THE GINEBRA Gin Kings showed to the Cebuanos why they were the most popular PBA ball club when they managed to eke out a victory in a seemingly drawn game, 92-90, over Cebu’s pride, the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Jewelers, in a friendly match at the jampacked Cebu Coliseum last night.
The Kings found an unlikely hero in Rafi Reavis, who sank the winning basket with only eight-tenth of a second left to deny the Jewelers a draw.
Ginebra played without its two superstars Jay Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguiao but found an offensive combination of Victor Pablo, Eric Menk, Sunday Salvacion, Ronald Tubid and Rodney Santos—who all finished the game in double digit.
After Ginebra scored the first four points, the M. Lhuillier scored the next six and the game started to heat up with the Kings proving their superiority.
An 18-5 blitz in the second quarter gave Ginebra a 39-22 lead but the Jewelers quickly trimmed it down to eight with their own 11-2 run before the first half closed at 44-35 win the Gin Kings getting the upper hand.
Another quick 7-2 run gave back Ginebra its double digit lead before Bruce Dacia combined efforts with M. Lhuillier’s reinforcement Michael Jamar Le Blanc cut it down to 59-61 at the 3:02 mark of the third.
Ginebra re-established a 10-point lead 77-67 in the 6:31 of the fourth when the Jewelers made a daring run behind the efforts of Woodrow Enriquez and M. Lhuillier was able to tie the game at 90-all with 12.2 left in the game.
Coach Jong Uichico called a pause and designed a play intended for Menk but the Jewelers defense forced Reavis to fumble and instead took the shot by himself which swished through the hoop with 0.8 seconds remaining.
Le Blanc, who is seeking a slot as an import in any of the PBA teams, led all scorers with 25 points on an 8-of-17 shooting clip and 7-of-9 from the free throw. He also added six rebounds and a steal against two turnovers in 36 minutes of action. Dacia meanwhile contributed 21 points and Enriquez with 19.
However, the attention of the game went to the heated game between Ginebra’s banger Alex Crisano and Le Blanc and the brief pushing and shoving between Stephen Padilla and Ronald Tubid.
Meanwhile, Cebu Coliseum manager Ben Tulda denied reports about the selling of recycled tickets that nearly caused trouble when the Jewelers played Talk ‘N Text last Feb. 21.
However, Tulda reported that fake tickets were discovered when they made an inventory last night. Aside from the fake tickets, free loaders were also abound that its packed the venue, especially at the ringside. (RCM)
