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| Justin Brownlee finally came alive in the PBA Governors' Cup Finals. Richard Esguerra |
MANILA--It's back to square one!
Behind a season-high crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Ginebra sizzled offensively to take down TNT and tie the PBA Governors' Cup Finals at two games apiece.
So what went down on Sunday night? Let's check it out.
Pit a pat my heart is saying... Ginebra's gonna make it rain
After three games of slumping from long range, the Gin Kings finally made it rain from deep into the perimeter.
Held to a combined 13 long shots from Games 1-3, Ginebra hit 12, nine three-pointers and three four-pointers, in Game 4.
Just like in Game 3 where they scored their first win of the series, the team was conscious of its shot selection, attempting 25 shots from at least 22 feet long, so that's a 48 percent clip on either a three or a four.
For Poy Erram, one of TNT's top defenders, he was upset that the team just let Ginebra hit those outside shots.
"Parang nakalimutan na namin yung calling card namin, which is defense," Erram said.
The Tropang Giga, interestingly enough, were 12-of-23 from the three-point range, but seeing the Gin Kings make their shots from beyond the arc suffices.
Na na na-Ginebra, dre?
The game basically boiled down to the most minute of details that favored Ginebra.
In a game that saw both teams making more than 50 percent of their field goals, the Gin Kings had more attempts (64) and more made attempts (36) than the Tropang Giga (33-for-61).
The major difference was the two-pointers where Ginebra was 24-for-39 and TNT was 21-of-36.
That's six points already favoring the Gin Kings.
Also, while both teams made 12 long toms, those three fours mattered more for the old La Tondena franchise, and that's three extra points.
Ginebra was nearly flawless from the free throw line at 19-of-21, while TNT, despite having a good clip too, was 14-of-20.
That's five extra points for the Gin Kings, and thus, the 14-point win.
Also, Ginebra outrebounded TNT, 32-27, and stole the ball more, 9-4.
That's 10 extra chances for the Gin Kings in offense.
Ginebra also had more solid ball movement with 23 assists against TNT's 17, which factored more into the former's shot selection.
The Gin Kings' 13 unforced errors, though, could be something they need to work on in Game 5.
Ginebra: Ang koponang pantropiko
With many fans rushing back to Metro Manila after their Halloween break, 16,783 trooped to the Smart Araneta Coliseum for Game 4.
Obviously, a supermajority was pro-Ginebra, and they made their presence known once more by bantering TNT players like Erram being called "iyakin" after he could not get the calls he wanted.
Asked about his reactions to the jeers, Erram welcomed them as long as the former Gilas center was the only one being taunted.
"OK lang naman yung ganun basta wala lang maaapektuhan sa pamilya ko," Erram said.
Justin Brownlee's 'cherry on top'?
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| After seemingly getting owned by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Justin Brownlee finally exploded in Game 4. Richard Esguerra |
After being held to less than 25 in the first three games, Brownlee already had 15 in the first quarter alone, and by the third quarter, he already had 30.
"It felt great to come out, be aggressive, and see some shots going in," said Brownlee, who is now two wins away from his seventh PBA title that would be his legacy's "cherry on top".
I can feel Rondae Hollis-Jefferson all around me
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| Rondae Hollis-Jefferson showed why he deserves to win Best Import despite the Game 4 loss. Richard Esguerra |
However, he said his focus was on the game and not on who's winning the individual awards, and he admitted that "mental mistakes" cost TNT the game.
"We just made mental mistakes, and we couldn't cut the lead in some situations. That's on our part," Hollis-Jefferson said.
Can TNT decode Ginebra?
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| Stephen Holt's defense finally turned into offense in Game 4. Richard Esguerra |
"As amazing as Rondae is, Stephen is doing an amazing job as well, so this has been one of the huge keys to why we're back in this series," Cone said.
However, after seemingly decoding him in the first three games, Holt fired up in Game 4 with 18 points on four triples, yet he remained as a primary perimeter stopper for Ginebra with five steals.
"Today, I didn't want to pass up any of those shots," Holt said.
One interesting stat TNT can decode in Game 5, though, is that Ginebra only had seven scorers in Game 4 with five in double-digits.
LA Tenorio, the surprise package in Game 3, was held scoreless in Game 4 and was a minus-10, and the other four players who finished with zero points on Sunday night did not even attempt a single field goal.
Game 5 lookahead
With the series tied, 2-all, Game 5 bears a lot of significance as the winner will move to the cusp of winning it all.
Ginebra's offense finally picked up this series, but having a relatively short rotation in Game 4 is something TNT can exploit as aforementioned.
Needless to say, whichever "fence" prevails, Ginebra's offense or TNT's defense, would be very likely to take Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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