Mercado saves the day for Ginebra; series tied 1-1

MANILA, Philippines – Hampered by early fouls and not getting so many touches, Sol Mercado still found a way to come up big – and right when the Barangay Ginebra needed him the most.

Mercado beat big men Allen Durham and Reynel Hugnatan for a key offensive rebound and knocked in the put-back to stop the Meralco blazing rally and subsequently lift Ginebra to a pulsating 82-79 triumph in Game Two of their PBA Governors Cup best-of-seven title playoff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night.

Blowing a 16-point lead in their 109-114 overtime loss in Game One, the Kings looked headed for another fold-up until Mercado bailed them out.

“Sol is our MVP tonight,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, giving credit to Mercado for his clutch play at the finish and on his solid effort defending Meralco import Allen Durham.’

“It’s hard to win a ball game if you don’t get the rebound. We lost one on that big offensive rebound by Mercado,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

The Bolts actually had chances to force overtime but Durham and Cliff Hodge missed an attempt each from the arc in the last 13 seconds.

Ginebra import Justin Brownlee also played a big part as they sent the series back to scratch.

Beaten by the Meralco import for the Best Import award handed out before the game, Brownlee took things in stride and focused on his job, bouncing back strong from a mere 17-point game the last time out.

Brownlee showed up Durham this time, collecting 22 markers just in the first three quarters, including a rare five-point play off a flagrant infraction by Kelly Nabong, opening a 15-point lead for the Kings at 63-48.

The Kings led 69-60 at the end of the third before facing the Meralco fightback spearheaded by Durham, Hodge and third-string guard Anjo Caram.

But Mercado didn’t let this one slip from their hands.

“It was certain a must-win game for us as we couldn’t go down 0-2. They were 4-0 (from the semis) and their momentum was strong. We had to dig deep and I wasn’t sure if we’ve broken their momentum now,” said Cone.

“It could’ve gone either way. They played hard and we fought hard. It’s even and the focus now is Game Three,” said Black.

Brownlee finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds as against Durham’s 22 markers and 15 boards against seven turnovers.

“We changed our match-ups today and we let Sol chase Allen. He did a great job to limit his touches. When Allen got by Sol, which was not very often, either Japeth (Aguilar) or Justin came in to help,” said Cone as they key in neutralizing Durham after his 46-point explosion the last time.

The two teams figured in a nip-and-tuck battle through the first half.

The Kings threatened to make an early breakaway at 18-10 but the Bolts slowed Ginebra down, raced ahead at 40-34 then took a one-point edge, 44-43, at the half.

With Durham held to 13 first-half points, the Bolts spread their production, with the Meralco bench outscoring their Ginebra counterparts, 18-12.

Reynel Hugnatan put in the most significant effort off the bench, scoring nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. For Ginebra, Mark Caguioa had eight on the same 4-of-6 clip.