Coaches Tim Cone and Japeth Aguilar talked about Barangay Ginebra’s success in the Christmas Day basketball showdown, and both men looked back on the Gin Kings’ victory over Magnolia (then the Stars) eight years ago. He listed the match at the top of his list.
On Wednesday night, rookie RJ Abarrientos and cornerstone Scottie Thompson delivered performances that made the champions’ coaches rethink the club’s game.
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Looking dead in the water and staring down a 70-foot-deep hole, the Gin Kings trailed Magnolia 95-92 behind Abarrientos’ energetic playmaking and Thompson’s audacious buzzer-beating triple. He narrowly escaped and closed the race. There was also an electric holiday doubleheader in which the young Converge defeated Meralco at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I was talking to Japeth and remembering the game we played against Magnolia at the Philippine Arena on Christmas Day. [where] Japeth hit five 3-pointers. And we were laughing about it and he said, ‘That’s a game you’ll never forget,”’ Cohn said immediately after the victory that put the crowd back in the Commissioner’s Cup championship column.
“I think this is another event we will never forget,” he continued. “I’m sure RJ here will never forget. I disagree. [his uncle] Johnny is a guy that’s really dear to my heart and then he made a big play, a big comeback, and then his Kuya Scottie hit a big 3-point shot. ”
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Tenorio’s heroic story
Abarrientos, the No. 3 overall pick in the previous draft, poured in 17 of his 20 points in the third set to get the Gin Kings back on track. He had three steals, one block, and five assists, the last of which was a pass that set up Thompson for the killer blow from the left corner that dealt the final blow to the Hotshots in another matchup nine years ago on Christmas Day. It reminded me of LA Tenorio’s final triple. .
“It’s designed for RJ to make decisions. We put the game in RJ’s hands and he made a great pass to Scotty,” Cone said. “Tonight’s RJ is clearly a true fit and, you know, fits Ginebra’s ‘Never Say Die’ credo. Although we don’t express it as much as we did on the old ‘Jaworski Days.’ , we still feel it, we still talk about it, it’s still part of our culture. So tonight we catered to Sonny Jaworski and his crew. ”
Next is beer man
“I was surprised by RJ. As soon as I sat on the bench, he beat two guys. [triples]. When I came back, he was already going strong and it was hard to stop him. He’s a scoring machine and you can tell he’s really talented,” Magnolia veteran Mark Barocca said in Filipino. “I think you could see his aura as soon as he got into a rhythm and he became very difficult to guard.”
“That hurt. The moment I saw Scotty launch it, I thought everything was accurate. Then I saw the clock say 12:00 and the net just moved.” he added. “But that’s just the way it is. If you’re going to give up a shot, it’s [Scottie’s] Because RJ and Justin (Brownlee) were working on handoffs. ”
Thompson had 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists, and resident player Justin Brownlee was also key in the victory with 28 points, seven rebounds, and five rebounds, improving the Gin Kings’ win-loss record to 4-2.
Cohn said it’s one of those games that will be talked about for a long time, but also one that will soon be forgotten, especially with such an opponent in store at the start of the year.
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Ginebra will play another fraternity on Jan. 5, league-leading Northport on Jan. 8, then face TNT, Rain or Shine and Meralco later in the month.
“A memorable game for all of us. We’re going to remember this for a while, but like RJ said, we have to move on. Next up is San Miguel,” he said. “It doesn’t get any easier.”
