NO TIME TO RELAX
Like a good Swiss army knife, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel once again found the right tool for the job as Mac Baracael led the Kings in the hard-earned 85-82 Game 4 win over San Mig Super Coffee to tie their semifinal series at two games apiece.
“Ang nasa mind ko lang talaga is kailangan naming tumabla. Pag nag 3-1 kasi, mahirap nang humabol,” he said.
The former Gilas forward had 20 points behind 4-of-5 shooting from three-point land, with 11 points coming in the third quarter when Ginebra erected a 16-point lead.
“Focused lang ako, tapos yung mga tira ko, na-open ako dahil dun sa mga big men namin kasi nag-clog sila sa ilalim. Kumpyansa lang ako sa mga tira ko,” Baracael said.
“Sinabi lang sa akin ni coach na gawin ko yung trabaho ko, kasi pag na-open ako sa labas, yun na yung opportunity ko. Kailangan ko nang itira kasi sa loob naman, may malaki kami eh.”
Despite the big lead, Ginebra still had to stave off a furious Super Coffee Mixers rally in the end game, as they hit big shots and had crucial defensive stops to escape with the win.
“Yun ang problema namin eh. Kapag lumalamang kami, nagre-relax kami,” he said. “Kaya nung end game, nag-focus na lang kami sa game at nakapag-execute naman kami ng maganda.”
The ex-FEU Tamaraw admitted that the big bounce back game can be credited to his woeful Game 3 performance, a night where he went to the showers early after incurring two technical fouls.
“Mali din ako dun na nagreact ako,” he said. “Kung andun ako sa loob, baka may maitulong pa ko kung naglalaro pa ako. Kaya naisip ko na lang na babawi ako next game para di na ko magreact sa mga tawag ng referee.”
Baracael also bared that he hurt his left foot in a bad fall during Game 4, but the importance of the match enabled him to buck the pain and continue to deliver for his team.
“Pinilit ko na lang maglaro nung huli kasi kailangang kailangan naming manalo,” he said.
“We were lucky.” (RL)
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