Monday, April 22, 2013

Chasing Destiny

 
Once again, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is etching its name in the PBA history books becoming the ninth team to overcome a twice-to-beat disadvantage to advance to the semifinals. Of the nine teams that did it, Ginebra has the most number of comebacks with three. They did the trick in 1999 behind Bal David's last second shot against the top seeded Mobiline. They repeated the feat in 2001 against Purefoods thanks to Ronald Magtulis' offensive rebound. And against Rain or Shine last night, they erased that twice-to-beat disadvantage.

Coming into that do-or-die game, Ginebra lost main man Mark Caguioa due to an MCL injury. Aside from that, they ended their elimination round campaign with back-to-back losses against Alaska and Talk n Text. To boost their chances, they secured Josh Urbiztondo from Barako Bull in exchange for Keith Jensen and a second round pick.

Come game time, the Kings had a miserable first half and even went down by 15 points in the third quarter. But Jayjay Helterbrand turned back time and brought Ginebra back into the game. With Kerby Raymundo assisting him, the 2009 MVP scored all of his 13 points in the 4th quarter and went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Before Rain or Shine could recover, the Kings were already ahead and heading to victory.

In the second match, Vernon Macklin showed nerves of steel in hitting two crucial free throws which proved to be the winning margin for the Kings. He then came back on the other end to block the lay-up of Jeff Chan. Defense then did it for Ginebra in the final 6 seconds to seal the win and a place in the Final Four.

Now Ginebra looks to overcome another obstacle in the person of Talk n Text. With nine straight semifinals appearances, the Texters swept the Petron Blaze Boosters in their best-of-three quarterfinal series.The two teams split their matches this conference. Playing against Talk n Text is always tough. With a 7 foot import in Jerome Jordan, it will definitely be a long and ardous climb for the Kings if they want to move to their first Finals since 2008, the last time they became champions.

Coach Alfrancis Chua is looking to chase another Ginebra milestone. He is seeking to become the third Ginebra coach to win a championship in their first season after Siot Tanquincen and Jong Uichico. It will also be his first championship as a coach.

Is destiny calling Ginebra? It's been a long time since the Kings have won a title. With V-Mack in tow, is it finally time for the Kings to win another championship?

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