Barangay Ginebra San Miguel evened its PBA Governors’ Cup record to 2-2 with an 84-75 triumph over the Meralco Bolts. Yes, that’s the final score, as Friday’s nightcap at the SM Mall of Asia Arena was a game that harkened back to the late 1990s and early 2000s—slow, defense-oriented, and a real battle in the trenches.
But Tim Cone is mighty proud nonetheless.
“It was a real grind-out game,” Cone told reporters after Ginebra’s big win. “Really proud of our guys for really sticking their nose into it and really grinding this thing out. It wasn’t a pretty game by any means…”
It wasn’t pretty for sure. Both teams went for long stretches without a field goal as the defense was mostly unforgiving and the shooting was off the mark. In all, Meralco shot just 33.7% overall, while Ginebra finished at a slightly better 42.6%.
Ginebra’s Offense Still Catching Up
The reigning Commissioner’s Cup champs certainly didn’t play pretty basketball. But they did enough to notch their second win in this season-ending tournament while dealing with life without Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson. Without the old reliables, Ginebra has looked nothing like a champion team.
Cone understands, and he is hoping his team can find the firepower and offensive balance needed to make another championship run. For now, however, he knows Ginebra will have to rely on its defense to grind out wins.
“We hope that we can be a little bit more pleasing to the eye as we progress. But right now, our offense is trying to catch up with our defense. So, we’re coming out and just trying to defend as best we can and grind out wins,” he pointed out. “That’s what we did tonight… We’d like to see better balance in the lineup, but RJ [Abarrientos] and Riley [Grigsby] really took the cudgels tonight…”
Abarrientos and Grigsby combined for 52 huge points and carried Ginebra for much of the game. And their efforts proved quite enough, especially against a Meralco squad that played minus CJ Cansino, Jason Brickman, Bong Quinto, and Raymond Almazan.
They might have to take the cudgels again on Sunday, when Ginebra takes on the Magnolia Hotshots in another edition of the famed Manila Clasico.
By then, Cone can only hope that the Ginebra offense finally comes alive—or they’ll have to grind it out again.
