Ginebra’s escape act

Ginebra coach Tim Cone admitted that the Barangay was outplayed by the Star Hotshots in their PBA Governors Cup duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Sunday and lucky to escape with a 105-101 overtime decision.

Despite its huge size advantage, Ginebra had less offensive rebounds than Star as the Hotshots worked their butts off in a bid to snap the Barangay’s five-game win streak. Star led majority of the way and was in the driver’s seat for 30:29 minutes while Ginebra was on top for 22:15.

Throughout the game, Star coach Chito Victolero kept reminding the Hotshots not to engage Ginebra in a shooting contest and to focus on defense more than anything else. But the temptation to trade baskets isn’t easily ignored because it’s offense that gets the crowd going. And last Sunday, 15,325 fans packed the Big Dome to witness the revival of what is now known as Manila Clasico. They weren’t disappointed as both teams delivered a rousing treat of exciting, high-quality hoops.

Star raced to a 4-0 start in the conference, liming opponents to an average of 89.3 points. Its only loss before facing Ginebra was to Rain Or Shine on a 92-88 decision. But in regulation last Sunday, Ginebra scored 95. Star’s chances to win are higher when opponents are held to less than 90.

Victolero’s emphasis was evident as Ginebra was forced into committing 23 turnovers to Star’s 14 and the Hotshots scored 29 turnover points to Ginebra’s 11. Star had more steals, 12-6, and more offensive rebounds, 23-21, so the extra possessions gave the Hotshots 106 field goal attempts to Ginebra’s 89. Star’s problem was it failed to connect consistently, shooting only 36 percent from the field to Ginebra’s 48 percent. That was in spite of Star scoring 22 fastbreak points to Ginebra’s 12.

Cone, widely considered the guru of PBA coaches, was severely challenged by Victolero in their war of wits. Cone stayed the course with Ginebra’s triangle and the efficiency of the team’s execution led to 25 assists compared to only 13 for Star. That accounted for the disparity in field goal percentage. What boosted Star’s chances to pull off an upset was Ginebra’s woeful performance from the free throw line. The Barangay shot only 40 percent from the stripe, missing 18 foul shots while Star was perfect with 16-of-16.

Still, it took Star import Malcolm Hill to drain three straight free throws with a fraction of a second left in regulation to force overtime. And when Hill fouled out in extension, Ginebra was home free. Ginebra’s celebrated import Justin Brownlee poured in a conference-high 33 points but got strong support from Joe De Vance and Greg Slaughter with 17 points each.

Hill, at 21 the youngest player in the league, finished with 28 points and displayed a lot of guts in putting Star on his shoulders down the stretch. Hill is a fresh graduate from the University of Illinois and playing in his first overseas league. Another Hotshot who shone was Paul Lee who fired 19 of his 22 points in the second half and overtime. Lee was saddled with early foul trouble and logged only 4:09 minutes in the first half. Would the outcome have been different if Lee played more than he did? He saw action for 25:01 minutes when his average before the game was 29.8.

Clearly, the difference between Brownlee and Hill is experience. Brownlee, 29, has played in Mexico, Italy and France and is on his third tour of PBA duty. He led Ginebra to the Governors Cup throne last season. Hill is still wet behind the ears but he’s learning fast. Although more of a perimeter player, Hill is a dazzling slasher and a reliable finisher. Against Rain Or Shine, he pulled down 20 boards so rebounding is a strength, too. Against Ginebra, Hill had 12 rebounds.

With 7-foot Greg Slaughter back in harness, Cone has the luxury of playing a big lineup featuring Japeth Aguilar at four and Brownlee at three. He can alternate Slaughter and Aguilar in the middle with Brownlee moving up to four and Joe De Vance playing three. Those combinations are dream-like for Ginebra and nightmare-like for opponents. L. A. Tenorio, Scottie Thompson and Sol Mercado provide the lift in the backcourt. Ginebra has now won six in a row and is on top of the PBA standings with a 6-1 record.

For Star, it’s welcome news that Marc Pingris is slowly working his way back to form. Pingris said he’s 80 percent fit but it’s taking time to get back in game shape after a six-month layoff. Pingris spent a month rehabbing in Los Angeles before the conference and worked with Dr. John Meyer, a hip specialist. Pingris said Dr. Meyer worked with former Purefoods star Kerby Raymundo years back. So far, Pingris has played in only three games this conference and hasn’t scored. In the Ginebra game, he grabbed eight rebounds in 19:02 minutes and defended Brownlee.