Kings rein in Bolts, reign in Game Five

MANILA, Philippines — Before the biggest final crowd ever in league history, Barangay Ginebra put in a huge comeback effort from back-to-back defeats, fashioning out an 85-74 win over Meralco to move in the threshold of a PBA Governors Cup title repeat at the Philippine Arena last night.

The Kings withstood the Bolts’ mighty chase from 18 points down in the second period, reestablishing control midway through the fourth and holding on to win the pivotal match watched by 34,445 chanting fans in the Bocaue dome.

An even bigger crowd could fill the venue as the Kings try to wrap up the series in Game Six Wednesday. Game Seven, if necessary, is also set in the Philippine Arena.

“They beat us in the last two games and it’s very important to stop whatever momentum they got. It’s important for us to get back on track. Our mentality now is to come out and play one more game. That’s the advantage we worked for tonight,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

“(Three-to-two-games lead) still doesn’t mean anything. But in a best-of-three series, it’s important to win the first game,” Cone also said.

Greg Slaughter and LA Tenorio, key stars of the Kings in their Game Five triumph, both vowed to give it their all to finish off the Bolts in the next game.

Slaughter, joining the starting unit for the first time in the series, responded well, churning out double-double numbers with 17 points and 16 rebounds. LA Tenorio, meanwhile, bounced back strong from a scoreless outing in Game Four, also making 17 points that went with six rebounds, four assists and three steals against four turnovers.

“Greg had a very nice aggressive game. He’s physical in going after the rebounds and that’s a difference-maker for us. He made the big difference,” said Cone.

“LA didn’t score last time, but came back and sent a message early that he’s ready for war. And that’s all we did. We all went to war,” Cone also said.

Meralco coach Norman Black rued the Gin Kings started strong and they didn’t react well immediately.

Tenorio, Slaughter, Justin Brownlee, Joe Devance and Kevin Ferrer got the Kings to a jackrabbit start, and themselves stepped up as they fended off Meralco’s tough second-half stand.

A big key was the Kings dousing cold water on the Bolts’ hot three-point shooting in the fourth quarter.

“Before the game, we talked about Meralco having done a good job in grinding out a win. They’re a kind of a grind-out defensive team like us. Basically, we got back to our identity,” said Cone.