Smart Gilas Pilipinas NT lost to Barangay Ginebra Kings, 94-85. Gin Kings books finals slot.
source: www.PBA.ph
When its locals all show up, Barangay Ginebra is one very hard team to beat. Ronald Tubid notched his first double-double of the conference and led the Kings to a 92-85 win over Smart-Gilas Sunday and into the Finals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Rudy Hatfield, Mark Caguioa and Willie Miller also came up big for Ginebra, enabling it to buck Nate Brumfield’s low-scoring night and wrap up the best-of-five semifinals duel, three games to one, “it’s nice to be back in the championship,” said Kings coach Jong Uichico after steering the team to its 19th finals stint in all and first since the 2009 Fiesta Conference, when it lost to sister team San Miguel Beer in seven games.
The Kings will be lined up in the best-of-seven title duel against early qualifier Talk N Text and Uichico said his players must come up with a better game than they did against the Nationals to have at least equal chances with the Tropang Texters.
“They’re strong, We’ve got to really play for 48 minutes against them. There’s no time to relax against them,” he stated. If the locals continue to show up like they did Sunday, the perennial favorites could increase the odds in their favor.
Brumfield finished with only nine points but did have seven rebounds, two assists and as many steals in 32 minutes. Uichico said Brumfield simply felt no need to go to the basket more than his 10 field tries.
“If our locals are doing well, his job is made easier,” Uichico pointed out. “But if not, he can score.”
The Nationals were relegated to third place by the loss, which was directly caused by its failure to hit the big shots after posting a 51-36 lead early in the third quarter.
Marcus Douthit had gamehighs of 25 points and 17 rebounds, but there were very few sources of the much-needed help.
Marcio Lassiter made three triples but JV Casio, who drained seven treys in a 100-88 win last Wednesday, only had one triple.
For the only time in the series, the Kings outshot the Nationals, 9-6, from beyond the arc, with Tubid accounting for six and Yancy de Ocampo adding two.
UPDATE: Series versus Barangay Ginebra ‘a brutal one’, says Gilas coach [click here]
Hastening the Nationals’ downfall was the foul trouble entered into by Douthit, who picked up his fifth in the last 51 seconds of the third period and had to be benched until the 7:46 mark of the final canto.
By then, momentum was already on Ginebra’s side. Miller, who only had a point in the first three quarters, took over at the start of the fourth with 10 points and was in on every Ginebra play as it separated itself from Gilas, 83-73.
Tubid then took over, booming in the last two of his triples and giving the Kings an 88-73 spread it would use to cruise in the final 4:40 of the game.
One proof of Gilas unraveling was Aldrech Ramos tapping the ball off Mike Cortez’s missed jumper into the Ginebra guard himself, resulting in a followup that made it 85-73.
Tubid wound up with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a big bounce back from a three-point performance in Game 3.
Hatfield had 16 points and eight rebounds while Caguioa gave Ginebra a good start by firing eight of his 15 points in the first period.
The scores:
Ginebra 92 - Tubid 22, Hatfield 16, Caguioa 15, Miller 11, Brumfield 9, De Ocampo 8, Cortez 6, Wilson J. 3, Wilson W. 2, Labagala 0, Mamaril 0.
Smart Gilas 85 - Douthit 25, Lassiter 13, Baracael 13, Casio 11, Tiu 7, Barroca 7, Ramos 5, Aguilar 4, Lutz 0.
Quarters: 18-26, 36-45, 68-65, 92-85.
Latest Update:
When its locals all show up, Barangay Ginebra is one very hard team to beat. Ronald Tubid notched his first double-double of the conference and led the Kings to a 92-85 win over Smart-Gilas Sunday and into the Finals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Rudy Hatfield, Mark Caguioa and Willie Miller also came up big for Ginebra, enabling it to buck Nate Brumfield’s low-scoring night and wrap up the best-of-five semifinals duel, three games to one, “it’s nice to be back in the championship,” said Kings coach Jong Uichico after steering the team to its 19th finals stint in all and first since the 2009 Fiesta Conference, when it lost to sister team San Miguel Beer in seven games.
