Ginebra back in stride

MANILA, Philippines - Ginebra San Miguel faces a tough test when the Barangay battles Talk ‘N’ Text in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena tonight. Although the team got off to a 0-2 start, veteran guard Mark Caguioa said the other day with coach Ato Agustin now calling the shots, Ginebra is back on track and he’s excited to play the run-and-gun style that has been its trademark since the Robert Jaworski era.

The Barangay has won two in a row to go up 2-2, beating San Miguel Beer, 95-82, last Sunday and Kia, 100-92, last Friday with its vaunted transition attack in high gear. Against San Miguel, Ginebra had more fastbreak points, 16-4 and the Barangay swamped the Carnival, 16-0, in the same department. Caguioa, 35, averaged 8.0 points in Ginebra’s first two games, both losses, but raised his norm to 14 in the last two, both wins.

“I’m really not comfortable with a structured offense,” said Caguioa. “I like the run-and-gun style which is what Ginebra’s never-say-die spirit is all about. It’s what I do best. In the last two games, we were off running. L. A. (Tenorio) does a good job of finding us on the break while Michael (Dunigan), Greg (Slaughter) and Japeth (Aguilar) take care of the boards.”

Aguilar has yet to hit his stride this conference, averaging only two points a game. Last Friday, he shot four points and grabbed six boards against Kia. “Whether three or four or five, I’ll play whatever coach wants me to play,” he said. “Right now, we’re running plays for Mike and Greg together so I’m sacrificing my offense. I’m just focusing on defense, rebounding and the little things. I didn’t get a good start because I missed three weeks of practice in the preseason with a left hamstring strain. If coach wants me to play aggressive on offense, that’s what I’ll do. It’s doing what’s best for the team.”

Aguilar said Gilas coach and Talk ‘N’ Text consultant Tab Baldwin was in the stands watching the first half of the Kia game. “I didn’t play well in the first half and I told myself oh no, there goes my chance to play for Gilas again,” he said. “When I played better in the second half, coach Tab was gone. We’re playing Talk ‘N’ Text today, so I hope to show more on the floor.”

Dunigan, 25, said playing for Ginebra is a lot different from playing for Air21 in his first PBA stint two years ago. “Air21 was a young team and I had to do it all, score, rebound, defend like I was the only go-to guy,” he said. “Ginebra has a lot of experienced players with a load of talent so it’s a nicer situation for me.”

Dunigan said defense has always been his trump card since playing high school basketball at Farragut Academy in Chicago where Kevin Garnett and former PBA import Ronnie Fields made their mark before turning pro. “KG used to come to the gym and told me everything starts with defense,” he said. “But I saw a lot more of Ronnie at Farragut. I didn’t know he played in the PBA.” Dunigan never made it to the NBA but has toured the world playing in Israel, Estonia, Italy, Ukraine and Australia.

In the Kia game, the 6-8 1/4 Dunigan was matched up with 7-2 3/4 Peter John Ramos. During a tense moment, Dunigan found himself on the floor after Ramos rammed him down. “I didn’t see that elbow coming,” he said. “Man, that guy’s big. I went down hard. My head hit the floor and bounced like a whiplash. I was shaken up. Ramos went up to me to ask if I was okay. No hard feelings.”

The Kia game was more competitive that what the final score reflected. The count was tied, 70-all, at the start of the fourth period. “It was a battle out there,” he said. “I got called for fouls but on the other end, I was getting fouled and they weren’t calling. I just had to play through all that.” Dunigan finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 43:44 minutes.

Tenorio sparkled in the Kia contest with 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 30:14 minutes only hours after Ginebra PBA governor Alfrancis Chua picked him up from the hospital. Tenorio was confined for two days with stomach flu. “I think L. A. went to the bathroom 62 times,” said Chua. “But L. A. wanted to play, that’s how big his heart is.”

As for Agustin, he said there’s still a lot of hard work to do. Agustin is backed up by a solid all-star cast made of assistants Olsen Racela, Frankie Lim, Freddie Abuda and George Gallent. With a two-game winning streak, Ginebra is far from challenging for pole position but it’s a start. Four teams will be struck out after the single-round eliminations so it’s a dog-eat-dog race to finish in the first eight spots.