Barangay Ginebra San Miguel escaped with a hard-fought victory over TNT Tropang 5G in a thrilling Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals. However, for veteran big man Japeth Aguilar, the Gin Kings must remain cautious, considering they already know the capabilities of their opponents.
“Those guys in Talk N’ Text, you know coach Chot [Reyes], are very unpredictable. You’ll never know. Very, very dangerous [so] you gotta be on your guard all the time,” Aguilar told Rebanse.
Neutralizing the TNT Bench
Aside from the Justin Brownlee heroics at the end of the game, one major factor in why Ginebra won Game 1 was the defense they showed against the bench players of TNT.
“Happy kami sa game plan namin, and ‘yun nga na-neutralize namin ‘yung personnel nila. Pero at the end of the day it’s a series so we can’t be happy from this Game 1,” Aguilar pointed out.
Out of the 11 players who saw action in Game 1, only seven players scored for the Tropang 5G. Jordan Heading, who had been averaging 22 points in TNT’s last three games, was held to just 5 points, while Glen Khobuntin contributed just 5 points as well. Heading and Khobuntin’s combined 10 points was the total bench points of TNT.
Unpredictability of the Series
After playing the Tropang 5G in the PBA Finals three times already, the 39-year-old center credited the toughness their opponent has displayed.
“But you know it’s the finals…that’s why Talk N’ Text is here, kudos to them talaga, they’re a championship team,” said the 6-foot-9 big.
Afterb being down big in the first half, TNT stormed back after the halftime break and regained the lead in the fnal frame before Brownlee bailed Ginebra out with a clutch fadeaway jumper and a defensive stop on the other end. Aguilar is hoping Ginebra could do better on that end.
“Basically we just have to finish hard. May mga ano sa second half na kailangan namin tignan kase we kinda let the game get away from us,” said Aguilar.
In the last three Finals meetings between Ginebra and TNT, Ginebra won Game 1 only once. But that victory didn’t dictate the tempo of the series, as the Tropang 5G went on to win that series and all three Finals against the Gin Kings.
Now in their fourth clash, Japeth Aguilar knows more than ever that winning one game doesn’t mean anything.
