MANILA, 17 February 2007 — Jong Uichico was at a loss for words that it was hard to really say that his Barangay Ginebra crew had just blown San Miguel off the court for the second straight night.
The Gin Kings were again at their sharpest, ripping the Beermen to shreds in a 146-111 victory last night that knotted the best-of-seven series for the PBA Philippine Cup at 2 each at the Araneta Coliseum.
“You don’t expect it to be this way,” Uichico told Arab News. “But you take it the way it is.
“It’s hard to really analyze. Our energy and intensity were there,” Uichico said. “I guess we caught them on two off nights and we are working as hard as we can to tie this series.”
Mark Caguioa scored 25 points in three quarters’ work and five others tossed in double digits for Uichico, who is looking to win a title right in his very first tournament of calling the shots for the crowd-darling Kings.
Ginebra’s total was the highest scoring Finals game in 17 years, and it also made this batch of Kings the first team since Añejo in the 1990 First Conference to score at least 130 points in two straight title series games. Jay-Jay Helterbrand added 21 points, Sunday Salvacion tossed in 20, Eric Menk had 15, Rudy Hatfield 14 and Johnny Abarrientos 11 in a super-balanced effort that San Miguel failed to solve. There were already four players in twin digits for the Kings as early as the first two periods, as Ginebra opened up a 71-49 lead at the half and never allowed the Beermen back in the game the rest of the way. “It’s hard to tell,” San Miguel coach Chot Reyes later offered, when asked what has bugged the Beermen the last two games. “I think I’m doing a terrible job as a coach as far as preparing them is concerned.
“And we have been unable to match their (Kings’) energy, and that has also been key.”
Helterbrand finished a 1-on-3 break and drew a foul from rookie Gabby Espinas with 10:30 to go for a 120-80 lead before Mark Macapagal scored on a jumper with 8:35 to play for 124-83 that completed Ginebra’s utter humiliation of its sister squad.
“The only positive I see coming out of this is that they (Kings) are now the favorites and we the underdogs,” Reyes added.
The series takes a break tomorrow and will resume Wednesday next week.
And this is one thing that Uichico said will definitely not work in their favor, with San Miguel being able to rest and his Kings certain to lose some of the momentum they’ve built in the last two games.
“Because we won tonight, we would have wanted to play right away,” Uichico said.
Meanwhile, Caguioa lalso romped off with the Best Player of the Conference award by easily turning back San Miguel forward Danny Seigle.
It was the first major career achievement for shifty, six-foot Caguioa, the 2001 Rookie of the Year and member of two previous Mythical Second Teams.
The six-year veteran, who is leading everyone in scoring in the tournament, totaled 1,333 points after topping the statistical points race and the media and players votes categories.
Ironically, Caguioa won his first individual citation less than a month after airing his displeasure with some members of the media, whom he accused of deliberately not voting for him despite being the scoring champion in the last two years.
For this award, Caguioa, who was picked third overall by Ginebra in the 2001 Draft behind Willie Miller (Red Bull) and Mike Hrabak (Shell), was the overwhelming media bet after collecting 399 out of the possible 747 media points.
Seigle was second with 1,130 points, followed by hard-working Ginebra forward Rudy Hatfield, who tallied 623 points. Sta. Lucia rookie Kelly Williams was fourth with a total of 387, while Miller, who won the MVP in 2002 with Talk ‘N Text, brought up the rear of the five-man pack with 378.
The PBA Press Corps, which “block-voted” on Wednesday, actually narrowed down its choice between Caguioa and Hatfield, their contributions to Ginebra’s rise in the tournament bearing more weight compared to Seigle’s for the Beermen.