The Kings will be lined up in the best-of-seven title duel against early qualifier Talk N Text and Uichico said his players must come up with a better game than they did against the Nationals to have at least equal chances with the Tropang Texters.
“They’re strong, We’ve got to really play for 48 minutes against them. There’s no time to relax against them,” he stated. If the locals continue to show up like they did Sunday, the perennial favorites could increase the odds in their favor.
Brumfield finished with only nine points but did have seven rebounds, two assists and as many steals in 32 minutes. Uichico said Brumfield simply felt no need to go to the basket more than his 10 field tries.
“If our locals are doing well, his job is made easier,” Uichico pointed out. “But if not, he can score.”
The Nationals were relegated to third place by the loss, which was directly caused by its failure to hit the big shots after posting a 51-36 lead early in the third quarter.
Marcus Douthit had gamehighs of 25 points and 17 rebounds, but there were very few sources of the much-needed help.
Marcio Lassiter made three triples but JV Casio, who drained seven treys in a 100-88 win last Wednesday, only had one triple.
For the only time in the series, the Kings outshot the Nationals, 9-6, from beyond the arc, with Tubid accounting for six and Yancy de Ocampo adding two.
UPDATE: Series versus Barangay Ginebra ‘a brutal one’, says Gilas coach [click here]
Hastening the Nationals’ downfall was the foul trouble entered into by Douthit, who picked up his fifth in the last 51 seconds of the third period and had to be benched until the 7:46 mark of the final canto.
By then, momentum was already on Ginebra’s side. Miller, who only had a point in the first three quarters, took over at the start of the fourth with 10 points and was in on every Ginebra play as it separated itself from Gilas, 83-73.
Tubid then took over, booming in the last two of his triples and giving the Kings an 88-73 spread it would use to cruise in the final 4:40 of the game.
One proof of Gilas unraveling was Aldrech Ramos tapping the ball off Mike Cortez’s missed jumper into the Ginebra guard himself, resulting in a followup that made it 85-73.
Tubid wound up with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a big bounce back from a three-point performance in Game 3.
Hatfield had 16 points and eight rebounds while Caguioa gave Ginebra a good start by firing eight of his 15 points in the first period.
The scores:
Ginebra 92 - Tubid 22, Hatfield 16, Caguioa 15, Miller 11, Brumfield 9, De Ocampo 8, Cortez 6, Wilson J. 3, Wilson W. 2, Labagala 0, Mamaril 0.
Smart Gilas 85 - Douthit 25, Lassiter 13, Baracael 13, Casio 11, Tiu 7, Barroca 7, Ramos 5, Aguilar 4, Lutz 0.
Quarters: 18-26, 36-45, 68-65, 92-85.
Latest Update:
Series versus Barangay Ginebra ‘a brutal one’, says Gilas coach.
source: Rey Joble | gmanews.tv
It was only after four grueling matches that Rajko Toroman and his young Pilipinas-Smart Gilas squad felt the physical and emotional battering of their best-of-five semifinals series with crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.
The pain was felt even more when the Gin Kings ended the series after a 92-85 victory in Game 4 and close it out at 3-1 on Sunday at the packed Big Dome.
But for the Serbian mentor who steered Iran to the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship crown and led the country to their first-ever Olympic stint in basketball competitions, the series was indeed a learning experience — both good and bad.
“It was a brutal series," Toroman told GMA News in a telephone interview. “We got a lot of physical beating in the semifinals. There were two broken bones and a shoulder injury received by some of our players and those injuries didn’t get a foul at all. I’ve never experienced such physicality in all those years of coaching."
“Me and my players were beginning to wonder why do we deserve such treatment and why do we get the impression from people that we’re an arrogant team," he added. “The players were really frustrated."
So the fruitful campaign ended for the Nationals, who also had their share of bright moments in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
In the single-round elimination, the signal was strong and clear for the Pilipinas-Smart Gilas, which had a chance to become only the third guest team in the league to win a championship.
They made it outright to the semifinal round after tallying the second-best record of 7-2.
“We played better in the elimination round than in the semifinals, but I believe we had a great chance of making it to the championship round or played in a Game 5," said Toroman. "I think we deserve it."
