MANILA, Philippines – Smart-Gilas Pilipinas will come out with a better performance, Rajko Toroman vowed on Saturday, but whether it would be good enough to stop Barangay Ginebra, the mercurial Serbian coach doesn’t know.
The Nationals, smarting from a 97-96 loss to the Kings Friday, return to the court on Sunday at 4 p.m. for Game 2 of the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We didn’t play a good game. We had problems in the guard position,” said Toroman. “Our problem is that we didn’t play a game for two weeks, we are out of rhythm.”
Import Nate Brumfield led Ginebra with 31 points and 13 boards, while forward Rudy Hatfield had a double-double performance of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Guard Mark Caguioa added 16 points as Ginebra avenged its 111-104 loss to Gilas in the eliminations.
“The reason why we lost, Ginebra wants it more. We missed free throws,” said Toroman, referring to his team’s 17-of-29 shooting from the foul line. “We cannot win game if we miss free throws.”
JV Casio and Marcio Lassiter, Gilas’ top guards, struggled in the series opener, combining for just nine points after averaging 15 and 13 points, respectively in the eliminations.
“The point is, our outside players didn’t play well far out of the level. You can expect much better play. I don’t know if it will be enough to win the game, but we have to play the level of Smart-Gilas. We need to shoot well,” added Toroman.
Even with a strained right hand, Smart-Gilas naturalized player Marcus Douthit played for 44 minutes and had 31 points and and 16 rebounds, while Mac Baracael came off the bench to add 21 markers and Mark Barroca contributed 15 markers.
Ginebra coach Jong Uichico is happy for Ginebra’s winning start, but expects a big Gilas fightback.
“It’s really hard to play Gilas. Mas mabigat ang Game 2, they’ll come out and do everything they can. We just have to work harder,” Uichico said.
“With Gilas, you have to defend many players. It’s a five-game series. It’s good we got the first game. The players really fought every play,” he added.
In the nightcap at 6:30 p.m., Talk ‘N Text guns for a second straight win against underdog Air21.
The Tropang Texters led by as many as 21 points before holding off the Express’ searing rally in the fourth quarter.
Waylon Galvez, Manila Bulletin
