Dubai: Barangay Ginebra coach Frankie Lim said The Kings showed the ‘spirit’ they would need to be great again in their 93-81 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governor’s Cup win over Rain or Shine at Al Shabab on Friday.
Ginebra got off to a strong start leading 28-14 after the first quarter, but the Elasto Painters had cut the deficit to just seven points at half time and were just six behind at the end of the third quarter.
However, the fan favourites weathered the storm and showed a snapshot of the ‘never-say-die’ attitude that had brought them fame during the 1980s.
The eight-time championship winners haven’t won a title in seven years but under new coach Lim — who now has two wins and three losses for this series — fortunes could turn.
“That was a great win for us against a strong team,” said Lim. “In the last game we played [against] Blackwater, who are the weakest team in the league, and we lost, so I was pretty scared coming into this game. But the guys played with a lot of heart and energy.
“We had an early 20-point lead, which they blew, that’s the reason I got mad at half-time but they bounced back and were pretty composed. We pulled a good one.”
Asked what Ginebra had been missing in the seven years since their last title, Lim replied: “I think attitude toward the game, mindset, for me it’s all about character, knowing exactly what to do and it’s about giving results.”
Did Ginebra show signs that the missing elements were falling in place against Rain or Shine? Lim replied: “Oh sure, they’ve been playing differently compared to the last games.
“Our target now is to make top four [in the eliminators] and that’s very possible at this point; since we won this game we are now two wins and three losses and I think we have a very good chance.”
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao refused to blame tiredness for his side’s defeat. The Elasto Painters had beaten Global Port 119-112 in their first of a Dubai back-to-back double header at Al Shabab on Thursday and a second win over Ginebra just 24 hours later had always seemed unlikely.
“We don’t want to post that [fatigue] as an excuse,” said Guiao. “Our defence just wasn’t committed to making stops and working hard on challenging shots. They [Ginebra] got good rhythm early in the game and we had to be playing catch-up most of the time.
“But I just think our commitment to be aggressive and intense with playing defence wasn’t there and I’m not going to say that it’s because we are tired.
“We wanted two wins out of two from Dubai, one out of two isn’t bad, but we came here with two losses and we wanted to be at the 50 per cent mark with regards wins and losses.
“We are not out of the [Governor’s Cup] running yet but we do need to string up a few wins before we can get back in contention. We may need to win the next three or four straight before we can say we are back in the groove.”