Toroman said the disparity in free-throw shooting proved to be a big factor in the series, something which certainly went on the favor of Ginebra, particularly in Game 2, which was also won by the Gin Kings, 110-103.
“When you send somebody to the line 27 times, that’s definitely too much. “I didn’t know anybody who took as many free throws as Brumfield (Nate) than Bob Cousy in the NBA," added Toroman, referring to the most number of free throws given to the former Boston Celtics great, who went 30-for-32 from the foul line during their 111-105 quadruple-overtime victory over the Syracuse Nationals in the 1953 Playoffs.
But it was the physicality of the series which took its toll on the young national team tht will represent the country in two major Asian tournaments in the next four months — the FIBA Asia Champions Cup next month and the FIBA Asia Championship in September.
“We’re glad that we’ve extended our season in the PBA, but I wasn’t surprised. I expect our team to make it as far as the championship round, although I believe it’s going to be difficult. Still, we could have done much better in the semifinals."
Toroman believes that somehow, the toughness of the games have developed his team.
“I think we’ve become strong mentally," said Toroman. “And that will make us really prepared for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup."
“At the end of the day, I would like to thank the PBA for allowing us to compete. Rght from the start, I was saying that it’s going to be a win-win situation for both of us. They will get a chance to see good, quality games from us and we will have a chance to learn and develop while preparing for the international tournaments," added Toroman. - by Rey Joble | gmanews.tv
The pain was felt even more when the Gin Kings ended the series after a 92-85 victory in Game 4 and close it out at 3-1 on Sunday at the packed Big Dome.
But for the Serbian mentor who steered Iran to the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship crown and led the country to their first-ever Olympic stint in basketball competitions, the series was indeed a learning experience — both good and bad.
“It was a brutal series," Toroman told GMA News in a telephone interview. “We got a lot of physical beating in the semifinals. There were two broken bones and a shoulder injury received by some of our players and those injuries didn’t get a foul at all. I’ve never experienced such physicality in all those years of coaching."
“Me and my players were beginning to wonder why do we deserve such treatment and why do we get the impression from people that we’re an arrogant team," he added. “The players were really frustrated."
So the fruitful campaign ended for the Nationals, who also had their share of bright moments in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
In the single-round elimination, the signal was strong and clear for the Pilipinas-Smart Gilas, which had a chance to become only the third guest team in the league to win a championship.
They made it outright to the semifinal round after tallying the second-best record of 7-2.
“We played better in the elimination round than in the semifinals, but I believe we had a great chance of making it to the championship round or played in a Game 5," said Toroman. "I think we deserve it."
Toroman said the disparity in free-throw shooting proved to be a big factor in the series, something which certainly went on the favor of Ginebra, particularly in Game 2, which was also won by the Gin Kings, 110-103.
“When you send somebody to the line 27 times, that’s definitely too much. “I didn’t know anybody who took as many free throws as Brumfield (Nate) than Bob Cousy in the NBA," added Toroman, referring to the most number of free throws given to the former Boston Celtics great, who went 30-for-32 from the foul line during their 111-105 quadruple-overtime victory over the Syracuse Nationals in the 1953 Playoffs.
But it was the physicality of the series which took its toll on the young national team tht will represent the country in two major Asian tournaments in the next four months — the FIBA Asia Champions Cup next month and the FIBA Asia Championship in September.
“We’re glad that we’ve extended our season in the PBA, but I wasn’t surprised. I expect our team to make it as far as the championship round, although I believe it’s going to be difficult. Still, we could have done much better in the semifinals."
Toroman believes that somehow, the toughness of the games have developed his team.
“I think we’ve become strong mentally," said Toroman. “And that will make us really prepared for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup."
“At the end of the day, I would like to thank the PBA for allowing us to compete. Rght from the start, I was saying that it’s going to be a win-win situation for both of us. They will get a chance to see good, quality games from us and we will have a chance to learn and develop while preparing for the international tournaments," added Toroman. - by Rey Joble | gmanews.tv
Photos by Nuki Sabio | PBA.ph
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