MANILA: Game 1 of the match-up made in heaven turned out to be a whimper.
Egged on by a capacity crowd, Barangay Ginebra didn’t get to come up with its trademark finishing kick. The reason was simple: The Gin Kings didn’t need to.
The crowd-darlings put on their skates early and broke Red Bull’s back right in the first quarter, holding the Barako to just 10 points in the period on the way to a 108-82 victory for first blood in their Fiesta Cup semifinal series at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Chris Alexander dominated Adam Parada and Jay-Jay Helterbrand keyed the swashbuckling start that had the Kings taking complete control which reduced the final two quarters to mere formalities.
Ginebra closed out the first period with a 16-point lead, slowed down a bit in the second to settle for a 13-spoint spread before pulling out all the stops to take a 79-57 lead into the fourth quarter.
And the Kings were never really threatened after that.
Alexander finished with 16 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks on his birthday and Helterbrand had 10 of his 16 in the first as the Kings were in virtual cruise control mode all night in winning for the ninth straight game. Helterbrand was the second player in double-double figures for Ginebra after also issuing 10 assists.
“We’ve never thought about the streak,” coach Jong Uichico later said in trying to downplay the superior form of his Kings. “This is just the first game and it doesn’t mean anything. It’s a seven-game series and we know what Red Bull is capable of doing.
“We have to be always prepared because we know that, as the series goes on, Red Bull can come back.”
Leo Najorda scored 19 points and Jojo Duncil added 16 to pace the Barako, but most of their totals came during garbage time, when only the final score was left to be settled. The seven-foot Parada, who has been the yardstick among all imports in the tournament, played the worst game of his celebrated PBA career after shooting just six points and grabbing eight rebounds.
“We came into the game with a defensive mindset and I think that played a great deal in the win,” Uichico added.
There were six total players in twin figures for Uichico, who actually got to clear his entire bench with only the veteran Victor Pablo, among 13 men utilized, failing to score.
The first game had a little more excitement in it, as the Express, despite playing all-Filipino, managed to fight tooth-and-nail with rock-solid Magnolia in the first half before folding in a 113-87 loss.
Magnolia even found itself trailing by five points late in the second period after five straight points from Wynne Arboleda, 44-39, before finally focusing and destroying the Express from the third quarter on for a similar 1-0 lead.
Game 2 of both series will be played Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
“The first half was played poorly,” Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen said later. “Air21 is good, but they had a terrible disadvantage. My players were complacent (that’s why we trailed). “I’m sure it will be an awfully different story (in Game 2) with their import returning,” Tanquingcen said. “They will get a huge confidence boost and we must be able to match that,” he added.
Steven Thomas, the biggest reason why the Express won the elimination round and got seeded automatically into the semifinals for the first time in franchise history, attended tryouts of the Cleveland Cavaliers the past week and will only be back today.
“We won’t be hard on ourselves,” said Air21 coach Bo Perasol, who said that Thomas boarded a plane back to Manila last night and will be able to rejoin the team in practice today. Amal McCaskill found life a lot easier with Thomas absent, shooting a PBA career-best 34 points, 14 of them when the Beverage Masters broke away in the third period, to go with 12 rebounds.
Lordy Tugade had 22 points and three others finished with 10 or better for Tanquingcen, who is seeking to win his first championship with this team.
Homer Se, the oft-maligned defensive player, led the Express with a career-high 31 points, almost single-handedly keeping his side in the game by shooting 13 in the first quarter and finishing with 17 for the half.
The other Air21 reliables, Arwind Santos and Gary David, could only combine for 21.
