PBA: Ginebra holds off Meralco to win championship

Winning as many PBA championships as Tim Cone has, it’s difficult to say what makes one distinct from the others.

For the Barangay Ginebra coach, one look at the massive crowd at Philippine Arena and he knows immediately why the latest jewel in his untouchable legacy stands out.

“To be able to do it in front of these fans — even the Meralco fans — it's such a special thing to be able to do this,” Cone said.

LA Tenorio scored 26 points and Justin Brownlee added 23, as Barangay Ginebra held off Meralco 101-96 to win the Governors’ Cup championship in Bocaue, Bulacan on Friday.

Game 7 didn’t have the same dramatic ending as last year’s, but it wasn’t without its nervous moments.

Ginebra’s lead, which once stood as high as 20 points, shrunk to 4 with less than a minute to go after empty trips to the free-throw line and Meralco refusing to give up.

Given a chance to seal the win and atone for his teammates’ bungled charity attempts, Tenorio split his free throws to give Ginebra some breathing space.

In Meralco’s final possession, a 3-point attempt by Garvo Lanete bounced off the rim and into the hands of Kevin Ferrer to secure Ginebra’s 10th league title in front of the 54,086 spectators, the highest gate attendance in league history.

“Imagine, 54,000 people here? I never would’ve imagined this as a coach, having the opportunity to do this in front of so many people,” said Cone, who extended his own personal record to 20 PBA championships.

Ginebra was explosive right off the bat, going up 27-19 in the first quarter then pulling away 52-32 late in the second. At the end of the third quarter, Cone and his crew held an 81-64 lead.

The champs were still comfortably ahead 100-90 with 1:34 left in the game clock, until they started to brick their free throws.

Meralco took advantage of 4 straight misses, with Chris Newsome hitting a jumper and Jared Dillinger drilling a 3-pointer to make it 100-96 with 47 seconds left.

The Bolts looked ready to cut the deficit further after Tenorio front-rimmed a 3-point attempt, but Japeth Aguilar caught the rebound, forcing Meralco to foul to stop the clock. Tenorio then walked to the free-throw line where he went 1 out of 2.

Scottie Thompson contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals, while Greg Slaughter chipped in 12 points and 2 blocks. Brownlee added 3 blocks and was 3 of 4 from downtown.

Allen Durham finished with 26 points, 24 rebounds and 9 assists to lead Meralco, getting sufficient help from his teammates.

Dillinger, in his best game of the series, added 20 points and 5 assists, while Cliff Hodge had 14 points and 7 rebounds.

source: news.abs-cbn.com
 

Jaworski returning to Ginebra?

MANILA – Philippine basketball legend Robert “Sonny” Jaworski hinted he is open to returning to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, a team he coached for 13 years.

In an interview with Spin.ph’s Snow Badua, the “Big J” said his itch for basketball remains even after leaving the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to join politics in 1998.

“Yung competitive spirit natin is always there and maybe has multiplied. But all of us grow in different ways, you know,” said Jaworski, who is among the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players of All Time.

Jaworski’s name has been associated with the Ginebra franchise, where he espoused the “never say die” spirit to his players. He was able to steer Ginebra to four title finishes despite the lack of basketball superstars at his disposal.

Jaworski also cheered for Barangay Ginebra, when the team was battling San Mig Coffee in the semifinals of the recent PBA Philippine Cup. His pep talk during half time of Game 6 inspired the Gin Kings to beat the Mixers in that match.

The former playing-coach, however, said he’ll only return to the team that he loves dearly if he gets a clear picture of his role in Ginebra.

“Syempre 'pag minsan may nakikita ka na pwedeng matulungan o magampanan, you’re itching. Pero ang mahirap yung basta papasok ka dyan at hindi naman malinaw ang usapan,” he said.

“Full control is always relevant. What are you in control of? Ganun! Ang importante dyan, nagkakaintindihan kayo. Kailangan malinaw, what are you supposed to do?”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Japeth saves Kings anew at the buzzer

MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra lit fireworks three nights ahead of New Year’s Eve as the Kings made an improbable comeback from five points down in the last 15 seconds and jolted the Meralco Bolts, 83-82, in the Petron Blaze-sponsored PBA Saturday Special at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup front-runners came through with the game-saving back-to-back three-pointers from unlikely sources JayR Reyes and Japeth Aguilar – the last one at the buzzer sending the predominantly Ginebra crowd to a great ecstasy.

Aguilar delivered the dagger trey off Reynel Hugnatan, providing a surreal climax to another night of dunking spree for the ultra-athletic 6-foot-9 forward.

Rising up from death bed, the Kings firmed up their hold of the lead with a sixth straight win and ninth in 10 games in all.

The Kings faced imminent loss against the very team that dealt them their lone defeat in the tourney as they stared at a five-point deficit, 77-82, with 15.1 ticks left.

Ginebra refused to lose, though, and as Reyes and Aguilar connected with the surprise three-point bombs, the Kings sent the Bolts reeling to a seventh loss against three wins.

“We’re just really lucky,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin.

True enough, the Kings pulled through just with the help of huge breaks at the finish.

For one, the Bolts bungled no less than five charities in the last 90 seconds of play.

Former Ginebra player John Wilson muffed three in the last 15 seconds, the last one enabling Ginebra to get final possession.

Actually, LA Tenorio nearly fumbled the ball before handing it out to Aguilar atop the key with three seconds to go.

With one dribble and side step, Aguilar gained some breathing room off Hugnatan, then launched the three-pointer that hit the target.

A little earlier, Reyes bombed away his own triple coming off the bench.

The Gins Kings totaled nine three-pointers in the game as against the Bolts’ three.

