DEJA(-PETH) VU
Japeth Aguilar drained the buzzer-beating three-pointer to save the day once more for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as they rallied from a five-point deficit in the last 15 seconds to steal an 83-82 win over the Meralco Bolts Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in the 2014 PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup.
Down by five in the final 15.1 second of the payoff period, Jay-R Reyes drilled a corner three, his only basket of the game, to close the gap to two, 82-80, with 12.8 ticks remaining. Mark Caguioa then fouled John Wilson, but the ex-JRU marksman and a former Ginebra player too, failed to make any of his freebies and Jared Dillinger fumbled his offensive rebound which sent the ball out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Kings.
With 11.8 left in the game clock, LA Tenorio got caught in the defense of Mike Cortez, but found Aguilar who was lurking at the top of the arc. The reed-thin forward then made his way beyond the three-point line and threw the game-winning trey, his second game-winner of the season, which made its way to the bottom of the net as time expired, sending the raucous MOA Arena crowd into a frenzy.
“We have to give credit to our big guys, especially in this crucial time. They made two crucial three-pointers,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Ato Agustin.'”Gusto ko na yung matira (ni Japeth) kasi paubos na yung oras, kaysa hindi. Kung mamiss man, eh di ganon. Swerte talaga eh.”
The win was the Kings’ sixth straight and firmed up their hold of top spot in the standings.
It also avenged their only loss in the conference, a 100-87 decision by the Bolts last Dec. 3.
Aguilar, who also had a game-winning triple when Barangay Ginebra beat Talk ‘N Text 97-95 last Dec. 8, finished with 15 points, seven of which coming in the payoff period which kept the Kings within striking distance, to go with his 11 rebounds and four rejections.
“Ang crucial is yung kay Jay-R talaga,” Agustin added. “I recall dun sa start ng practice namin, alam ko shooter talaga yan, but I told him to work sa post and sa perimeter. Darating din yan pag pinatira kita sa tres and yung time na hinugot ko sya to take the three, eto na yun.”
Greg Slaughter had a double-double to the tune of his game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Mac Baracael sizzled from rainbow country, shooting 4-of-5 to finish with 14 points, and Tenorio almost had a triple-double in the win with his 13 markers, nine boards, and seven dimes.
Compared to their first meeting when Meralco ran away with the game early, Barangay Ginebra was motivated to exorcise their demons and stuck with their strength in the paint.
“At least nagawa namin yung dapat gawin especially on our gameplan. Maganda yung improvement namin compared dun sa last na laro namin against them,” he said.
But the Bolts’ zone defense, as well as gritty performances from Dillinger, Wilson, and Reynel Hugnatan, made the game into a tightly-contested matchup all throughout the game.
Dillinger had 16 points, while Hugnatan and Wilson combined for 25 markers for Meralco which dropped its fourth game in a row and fell to 3-7.
“Also give credit to Meralco who played good especially on their defense. Na-control nila yung big guys and shooters namin, pero yung breaks napunta sa amin and in the end, nanalo kami,” Agustin said. (RL)
The scores:
BARANGAY GINEBRA 83 – Slaughter 17, Aguilar 15, Baracael 14, Tenorio 13, Ellis 7, Caguioa 6, Urbiztondo 5, Reyes 3, Monfort 2, Helterbrand 1, Mamaril 0.
MERALCO 82 – Dillinger 16, Hugnatan 13, Wilson 12, David 9, Cortez 8, Caram 6, Sena 6, Allado 6, Guevarra 3, Hodge 3, Al-Hussaini 0.
Quarterscores: 27-22, 40-40, 59-60, 83-82.
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