The longest winning streak in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup this year has been reset by the squad which had one of the poorest starts in the tournament.
Vernon Macklin connected on a driving layup with 7.9 seconds left last night and lifted Barangay Ginebra to a high-wire 91-90 decision of Meralco, the Gin Kings’ sixth straight victory that meant a spot in the quarterfinals of the import-spiced conference.
A huge Sunday crowd at the Araneta Coliseum erupted in wild celebration when Macklin nailed the go-ahead basket for the Kings, and the crowd celebrated even more when Meralco’s Eric Dawson misfired on his own attempt from short range that sealed the Ginebra win.
It was the seventh win in 12 games for the Kings, who now have a realistic chance of contending for a top two berth and a twice-to-beat privilege in the first round of the playoffs.
“Coming into the game, the law of averages dictated that we were due for a loss,” Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua said in Filipino. “But the spirit of this team is just phenomenal. The players simply refused to give up.”
Ginebra actually had an eight-point lead, 89-81 going into the final 2:26 as Mac Baracael capped a 10-point fourth quarter with a jumper.
But Meralco, which came into the game fresh from an ego-boosting triumph over Petron Blaze just two nights ago, quickly overhauled that deficit with three straight triples coming from Sunday Salvacion and Ronjay Buenafe.
But Macklin saved the day for the Kings, who opened up the tournament with four straight losses and were at 1-5 after six games.
“Meralco played a hell of a game,” Chua said in respect of the Bolts, who dropped to a level 6-6 card. “But Ginebra just didn’t want to lose. The hearts of the players showed again in this game.”
Ginebra continued to be without team leader Mark Caguioa and veteran big man Kerby Raymundo, but the Kings got a huge game from Baracael, who finished with 16 points — his best game in a Ginebra uniform.
“I was telling Mac (Baracael) before the game that I thought he was bound to play big tonight,” Chua said. “And he did.”
The night was particularly frustrating for Dawson, who was coming off a 57-point explosion against Petron. He again had the ball in the dying seconds, the fate of the Bolts again in his hands.
But he muffed the potential game-winner and finished the night with just 27 points as a testament to the hard defense played on him by the Kings and the hardworking Macklin.
Petron, meanwhile, got back on its feet after that loss to the Bolts, dumping Barako Bull, 88-77, to also assure itself of a stint in the quarterfinals.
Henry Sims, the man who failed to stop Dawson, erupted for 23 points that went with 13 rebounds, and Alex Cabagnot backed him up well with 20 markers as the Boosters won just their second game since the departure of Renaldo Balkman to also rise to 7-5.
The loss put the Energy in very shaky ground at 4-8 and they would need nothing less than a sweep of their last two games to keep their mathematical chances of advancing alive.
Barako Bull paraded a new import in DJ Mbenga, a former Los Angeles Laker center in the National Basketball Association.
But the seven-foot behemoth obviously groped for form, finishing with just 14 points and 12 rebounds after making just 5-of-14 field goal attempts.
