Game 1 slipped out of Meralco’s hands at the last minute. Can they respond in Game 2 or will Ginebra add more frustration?

The Meralco Bolts

Meralco played like the hungry bunch everyone expected, until they didn’t. They fired blanks at the most crucial stages of the game and eventually went home trailing the series one-zip instead of making everyone believe that third time is indeed the charm.

Allen Durham had a triple-double, but he was limited to 25 points on 10-for-26 shooting, quite off from the usual scoring numbers.

With Durham attracting a sea of defenders every time he gets the ball, and thus prone to bad shooting nights, the locals simply have to be better in taking advantage of holes in the defense. That group is mostly about Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan, who finished as the second and third scorers of the team this past Tuesday, respectively. The latter had 24 points and the former added 20 points and 13 rebounds. Those two as the only reliable locals won’t be enough, at least not against Ginebra’s firepower.

Point guard Baser Amer will be an x-factor moving forward. His playmaking skills were non-existent in Game 1 as he virtually turned into a spectator because of his inability defend Ginebra counterpart LA Tenorio.

The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings

The Gin Kings used championship experience and the ever-reliable energy from the Ginebra faithful to pull out that tough, 91-87 victory in Game 1. It’s nice and all but they should know not to rely with those things often.

Unlike the Bolts, though, the Gin Kings have locals that can step up whenever import Justin Brownlee is misfiring or getting hounded by the opposition. Brownlee was held without a field goal in the fourth quarter and scoreless in the period until there was only 33 ticks left, and to fill the void, LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar combined for 14 of Ginebra’s 23 points in the quarter.

Such performances are a big boost to the team’s confidence, and it could very well be the theme of the series. Though they call Brownlee for the heavy-lifting, the core knows when to jump in and have the initiative to create offense.

Also, as we’ve said, Ginebra has firepower, easily one of the most loaded teams in recent memory. Even if Tenorio or Aguilar gets shut down, there are guys like Greg Slaughter, Scottie Thompson, and Stanley Pringle who can suddenly explode and punish the defense.

PREDICTION:

The two will engage in yet another intense battle, but I see Ginebra taking it again in a close contest, 101-98. They are better equipped and basically have home court advantage regardless of the arena.