Eyeing bigger series lead, Gin Kings set out to prove Game 1 was more than just a stroke of luck

Justin Brownlee (middle) will try to rise to the occasion again for the Gin Kings.
—AUGUST DELA CRUZ

A lot sure went Barangay Ginebra’s way during the curtain-raiser of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup championship series against Bay Area on Christmas Day.

So much so that even the crowd darlings’ mentor Tim Cone felt that Lady Luck had a hand in his wards’ 96-81 triumph at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“[Hayden] Blankley [was 0-for-9] in the game. If he made even just 30 percent of those [triples], it would’ve been a different basketball game. And he got good looks. He just wasn’t knocking them down,” he said.

“Our whole thing is he shouldn’t be shooting those threes and he is getting them. Fortunately for us, he didn’t make them,” Cone added.

Aside from Blankley’s frosty shooting, Cone also underscored Dragons’ import Andrew Nicholson’s 27-point performance, which came as an eye-popping surprise as the National Basketball Association veteran has been averaging close to 40 a night in the midseason showcase.

“It seems we got a little lucky,” the Gin Kings mentor said as he shook his head.

While the visitors shoulder the burden of applying adjustments, Barangay Ginebra should still feel compelled to prove that the series-opening victory was more than just a surprising piece of luck.

Starting point

Good thing the Gin Kings have an idea where to start.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven duel is set 5:45 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum with the popular crew hoping to replicate everything it did right in the payoff frame of their previous outing.

“Christian [Standhardinger] did a tremendous job guarding [Nicholson]. I don’t know if he can keep that up for seven games but we’re certainly going to try,” said Cone.

“[In] that fourth quarter, we really just got on the defensive side and really came with some stops. We really focused on trying to stop Nicholson,” said Ginebra import Justin Brownlee.

“We got it going on the offensive end, saw some opportunities, and tried to take advantage of [them],” he went on. INQ

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@sonrdINQ

By Denison Rey A. Dalupang

@sonrdINQ

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