Gin and Tonic

Make mine gin and tonic. That can be our drink for every game of the ongoing PBA Finals series between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco. The gin courtesy of the country’s most popular basketball team; the tonic thanks to the sparks coming from the voltage of Meralco. It’s Ginebra-Meralco Part 3, and while it may not match up with the Crispa-Toyota rivalry, it has its own share of unique selling points that should bring in good-size crowds and a fair TV audience. For the record, Ginebra is 2-0 in the trilogy and is naturally the favorite in the series. But the series is now tied 1-all and anything can still happen.

Both won their respective games in different fashion. Ginebra won Game 1, 91-87, through better end-game composure-cum-breaks and defense. Justin Brownlee was unstoppable with a game-high 38 points including five triples, shooting 48% from the field. And that was with hardly any rest. His minutes? 47:03. Ginebra also had eight blocks, four from Greg Slaughter and three from Japeth Aguilar that included a highlight reel block on Allen Durham in the end-game. Aguilar also scored 16 points and had six rebounds. I felt though that LA Tenorio was Game 1’s Mr. Clutch for Ginebra when he made key baskets as he took Baser Amer to school the old-fashioned way. Just when Meralco was looking at Brownlee to score, LA niftily found his way to drives at the right time, catching Amer and the Meralco defense ball-watching, on his way to 14 points. I’m pretty sure Coach Norman had warned them about the LA of old who looked like he was still fresh from college. Meralco’s scorers fired blanks, going 7-for-32 (21%) from three-point land. Moreover, end-game decision-making was in Ginebra’s favor as Meralco couldn’t pull the trigger. Durham was the usual with 25 points, but was defended well at crunch-time. Chris Newsome had a break-out game of 24 points but didn’t fizzled in the end-game. With Meralco’s outside shooting experiencing a brownout, Ginebra’s interior defense got a bonus and shut down the lane.

Three days later, Meralco led from start to finish for a 104-102 win, banking on the return of its three-point shooting, the surprise step-up games of the “other” players John Pinto and Nico Salva, and Baser Amer’s waking up after being embarrassed by LA Tenorio in Game 1. They took turns in delivering for the Bolts as Durham continued with his steady play. John Pinto wowed the Lucena crowd with four triples in the first half before Salva single-handedly kept Meralco in the game against an Ginebra rally in the third period. Salva had “only” nine points on 4-5 shooting, but all were clutch baskets in the period when Ginebra drew close. He also dished four assists in a display of quality time over 17 minutes of playing time. Meralco recovered form their three-point shooting brownout and drilled 16 treys, shooting 42% from beyond the arc. This was good enough to maintain the lead for Meralco, especially when Ginebra came roaring back in the second half. Meralco led 63-46 at halftime, but Ginebra slashed to lead to 82-76 at the end of the third period. Ginebra had actually tied the game at 70-all, but four Meralco triples -two by Amer and one each from Salva and Bryan Faundo- saved the day for the Bolts to end the third period. Ginebra would rally yet once again in the fourth period, but Meralco was ready this time, with more triples from Amer, Newsome and Caram. Durham, who was hounded once again all game-long by Aljun Melencio, had 21 points, including a putback that doused any chance of an Ginebra comeback. Meralco had a more balanced attack through Durham (21), Newsome (17), Amer (17), Almazan (13) and Pinto (12). Brownlee dominated for Ginebra anew with 35 points, and was supported by Pringle (23), Aguilar (18) and Tenorio (10).

Other can’t miss notes? The series is yet another version of the battle of the sports giants: San Miguel Corp. and the MVP Group of companies. It’s RSA vs. MVP and Al vs. Al (Chua and Panlilio). Both teams are coached by two of the best: Tim Cone and Norman Black. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? Both Americans have made the Philippines their home and are very much part of Pinoy basketball culture. Do we hear complaints about the entry of foreign coaches again? Products of Ateneo de Manila are very much present in the series. Tenorio, Aguilar and Slaughter are playing key roles for Ginebra as are Chris Newsome and Nico Salva for Meralco. All except Newsome once played for Norman Black, who himself is a product of a Jesuit school, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Allein Maliksi has been a non-factor for Meralco. Stanley Pringle has scored the most spectacular shots so far. Mark Caguioa showed flashes of his old ways when he scored four points in Game 2.

I still feel Ginebra is favored to win the title due to its more versatile import who can operate inside and out, its better quarterback in LA Tenorio and the presence of its twin towers anchoring the defense. Keys to a Meralco win? Durham must match Brownlee’s output just as much as Amer needs to level up with Tenorio. Meralco must make that outside shot to open space for Durham. Maliksi has to wake up. The bench players must always deliver (Salva, Caram, Pinto). And the Meralco crowd has to be louder than Ginebra’s.