Kings oust Texters, face B-Meg in playoff
GAME ON FRIDAY
(Smart-Araneta Coliseum)
6:30 p.m. – B-Meg vs. Barangay Ginebra
Dragged into a defensive battle by Talk ‘N Text, the resolute Gin Kings of Barangay Ginebra proved they could get the job done.
Showing guts with key plays in the crunch, the Gin Kings hung tough for a 73-71 victory over the Tropang Texters Wednesday night to keep their finals hopes alive in the PBA Governors Cup at the packed Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Mark Caguioa paced Ginebra with 18 points, eight boards and two assists but it was the late-game exploits of Kerby Raymundo and import Cedric Bozeman that enabled the Gin Kings to hold on before a well-entertained crowd of 14,301.
Flashing steely nerves, Raymundo drilled in a huge shotclock-beating three-pointer while Bozeman foiled his counterpart Paul Harris in the stretch, enough to give Ginebra its ninth win against five losses and forge a knockout game with sister team B-Meg on Friday for the second and last finals berth.
The Llamados earlier bowed to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters , 82-92, in a battle for the first finals slot.
“Talagang nagkataon lang siguro at the end, lamang kami. Talk ‘N Text is a proud champion team. Mahirap talaga makipag-compete sa kanila. They are relentless and we have to be that way also,” stressed Ginebra coach Siot Tangquincen.
“We have to show the heart of the Ginebra team. Duguan ‘yung scoring pero sige lang. We might not be scoring pero we must get the possession back.”
With the Kings holding to a precarious 70-69 lead, Raymundo drained a big three with exactly three minutes after getting a timely feed from guard Jayjay Helterbrand.
That proved to be final points of Ginebra, but it was more than enough as the Texters could only manage two points the rest of the way as Harris blew their last chance to tie the game when he stepped on the baseline with 3.9 seconds left.
Aware of a looming TNT foul, Tanquincen wisely mapped out an inbound play that left Willy Wilson unguarded, and the Ginebra forward threw the ball in the air as time expired.
Bozeman finished 14 points while guard Mike Cortez had 11 for Ginebra.
The loss sealed an early exit for TNT, which finished with an 8-6 mark–quite disappointing for a team which had made the finals of the last five conferences.
“Hindi pa tapos,” Tanquincen said. “Magandang biyaya ang ipinagkaloob sa amin pero ‘di kami kontento. We’re content with what we have but we’re not content of what we can become.”
Harris led the Texters with 25 markers but no other teammate reached double figures in points, with Ryan Reyes and Ranidel de Ocampo limited for eight apiece.
The disheartening setback was a gloomy send-off for Coach Chot Reyes, who is set to be replaced by Ateneo mentor and team consultant Norman Black next season. Reyes, meanwhile, will now focus his sights solely on the Philippine national quintet.
The scores:
GINEBRA 73 – Caguioa 18, Raymundo 15, Bozeman 14, Cortez 11, Maierhofer 4, Mamaril 4, Hatfield 4, W. Wilson 2, Villanueva 1, Ababou 0, Helterbrand 0.
TALK N' TEXT 71 – Harris 25, Reyes 8, De Ocampo 8, Castro 7, Alapag 7, Peek 7, Williams 3, Aguilar 2, Fonacier 2, Carey 2, Aban 0.
Quarterscores: 27-21, 42-40, 61-59, 73-71
