Yesterday, the Talk and Text team tried its best to even up a series where Ginebra was leading two games to one. And for about a third of the game, they were doing well, even erecting an 18 point lead against the Gin Kings. And this was despite losing their import, Glen Rice Jr. in the latter part of the 1st Quarter.
If Glen Rice Jr. has already played in the NBA and NBA-D League, it boggles my mind how he ended up letting Ginebra play mind games on him and getting himself ejected. You don't reach the NBA without going through your fare share of heated and tightly contested games. And knowing that your team is depending on you against a power house team like Ginebra, to let a bruiser like Kevin Ferrer get under your skin really shows how immature Glen Rice Jr. is. Either that, or the defense in the NBA is, to borrow from the WWE, sawft (soft for the unfamiliar).
And Kevin Ferrer didn't even seem physical enough. I don't know if Glen Rice Jr. has been defended by Calvin Abueva or Beau Belga. Those two players have created reputations for themselves as being physical defenders. I don't know if Kevin Ferrer used words to get to Glen Rice. Maybe he called him the N word. I don't know. But whatever Ferrer did, it made Glen Rice so mad that he shoved Ferrer and threw the basketball at him while he was down on the floor in front of the officials and the whole Araneta Coliseum crowd.
I don't know if Coach Tim Cone and the rest of the Ginebra coaching staff expected something like this to happen. I know that they already saw the beginnings of this "love story" in Game 3 of their series. And an excellent tactician, will use whatever weaknesses he sees in the opposing team and exploit these. Dirty tactics, maybe, but effective, since the moment Rice threw that ball at his opponent, he set himself up for an ejection. And the Ginebra fans knew that the moment he walked off the court, the game was theirs despite whatever double-digit lead TNT had built up. They were already chanting "Uwian na" (time to go home) in the 1st Quarter despite TNT having a huge lead. They knew that their Gin Kings could easily catch up and beat the Talk and Texters now that their main offensive gun was out.
Now, many will say that Glen Rice Jr. was stupid. But what if he was actually very smart. What if he was offered a lucrative sum to throw the game away. The opposing team saw how effective he was against them in the first three games. Maybe they decided to play the game off the court, and the series was already decided even before game 4 started. All of this is pure speculation. But it makes for a great movie script, like Blue Chips which starred Shaq and Penny Hardaway with Nick Nolte.
Jason Castro tried to fight back for his team. You can't help but admire a player who makes his free throws despite boos and distractions from a thousand strong Ginebra fan base. It reminds you of the guts showed by Alaska players like Johnny Abarrientos and Jojo Lastimosa against Ginebra back in the 90s. Ironically, Coach Tim Cone was coaching against Ginebra back then. And somehow, one would probably feel prouder for a roster of 12-players who fight back and win against a Ginebra team and Ginebra crowd just like Leonidas made three hundred men the stuff of legends.
Except, the difference between TNT and Alaska is that Alaska would win their battles against Ginebra. TNT will simply have to try again next year, hopefully, with a more level headed import. And with stars like Kelly Williams, RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Mo Tautua, and Anthony Semerad, they might just get back to TNT's winning ways. But Coach Nash Racela should really get a center with a post-up game since Kelly is more suited for the power forward spot. Easier said than done. Miss the days when they had someone like Asi Taulava at that spot. Maybe they can lure Enrico Villanueva out of retirement or look for some up-and-coming center.
Thank you to both teams for an exciting semi-finals series. Too bad it had to be marred with an ejection. And TNT fans will always wonder, what if Glen Rice Jr. was in that game. Would TNT have won and forced a fifth game?
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