And it was Ginebra which came out on top, coming up with one great play after another for an 89-86 victory that gave the Gin Kings a momentary hold of second place heading into the most crucial stages of the PBA Philippine Cup’s elimination round.
A gallery of a little over 14,000 was kept on its feet in the dying minutes as the Kings outsteadied the defending champion Llamados as the game hung in the balance right until the final buzzer before Ginebra picked up its eighth win in 11 starts.
“It was a tough game, a really tough game,” Ginebra coach Jong Uichico, short of breath, said during the customary winning coach’s interview. “It could have gone either way. We just made the stops at the right time and made the baskets at the right time.
Eric Menk scattered 20 points, including four crucial charities in the stretch, Willie Miller had two critical feeds and the win-clinching free throws, and Ronald Tubid dropped two huge triples that got Ginebra back on track after the Kings had trailed by four.
And of course, Mark Caguioa contributed, but in the most unexpected way.
Caguioa did score six of his 18 points in the fourth period, but the biggest play of his night came in the dying seconds when he collared two critical defensive boards, the last after James Yap had missed the potential game-tying three-pointer.
“You have to go to your veterans in the endgame,” Uichico said before making special mention of the man whom he thought played the biggest for him.
“Eric (Menk) was the revelation today,” added Uichico. “He made some crucial foul shots. But overall, they (veterans) made great plays in the end.” One of those great plays came with 56.9 seconds left, when Miller drove and then found an open Menk underneath before Menk pulled off a touch pass to a cutting Rudy Hatfield that made it 87-83 for the Kings.
After misses from both squads in their next possessions, Peter June Simon then nailed a tough triple from top of the keyhole and made it a one-point game with 10.7 seconds left before Miller, sent to the stripe by Simon’s duty foul, made those two foul shots.
It was a game that was applauded practically in its entirety, and the crowd was pretty much divided, with the Kings not enjoying the usual homecourt edge as they were booed by a big Derby Ace gallery a number of times.
Yap had the ball in his hands in the game’s last offensive play, and there was deafening silence when he launched that three-pointer, which just rattled out and ignited a huge celebration in the stands.
Derby Ace lost for the first time in six games and dropped to a level 6-6 card, out of the running for a slot in the top two but definitely well within playoff range.
Menk also had seven rebounds and Caguioa had eight, while Miller finished with 12 points and six assists and Hatfield had 11 markers that went with 12 rebounds.
Tubid, who erased a 85-79 deficit with two unanswered three-pointers heading into the final 3:24, had 12, the other six points coming from three-point buckets in the second period.
Simon, who has been the biggest scorer in the league when Derby Ace started assembling that five-game run close to a month ago, again paced the Llamados with 26 points, while Yap finished with 14.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine blanked Alaska in the final 5:52 earlier in the night and scored a come-from-behind 80-79 nipping of the Alaska Aces.
Ryan Arana hit two free throws in the final 6.6 seconds for the marginal point for the Elasto Painters, who played without Solomon Mercado but rose to 5-5.
Alaska dropped to 5-7.
