MERALCO coach Norman Black admitted his team was far from over after they trailed Ginebra in the first half of Game 3 last Sunday.
“We just talked about the fact that they shot 70-plus percent (from two-point range) in the first half, and they had 30 points in the paint, but we were only down by eight points,” Black said.
“I remember I told them a story about how the great Ron Jacobs told me that if you shoot a very high percentage in the first half and you’re only up a few points, it’s not very good because the other team certainly has a chance to come back,” he added.
True enough, the Bolts recharged in the last two quarters, holding the Kings to just 26 points en route to a crucial 83-74 victory and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven finals battle for the PBA Governors Cup crown.
Some motivation and the belief they could still steal the triumph galvanized Black’s squad after they trailed by as much as 13 points early on and 40-48 at the half.
“It was my way of trying to motivate my players to understand that we’re still in the game, we still have a chance to come back,” Black said. “We had to play a little bit better defense and play better offense which we did in the second half.”
Meralco import Tony Bishop outdueled Ginebra counterpart Justin Brownlee with 30 points and 16 rebounds, while Chris Newsome added 20 markers, 11 boards, and six assists.
Allein Maliksi also bounced back from a scoreless outing in the Bolts’ 93-99 loss in Game 2 last Friday with 10 points on two three-pointers.
Game 4 of the race-to-four series is set tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum after the league hands out the Best Import and Best Player of the Conference awards.
Black lauded his charges’ defense that made the Kings bleed for buckets in the second half, most especially Meralco’s Cliff Hodge.
“He did a great job defensively tonight, and if the game had gone another five minutes, I don’t know whether he would have finished the game,” Black said of the energetic forward.
“But he just gave everything he had on the basketball court today to try to slow down the Ginebra offense, and that really made a big difference for us.”
Brownlee scored 19 points, pulled down 15 rebounds, and issued seven dimes, while Christian Standhardinger, LA Tenorio, and Scottie Thompson had 17, 11, and 11, respectively.
