Barangay Ginebra punched their ticket to the finals of the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup in a dramatic 102-99 win over the San Miguel Beermen and will now face a familiar adversary in the TNT Tropang Giga.
"It took every little ounce of whatever we have left to win tonight. We were limping to the finish line," head coach Tim Cone said after squeaking a close win over San Miguel in Game 6.
The key storyline of the series, and why Ginebra emerged victorious, revolves largely around June Mar Fajardo. For years, it's been clear there's no simple way to stop the 8-time MVP. Ginebra's approach wasn't to completely shut him down but to force him to work harder for his points and wear him down by forcing him to defend more.
Make no mistake, Fajardo still dominated, scoring 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds on an efficient 69.2% shooting from the field. What made the difference for Ginebra was that they limited his shot attempts -- he took only 13 -- and forced San Miguel to rely more on his passing. This strategy paid off, as the Beermen struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 32.1% (9-28) from 3 and missing all five of their 4-point attempts.
Ginebra also utilized smaller lineups and had Justin Brownlee playing center. While this presented defensive challenges in containing Fajardo and San Miguel's import EJ Anosike, it was a sacrifice Ginebra was willing to make. With Joe Devance sidelined due to injury, Ginebra's guards had to step up and play team defense and crash on the boards, a task Scottie Thompson embodied with his 14 rebounds.
"It wasn't just about Justin [Brownlee], it was really about everybody contributing on the defensive side -- to guys collapsing from behind and our guards really did a good job in rebounding," Cone said.
The biggest advantage of playing a small-ball lineup was exploiting San Miguel's drop defense, particularly Fajardo's. Even though Ginebra's outside shots didn't fall as consistently as they hoped, the spacing created by the drop coverage allowed them to attack the paint more effectively. This resulted in a 58-52 edge in points in the paint, a remarkable feat given that Ginebra often had only one big man on the floor.
Ginebra generally got optimal looks in the paint and shot a whopping 71.4% shooting on 2s as a team. It negated Brownlee's inefficient shooting (9-21 FG). Japeth Aguilar benefited the most from the dribble penetrations garnered by Ginebra guards, as he had 20 points on a 91% field goal percentage. Maverick Ahanmisi had his best game for Ginebra, pouring 25 points on 77.6 true shooting percentage.
Ginebra will now face a true test of contrasting styles when they take on TNT in the finals. Ginebra's fluid, high-powered offense will go head-to-head with TNT's disciplined, defense-first approach, making every possession a battle. The outcome will likely hinge on which team can impose their style on the game and adapt to the other's strengths. For now, this is what head coach Cone has to say about their finals opponent.
"He has turned that team into a defensive juggernaut, which reflects the personality of their best player in Rondae [Hollis-Jefferson], so hats off to them," Cone said about what head coach Chot Reyes' has done with TNT in the conference.