FORMER MVP Scottie Thompson of Ginebra soared for an offensive rebound off an RJ Abarrientos missed three-pointer and scored on a putback, sparking a thundering roar from the team’s ardent supporters who came in droves last night.
And the player that Thompson beat for the board and basket? No less than reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer.
Bolstered by fresher legs against a seemingly tired foe, the Kings mowed down the Beermen 122-105 in Game 1 of their best-of-7 semifinals duel in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The 6-foot-1 Thompson’s bucket against the 6-foot-10 Fajardo pushed Ginebra’s lead to 116-98 with 3:16 remaining in the face of SMB’s last-ditch effort to battle back.
Not against the Kings who had the luxury of a nine-day respite after finishing off the Meralco Bolts via a 3-0 sweep in the quarterfinals capped by a 113-106 victory in the third game last Sept. 30.
In stark contrast, the Beermen needed five matches to oust the Converge FiberXers in the Last Eight that ended in a 109-105 decision just last Sunday.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone said his charges showed up bent on taking advantage of SMB’s taxing schedule.
“It’s really hard for them at this point to prepare and practice because they are tired and exhausted. Honestly, we’re not gonna feel sorry for them. It’s not our job to feel sorry for them,” Cone said. “We’re gonna take advantage of every little thing that we can. If they’re gonna be tired, we’re gonna try to take advantage of that.
“They’re just too good to feel sorry for them. It’s like you don’t feel sorry for us because we have Jaime (Malonzo), Miah (Gray), and Issac Go not in our line-up (because of injuries). Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us. You just gonna go with what you have,” he added.
Kings star import Justin Brownlee boomed in five four-pointers and three triples to wind up with a game-high 33 points, on top of eight rebounds and five assists, while Stephen Holt uncorked 30 markers, eight markers and four dimes.
Abarrientos added 13 points and five feeds while Thompson had 10 markers, six caroms and 10 assists as Ginebra gained the early 1-0 headway in the race-to-4 series.
Game 2 is set tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Cone’s charges only led by five (63-58) at the halfway mark.
Then Brownlee sizzled for 20 points in the third canto that powered the Kings to a 97-78 spread going into the fourth period.
A Thompson conversion gave Ginebra its biggest lead at 102-78 with 11:08 to go that the Kings managed to hold onto even as the Beermen tried to battle back on a Fajardo layup that made it a 98-112 game in the last 4:28.
Reinforcement EJ Anosike carried the fight for SMB with 27 points and eight boards while Marcio Lassiter had 18 markers.
Fajardo had 16 and 16 while CJ Perez got 13 points and four rebounds for the Beermen.
