Ginebra wouldn’t be denied

Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone made sure there would be no Game 7 in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals and closed out the best-of-seven series, 4-2, before 20,224 fans at the sold-out MOA Arena last Friday.  If Meralco won in Game 6, the decider would’ve been at the Philippine Arena tonight.

Because Game 6 was postponed last Wednesday, Ginebra had two extra days of rest and it allowed Cone to play Justin Brownlee, Christian Standhardinger, LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson more than 40 minutes each in the closer. In Game 5 last Sunday, three players logged more than 40 minutes apiece in Ginebra’s eight-man rotation. Three-point shooting was key in the series. In the first five games, Ginebra took 43.6 percent of its field goal attempts from beyond the arc. Ginebra averaged 13.7 triple conversions in winning Games 2, 4, and 5 compared to only seven in losing Games 1 and 3. In Game 6, Ginebra didn’t live or die with the trey and registered only 31.8 percent of its field goal tries from deep, resulting in 10 connections. Cone wouldn’t risk a high rate of three-point attempts in the clincher.

Brownlee scored 24 points, none in the second quarter and it was only the third outing where he shot less than 25 this conference. What caused Meralco problems defensively was Ginebra’s balanced offense with Thompson scoring 10 in the second quarter, Brownlee 17 in the third and Tenorio 11 in the fourth. In Game 5, Meralco outscored Ginebra, 67-61, in the second half but still fell short by five in the end. In Game 6, Ginebra finished strong, outscoring Meralco, 56-45 in the last two quarters with fresher legs. Ginebra had a lot more gas in its tank down the stretch and held the Bolts to 19 points in the final period. Meralco was held to 38.9 percent from the field compared to Ginebra’s 49.4.

Ball movement was crisp in Ginebra’s last three wins, reflected in averaging 24.3 assists. Before Game 6, the team that had more rebounds came out on top in each contest. Ginebra broke the trend by taking Game 6 despite being outrebounded, 55-46. The only winning barometer that held from start to finish was three-point shooting. In every game, the team that had more triples and shot a higher percentage from distance won.

In the finals, Cone’s coaching was reminiscent of his friend Erik Spoelstra’s style at Miami. Tenorio was Kyle Lowry, Brownlee was Jimmy Butler and Thompson was Tyler Herro. The Heat finished the NBA regular season No. 1 in the Eastern Conference and Spoelstra will try to do what Cone just did to win a championship for Miami.