Ginebra sustains big charge

Ginebra sustains big charge

GINEBRA landed another big fish last Sunday and has no intentions of letting up in its hunt for a playoff spot coming from the cellar.


Kings coach Alfrancis Chua sure doesn’t think so.

“Ginebra players are just proving they still have what it takes to win. They’re not giving up,” Chua said moments after the Kings’ 107-100 victory over Talk N Text at the packed Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The victory was the second straight by the Kings over a champion team. The Sunday before, they also cruised to a 96-88 triumph over San Mig Coffee, the defending champion.

“Dalawang malaking isda na ‘yun,” Chua pointed out.

More importantly, the victory stoked what Ginebra’s legions of fans hope would be their continued rise from the depths, after opening the tourney with four straight defeats, and grab a spot among the top eight advancing to the playoffs. At 3-5, the Kings moved alongside Barako Bull and Air21 at sixth.

“We have to keep on winning. At least wala na sa cellar,” Chua said. “Dikit-dikit naman kami (in the standings).”

Things could only get better if the Kings beat Meralco and Barako on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Bolts should be a tough nut to crack, having won their last three, while the Energy Cola have dropped four in a row.

“We’ve shown we could beat in the upper half of the standings. Now, we have to beat those in the lower half,” said Ginebra top gunner Mark Caguioa.

Chua prefers to cross the bridge when his team gets there. Meanwhile, he and his charges will savor their third victory in their last four games that came against the Philippine Cup champion, which went into the game with a mini-streak at 2.

It was all about defense, according to Chua. “I think Talk Text got confused with what we’re doing in defense. We mixed it up. We prepared three kinds of defenses for their pick-and-roll and their drive-and-kick. They didn’t know if we’re going to go under, over the top or switch it. Thank God it worked.”

Talk N Text played without top defender Ryan Reyes, out for a week due to a minor left knee sprain. Tropang Texters coach Norman Black chiefly assigned Jarred Dillinger, Jayson Castro and even Aaron Aban to make the needed stops, but all failed in the decisive fourth quarter.

There was simply no stopping Caguioa, who was lustily egged on by the pro-Ginebra fans among the more than 16,000 paying fans. In the end, the reigning MVP finished with 28 points on top of five assists and four rebounds.

Vernon Macklin had 24 points and nine boards, LA Tenorio 20 points and four feeds and Chris Ellis a team-high 12 rebounds along with seven points.

Donnell Harvey and Jimmy Alapag led the way for TNT with 23 points each, but they and the rest of the Texters got swallowed up whole in the Kings’ crucial surge from a 92-89 count.

The loss left TNT with an even 4-4 slate and slipped into a tie with Meralco and San Mig at fourth.

Source: Malaya.com.ph

Nasa likod nyo (SMCM) na kame sa standing kaya wag mashado mayayabang, tandaan nyo, TALO kayo samen nung nakaraang #ManilaClassico kaya wala kayog "K" magyabang