Poor
executions down the stretch caused the Barangay
Ginebra Kings to squander a 17-point
lead en route to a 91-84 loss in
Game 4 of their best-of-7-finals against the Talk N Text Tropang Texters.
One
more loss and they’re done for.
In the
first half, the Tropang Texters looked lost with Willie Miller and Ronald
Tubid putting in good numbers. Before this game the two were scoring a
combined less than six points in the finals because Jong Uichico was using Mark
Caguioa more and John Wilson was
outplaying the other slashers. Also, Tubid looked lost in the SF position
especially whenever Ranidel de Ocampo
and Paul Harris slides to the SF
spot.
In the
second half though, the Texters came out smoking. They erased the lead and made
a lead of their own thanks to Harris and Ginebra’s love for the three-point
area.
Speaking
of Caguioa, The Spark is the best local performer of the night as he
scored 15 points, came out with 4
rebounds and 4 steals, and also had 2 assists. Tubid and Miller were the
other players in the Top 5. Finishing off the list are Jason Castro and Jimmy Alapag.
While Jimmy Alapag is deserving of the Best
Player of the Conference award for leading the Tropang Texters to their
wicked win-loss record, Mark Caguioa seriously stepped in this conference –
often working his magic all by his lonesome and also putting a premium on
defense.
I also
think Paul Harris should have won the Best
Import Award because Nate Brumfield has serious mood issues. When Ginebra
was on top, Harris was held to four
points compared to Brumfield’s nine.
In the second half though, Harris dominated for the Texters. Brumfield looked
lost and he became frustrated when the ball was not going to his favor and
usually when that happens, it’s not well for the Kings. Harris played better
ball than Brumfield with Harris leading
in points (26 to 15), assists (1-0), blocks (1-0), and had more field goal
attempts and attempts made (9/18 to 6/11).
The
only advantage Brumfield had was
rebounds with his 15 trumping Harris’ 10.
The
Harris warpath and the Brumfield falter was the gamechanger though.
Ginebra
dominates games when Brumfield is happy. Harris likes his teammates while
Brumfield likes his team only when they win. Whenever you see Brumfield getting
mad and whenever he becomes distracted... he self-destructs. In an instant, his
team falters. As an import, the defense will automatically collapse on Brumfield.
TNT is great in pushing Nate to his weak spot but sometimes it’s Brumfield’s
fault. Unless Ginebra has two bigs operating at the shaded area, Brumfield has
no business getting the ball even at 15 feet. Whenever Brumfield tries to go to
the backcourt territory, it’s almost sure that TNT will get the board.
Rebounding
against Talk N Text is tough. In Game 4, Brumfield, Caguioa, Tubid, Miller, and
Rudy Hatfield had four or more
rebounds. For the Texters, Harris, Castro, Ranidel, Alapag, Ali Peek, Larry Fonacier, Kelly Williams,
and Harvey Carey scored four or more!
Also...
The
reason why TNT gets more rebounds is because of Ginebra’s shot selections. The
Kings would rely heavily on their long range bombs and if TNT had an awful
3-point scoring night with 5-out-of-17,
Ginebra had a more horrific scoring spree at 7-of-26. There were times that the Kings would just throw the ball
to the rim with no form what’s-so-ever. In the critical stage where TNT was on
a tear, instead of penetrations, the Kings settled for troikas. It was a bad
decision because TNT was dominating in the rebounding department. Perhaps those
gigantic walls are also the reasons why the Kings’ scorers couldn’t penetrate
but it doesn’t seem they are trying to fish for fouls as the Texters drew more fouls, 23 to 14.
Brumfield
must learn to perform well under pressure. He must also try his best to put his
foes in foul trouble. Ginebra has to keep in mind that TNT has zero respect for
Brumfield’s jumpers which is why the only way Brumfield can help the squad is
by performing well in the interior. Uichico can’t be blamed for giving Miller,
Tubid, and Caguioa 30 minutes and more. All of these guys are star players and
should play strong at this juncture. However, the importance of the shock
troopers was further realized when they were breaking down. I can see JC Intal, Rob Lagabala, Jimbo Aquino,
and Wilson acting as bonershrinkers to stop whatever run TNT would be doing. The
Kings has been getting adequate production from Mike Cortez, Hatfield, Eric Menk, and Willy Wilson. Perhaps it’s
time for Uichico to insert Billy Mamaril
and Yancy de Ocampo, who fared well against Marcus Douthit in the Gins’ series against Smart-Gilas.
Talk N
Text is a win away from a serious vie to a grand slam.
Has
anyone noticed the power of TNT’s bench is so strong that this is the first
time I’ve ever spoken of Ryan Reyes?
Definitely
TNT has the guns and Ginebra needs the means to stop them.
Game
over.
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