Gin Kings, Bolts on even ground

MANILA, Philippines — In a situation like this where another misstep would lead to a 1-3 hole, it’s time for Barangay Ginebra to unravel “Playoff L.A.”

With veteran LA Tenorio making his imprint in a rare start, the Gin Kings jolted Meralco early en route to a runaway 90-71 equalizer in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series yesterday at the MOA Arena.

By striking back after conceding the last two matches, 91-103 and 80-87, coach Tim Cone and his never-say-die crew dragged the Bolts to a virtual best-of-three in this hard-fought dispute for a finals seat.

The old rivals break their 2-2 deadlock and race to get on the hill first tomorrow.

“As bad as we played last game, we played that good in this game and the energy was so much better,” said Cone, who had described their Game 3 performance “terrible.”

“We started differently. We really brought in LA and Stanley (Pringle) to give us that veteran presence and help get our execution going. And they really responded. They gave us a good start and a chance to rest some people,” he added.

Tenorio contributed seven points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals in 22 minutes of action to back up Japeth Aguilar (21), Christian Standhardinger (15-11-8), Scottie Thompson (15-5) and Pringle (14).

“I’m always ready kahit ilang minutes lang,” said Tenorio, who earned Best Player honors for the first time in a long while.  “My role is to provide leadership on and off the court and help in any way I can.”

In the very first play, Tenorio forced Meralco’s Cliff Hodge to commit an offensive foul. On the other end, Scottie Thompson drained in the Gin Kings’ first basket from deep.

That gave the Gin Kings momentum for a 16-2 start that they maintained until the very end. Cone’s no-letup troops even led by as many as 27 points at one point to highlight this dominance.