Kings find solacein loss to Beermen

MANILA, Philippines - Despite their heartbreaking setback to the San Miguel Beermen that dropped them out of the Top 8, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings remain confident of making it to the playoff round of the PBA Philippine Cup.

Ginebra chief playmaker LA Tenorio saw a positive sign in their 70-72 defeat at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night, citing their defensive effort on June Mar Fajardo, whom they held to a season-low nine point output while limiting the whole SMB team to more than 30 points below their average.

“Yes, we’re disappointed with the loss, but at least there’s a bright side to  it. We had a tremendous defensive effort. There’s no June Mar Fajardo in our last four games. If we’ll be able to sustain the same effort in our remaining games, we may get good results,” said Tenorio.

Slipping to ninth with a 3-4 win-loss card, the Kings are now hard pressed to hurdle their last four games against Meralco, Blackwater, Phoenix Petroleum and NLEX to get a shot at the post-elims play.

The bottom four after the single-round-robin elims will miss the playoffs. Outside the top eight at the moment are Ginebra, Meralco (2-5), NLEX (2-5) and Mahindra (1-5).

But the Kings, at 3-4, are within striking distance of the Star Hotshots (3-3), Alaska (3-3), Phoenix (4-4) and Blackwater (4-4).

So far, only San Miguel Beer has clinched a quarterfinals slot with a strong 7-1 slate. Another win may give the Beermen a Top Two finish or a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

Tenorio and his teammates, the Governors Cup titlists with import Justin Brownlee, have been on a roller-coaster ride and have yet to pull off successive victories in the all-Filipino tourney.

  “We’re struggling offensively. Bottom line is we have to make our shots and keep our defensive mindset every game,” said Tenorio, who has also struggled in their last few games.