Even then, the Bolts dragged the heavily favored Kings to a battle and nearly repeated an upset with their good game plan.

“Meralco deserves credit they played great especially on defense. They were able to control our bigs, and they really made it difficult for us with their quickness,” Agustin also said.

The Bolts ran the breaks at every opportunity. Without an opening, they used the clock to find the best attempt possible.

In the end, they’re able to battle the Kings through 10 dead locks and 18 lead changes.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Slaughter is top pick in 2013 PBA Draft

Crowd-favorites Barangay Ginebra got their center of the future after drafting former Ateneo slotman Greg Slaughter with the first pick of the 2013 PBA Draft last Sunday at the Midtown Atrium of the Robinsons Place Manila.

Slaughter, the tallest rookie at nearly seven feet, had been the clear choice for the Gin Kings for some time now, as he famously visited the team's practice. Ginebra's star guard, Mark Caguioa, also made it known on Twitter that he preferred for the Kings to take Slaughter.

Slaughter was joined by nearly the entire Ginebra team at the stage, while the crowd at Robinsons Manila serenaded them with "Gi-ne-bra" chants.

"I definitely like the fans," said Slaughter, who won two championships with Ateneo before playing for NLEX in the PBA D-League. "I'm really excited to play."

Ginebra's frontline thus becomes more imposing, with Slaughter joining high-flying forward Japeth Aguilar.

With the second pick, the San Mig Coffee Mixers took former NCAA Most Valuable Player Ian Sangalang from San Sebastian College. Sangalang joins a frontline that features 2013 PBA Governors Cup Finals MVP Marc Pingris.

Sangalang is considered the most offensively polished big man in the draft.

With the third pick, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters took Letran center Raymond Almazan, who joins the famed Rain or Shine frontline of JR Quinahan and Beau Belga, popularly known as "Extra Rice Inc."

At the start of the draft day, the Barako Bull Energy owned the fourth, fifth and sixth picks of the draft, but they engineered trades that sent those picks to different teams.

Barako traded the fourth pick of the draft to the Barangay Ginebra Kings in exchange for Rico Maierhofer and Willie Wilson. Ginebra then took James Forrester, from Arellano University, with the fourth pick.

The fifth pick was traded twice. Barako initially sent it to Petron in exchange for Magi Sison and Mark Isip. Petron then sent the pick to GlobalPort for Yousef Taha.

GlobalPort then picked UAAP Season 76 Most Valuable Player Terrence Romeo of the Far Eastern University (FEU) with the fifth pick in the draft.

Romeo was the top scorer in the UAAP last season, and led the Tamaraws to an appearance in the Final Four. He initially said he will return to FEU to play out his final year of eligibility but eventually decided to declare for the draft.

Barako Bull again traded the sixth pick of the draft, sending it to GlobalPort in exchange for Denok Miranda. GlobalPort then picked former UAAP MVP RR Garcia with the pick.

Garcia is thus reunited with college teammate Romeo, with whom he combined to form one of the most explosive backcourts in the UAAP.

The seventh and eight picks were somewhat surprising, as GlobalPort picked Isaac Holstein with the seventh pick, while the Alaska Aces selected former Ateneo Blue Eagles Ryan Buenafe with the eighth pick.

Rain or Shine then selected former Adamson swingman Alex Nuyles with the ninth pick of the draft.

To complete the first round of the PBA Draft, the San Mig Coffee Mixers selected former Ateneo big man Justin Chua.

Former Ateneo forward Nico Salva and University of Santo Tomas guard Jeric Teng, two players who were tabbed to go in the first round, did not have to wait for long as they were taken with the first two picks of the second round.

GlobalPort selected Salva, a two-time UAAP Finals MVP and a five-time UAAP champion, with the 11th overall pick. The selection sees him in the same team with Romeo, with whom he had a brief spat on Twitter during the recent men's basketball tournament.

Teng, who led the Growling Tigers to the UAAP Finals last season, was taken by Rain or Shine with the 12th pick.

The San Mig Coffee Mixers picked athletic guard Justin Melton with the 13th overall pick, while the Barako Bull Coffee Mixers took former UST guard Jeric Fortuna with the 14th pick.

The Alaska Aces then sent the 15th overall pick to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, who used it to select former Ateneo center JP Erram.

Air21 then selected former Adamson forward Eric Camson with the 16th pick, and TNT used the 17th pick to select Robby Celiz.

The Alaska Aces picked former FEU guard Chris Exciminiano with the 18th pick, Rain or Shine selected Gayford Rodriguez with the 19th pick, and Barako Bull wrapped up the second round of the draft by selecting Carlo Lastimosa with the 20th pick.

Here's a summary of the first two rounds of the 2013 PBA Draft.

FIRST ROUND

1. Ginebra - Greg Slaughter
2. San Mig Coffee - Ian Sangalang
3. Rain or Shine - Raymond Almazan
4. Ginebra (from Barako Bull) - James Forrester
5. GlobalPort (from Barako Bull via Petron) - Terrence Romeo
6. GlobalPort (from Barako Bull) - RR Garcia
7. GlobalPort - Isaac Holstein
8. Alaska Aces - Ryan Buenafe
9. Rain or Shine - Alex Nuyles
10. San Mig Coffee - Justin Chua

SECOND ROUND

1. GlobalPort - Nico Salva
2. Rain or Shine - Jeric Teng
3. San Mig Coffee - Justin Melton
4. Barako Bull - Jeric Fortuna
5. Alaska - JP Erram
6. Air21 Express - Eric Camson
7. Talk N Text - Robby Celiz
8. Alaska - Chris Exciminiano
9. Rain or Shine - Gayford Rodriguez
10. Barako Bull - Carlo Lastimosa

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com