Barako Bull went against the Brgy Ginebra Kings in their search for a win the Philippine Cup 2015. Barako suffered a loss in their first game and the great shooting of the Star Hotshots on their first outing humbled the Kings.
We started watching with 7:02 remaining on the 3rd quarter. Ginebra was leading 40-47. However, Aguilar had already four fouls and Slaughter had two.
Tim Cone, who is now the coach of the Kings, was called up with a Technical Foul in the 6:06 stretch of the game after complaining for fouls with players knocked down on the floor.
Nick Penissi hit a 3-point shoot 5:33 remaining on the clock to cut the lead of Ginebra to 6 but Tenorio came out with a 3-point play on the other side. Intal hit a three 4:13 remaining, who is performing well in this game. On the other side, Slaughter already had 19 rebounds to keep the dominance of Ginebra’s backcourt.
It was 2:59 on the clock when the lead was cut to only 1 point. 1 minute after, Ginebra was called up with an advantage foul but the Bulls failed to capitalize on it. Baracael however tied the game 57-57 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Aguilar has 2 points only in the game but Slaughter was clearly dominating because of his height advantage. Intal however kept on pursuing as he helped the Bulls to come up with their first lead of the game after being down by 21 points earlier.
Slaughter was still dominating and the Bulls have a hard time defending him in the low post. Aguilar however committed his fifth foul 7:73 remaining on the 4th quarter.
Wilson came up with a perfect seal on Aguilar but Slaughter on the other side was unstoppable on a pick and roll play. Lanete made a big three 4:57 remaining on the clock as the Bulls cut the lead to 1.
Slaughter continued to be a monster inside but Penissi returns fire with another 3-point. Garcia hit a three 2:52 remaining on the clock as the Bulls finally grabbed a 1-point lead.
Intal made a big steal against Slaughter but blew out a free drive to the basket. Garcia however saved him with a 3-point play to increase their lead to 4 points.
Intal steals again and the Kings were called with a deliberate foul. It is now a 5-point lead with 1:56 remaining on the clock. The score was 78-73.
Intal was really working hard for the team and against taller opponents. Garcia continued helping as he made another 2 with a coast-to-coast drive to the basket bringing the lead to 7.
Mercado however made a big three 1:25 remaining on the clock that cut the lead to only 4.
Official’s timeout was called 1:03 remaining and 9 seconds shot clock for Bulls as Lanete was down on the floor. Lanete was bleeding whom Tenorio unintentionally hit on the face while fighting on a screen. Lanete seems to be fine as he stand and went to the bench.
Wilson was blocked but Ginebra can’t connect on the other side. 13 seconds remaining on the game when it seems that Ginebra was calling a timeout but Tenorio made a bailout shot instead. It was another big three for Ginebra cutting the lead to one again 80-79.
12 seconds remaining, Barako devised their last play. Bulls called another 30-seconds timeout as they have trouble inbounding the ball. Garcia was fouled but hits both free throws bringing back the lead to three.
At the last 8 seconds of the game, Ginebra needed a three point shot. Caguioa received the ball but Intal grabbed a steal again. Caguioa seemed to be out-of-sync on his first two games. We know what he can do for his team. The game ended with a three-point lead by the Barako Bull 82-79.
JC Intal was the best player, who came up with big steals on the crucial part of the game. He got 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and an impressive effort to give the Bulls their first win.
