Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — It took just one knockout punch very early in the game for the Kings to surprisingly and totally slay a giant. In their biggest victory yet in the current PBA season, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings demolished the Talk N Text Tropang Texters, 104-81, Friday night in Game 1 of their PBA Commissioner's Cup best-of-five semifinals at the packed Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Kings shot the lights out of the coliseum from start to finish to the delight of tens of thousands of their raucous fans. After TNT's Ranidel de Ocampo scored the first basket, the Kings unloaded an avalanche of points while giving the Texters no breathing room on defense. After a 10-2 blast, the Kings ended the first quarter with a 33-15 lead. The Ginebra offensive blitzkrieg continued in the second quarter as the first half ended with the Kings on top by 23 huge points, 59-36. “We beat a very strong team, a very organized team,” exclaimed Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua. “I guess we caught Talk N Text in a tough night. They are a champion team but we're pretty sure they're gonna bounce back,” Chua added. Game Two of the best-of-five series is set for Sunday. The Kings shot a mesmerizing 52.5 percent from the field (42-of-80), including 10-of-24 from three-point territory. In sharp contrast, the usually high-scoring Texters shot a miserable 35.4 percent clip from the field (29-of-82), including a horrendous 6 percent (1-of-18) from three-point range. The 23-point winning margin was Ginebra's biggest victory in the playoffs' since a 102-76 rout of San Miguel Beer in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinals in the 2010-11 Philippine Cup. The loss was TNT's worst in the playoffs since a 113-85 rout by the Alaska Aces in Game 1 of the 2007 Fiesta Conference best-of-seven Finals. Seven Kings scored at least eight points, led by import Vernon Macklin, who finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block. The energetic center provided the sparks for his team from the start, scoring on alley-oop dunks almost at will. Veteran forward Kerby Raymundo also starred for Ginebra, collecting 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one block to earn the Player-of-the-Game honors. Chris Ellis added 13 points, while Mac Baracael and Josh Urbiztondo chipped in with 12 markers apiece. LA Tenorio and Jayjay Helterbrand chimed in eight points each. Chua fielded all his 13 players and all scored except for one, Elmer Espiritu. The Texters were led by their import Jerome Jordan who finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Only two other Texters finished in double figures – Jayson Castro with 18 and Ocampo with 12 points. The usually streak-shooting Jimmy Alapag was ice-cold, scoring only a three-point basket in seven tries. Chua credited his team's resounding Game 1 victory against TNT to the confidence they gained after upsetting Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals. “We used that victory to motivate ourselves. That was a huge win which boosted our confidence,” Chua said.
