Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico realize the hardships the Kings have to overcome to take San Miguel Beer out of its path. But at least they got a shot.
With their backs against wall, the Kings dominated the mighty Beermen in Game Three of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series for a 95-78 victory to avoid falling into 0-3 hole and effectively preventing a repeat of the sad fortune that befell the team last season.
The Kings were swept by the Alaska Aces in the Final Four of this conference last year so
Sunday’s breakthrough took some pressure off Uichico’s shoulder.
Now the question is: Can Barangay Ginebra sustain the momentum?
“Hopefully we could take care of things on Wednesday,” said Uichico during a post-game
interview, then told sportswriters in jest how he wish SMB would have another off night.
Of course, it was just wishful thinking.
Uichico knows well the Beermen would regroup and try to redeem themselves in Game 4 but he likewise expects his Kings to display the same amount of urgency and motivation.
Needless to say, he is counting on the ability of Willie Miller and Mark Caguioa to sustain their
offensive thrust and keeping his fingers crossed that Eric Menk would be short of a demon in the paint and provide Rudy Hatfield help off the boards.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled at 5 o’clock at the Araneta Coliseum.
SMB has eliminated Ginebra in the last three playoff series between the two teams but Uichico is optimistic they will able to survive this one.
“We realize what we have to do to stay in the series. We know it’s a hard climb but at least we
still got a shot,” said the mild-mannered Uichico.
Caguioa, who had 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds in Game 3, also believes they have a good chance to turn the series around.
“We just have to do all the right things and run our plays right,” he said.
Although he was disappointed with their showing in Game 3, SMB coach Ato Agustin thinks Sunday’s downfall was, in a way, also beneficial to his charges.
Agustin considers the defeat a wake-up call and allowed the Beermen to realize that the Kings are no pushovers.
The Beermen inexplicably turned from amazing to mediocre in Game 3. They looked tired, shot poorly and didn’t have the kind of aggressiveness that allowed them to dominate Games 1 and 2.
“Dapat maramdaman din namin yun [loss] talaga. Para malaman ng players hindi biru-biro ang semis lalo na kapag Ginebra [ang kalaban],” said Agustin, trying to become just the sixth coach to win a championship in his maiden conference. (DBC)
