Easter Sunday faceoff

Meralco, Ginebra in crucial game 5

MANILA, Philippines — Holder Barangay Ginebra and fierce challenger Meralco engage in an Easter Sunday mano a mano to dispute a pivotal 3-2 lead in their race-to-four war for the PBA Governors’ Cup crown.

The protagonists have been in a back-and-forth affair prior to the brief Holy Week break with the Bolts taking Games 1 and 3 and the Gin Kings striking back each time to draw level.

Ginebra coach Tim Cone couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of winning Game 4 last Wednesday, 95-84, transforming what could have been a daunting 3-1 deficit for the crowd darlings into a 2-2 standoff.

“We were playing for our lives in that game…now it’s a best-of-three series, it’s equal,” said Cone, whose team is looking to break the trend, go back-to-back and beat Meralco to that crucial third victory in the 6:30 p.m. tiff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It’s basically whoever gets the next game is going to have a leg up. Game 4 allowed us to stay in the series and have a chance to win.”

Game 4 was witnessed by a live audience of 17,298, the biggest so far for a local sporting event during the pandemic.

In pulling off the equalizer, the Gin Kings leaned heavily on Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson, who posted identical 27-point outings after winning the Best Import and Best Player of the Conference awards.

LA Tenorio, with 17, and Christian Standhardinger, with 11, complemented the duo as the Gin Kings outworked the Bolts particularly in the second half of play.

Meralco mentor Norman Black tasked Tony Bishop, Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi, Raymond Almazan, Cliff Hodge and the rest of the Bolts to power up if they want to finally get on the hill after a listless showing last time.

“There’s no excuse having no energy at this point. We’re trying to win a championship so your performance on the court, your production on the court will determine whether you win or not. Hopefully, they got their rest and we’ll be ready on Sunday,” said Black.

Meralco should bounce back defensively after allowing Ginebra to shoot a whopping 52.5 percent (21-of-40) in the last 24 minutes of Game 4, where the Gin Kings made their breakaway.

“Our defense was poor particularly in the second half. We’re just always late recovering and (in) rotation and they seemed to have open shots. Ginebra’s a good team when moving the basketball and if you don’t have all your rotations, somebody’s going to be open for a shot,” said Black.

Ginebra slotman Japeth Aguilar, meanwhile, reverted to a “game-time decision” after apparently re-injuring his calf when he made his finals debut last Wednesday.