EKING out a tense 97-96 win over Smart-Gilas Friday night, the Barangay Ginebra Kings are even bracing for the worst when they take on the Nationals anew in Game 2 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

“Mabigat ang Game 2,” admitted coach Jong Uichico moments after the Kings edged out the younger and faster Nationals by the skin of their teeth in the series opener.

“They’ll definitely come out and do everything they can. We just have to work harder.”

The Nationals did choke in their first playoff appearance, going 12-of-29 overall from the foul line, including one each from Marcus Douthit and team captain Chris Tiu inside the final 28 seconds of the tightly-fought game marked by 14 deadlocks and 20 lead changes.

Douthit, a 46 percent shooter from the foul line, was 5-of-12 from the same area, missing the front-end of his two charities with 5.1 seconds remaining and Smart Gilas trailing by a single point.

Ginebra’s Willie Miller also flubbed his two charities at the other end that could have wrapped things up for the league’s most popular ballclub, but import Nate Brumfield preserved the win by grabbing the offensive rebound that gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the series.

Smart Gilas mentor Rajko Toroman thinks the Nationals can play better than they did in the semis opener.

“I don’t think we can play much worse than in Game 1,” he said. “We didn’t play a good game in Game One. You can expect a much better play from us (in Game Two).”

The Nationals did appear out-of-synch as the Kings beat them right in their own game by outscoring them off transition, 25-7.

“We’re older, we’re smarter, we’re vets. They’re younger and have fresh legs. But that
doesn’t mean they can outrun us. That doesn’t mean hindi namin sila kayang sabayan,” said Ginebra shooting guard Mark Caguioa, who finished with 16 points and conspired with Brumfield down the stretch in rallying the Kings from an 82-88 deficit in the final four minutes.

Brumfield had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and scored Ginebra’s last five points including a completed three-point play that put the Kings on top for good, 97-95, with 18.3 seconds to go.

Douthit was again a monster for Smart-Gilas inside the paint, powering his way for 31 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

But unlike Brumfield, the 6-foot-11 naturalized Filipino, who suited up for the team despite nursing a fracture in his right hand, failed to deliver at crunch time by missing on the free throw that could have tied the count and send the game into overtime. “We cannot win games if we keep on missing free throws,” Toroman admitted.