however, we need to find an answer to Durham. He was just too dominant for us to overcome,” said Cone.

LA Tenorio rued they relaxed after opening a 16-point spread in the third period while Ginebra import Justin Brownlee was man enough to take responsibility, saying he’s to blame for Durham’s huge explosion.

“I give a lot of credit to Allen Durham, he played really well. He’s a tough guy to stop,” said Brownlee. “Mainly, I would take the blame because Allen had a great game. I take a lot of blame for that.”

Worse, Brownlee also failed to deliver offensively, struggling for only 17 point in 47 minutes of action.

Blaming himself for not being aggressive, Brownlee vowed that surely won’t be the case in Game Two.

“It’s gonna be very different. We’re gonna come out a lot harder, come out and defend especially on Allen Durham,” he said. “For this series, you have to defend him better. That’s gonna be the biggest key for us, defensively.”