MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico can now heave a big sigh of relief.
Why not?
The Kings had just beaten the San Miguel Beermen last Sunday – their first after losing four straight this conference.
The win could not have come at a better time.
The Kings’ 95-78 win at the Araneta Coliseum trimmed SMB’s lead to 1-2 in the Philippine Cup semis series.
“It was a very important win because it’s really hard to fall 0-3,” Uichico said moments after the win.
The Kings finally pulled it through by unleashing a furious start to take a 30-14 lead before bloating it to as high as 25 (46-21) late in the first half.
Although the Beermen rallied in the third when they came within nine, former MVP Willie Miller (19 points) and Mark Caguioa (17 points, 12 rebounds) answered back quickly with crucial plays in the fourth to seal the victory.
The game was so intense that Caguioa had a verbal spat with teammate Rudy Hatfield. “Me and Rudy got into it, pero hindi naman sa galit kami sa isa’t isa. We just wanted to do all the right things. We need that game really bad,” Caguioa said.
Ginebra guns for equalizer when Game 4 is played this Wednesday also at the Big Dome.
Ginebra is expected to throw everything at San Miguel to avert a 3-1 hole, a deficit that is almost impossible to overcome. Only two teams have come back to win the series after falling 1-3 since the league was established in 1975.
The Robert Jaworski-mentored Ginebra did it first against Shell in the 1991 1st Conference Finals, while Purefoods climbed back from 1-3 deficit to beat Alaska in the 2006 Philippine Cup semifinals.
“Hopefully we can take care of the same things in Game 4,” Uichico said. “Hopefully we can play with the same intensity. At least we’ve got a shot. We know it’s a hard climb, but at least we have that shot. Sayang yung never-say die attitude namin,” he added.
Uichico said they have to continue figuring out ways to exploit their offensive firepower, which what they did in Game 3, shooting 34-of-72 (47.2%) from the field while holding SMB to 32-of-85 (37.6%).
Waylon Galvez, Manila Bulletin
