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In a conference played inside a bubble, where fans could not enter the stadium, Barangay Geneva coach Tim Cone did not let the moment pass without a shout to the most passionate cheering section in basketball.
“For all the Geneva fans watching now, this is for you,” Cone said, speaking inside an empty stadium but aware of the scope his message was going to do.
The Kings once again displayed iron determination down the stretch, beating an unmanned TNT Tropang Giga in the final five minutes to clinch an 82-78 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night to claim the Philippines Cup from the PBA in five games at the University of Angeles Foundation.
The Kings frozen the series, 4-1, for their thirteenth franchise title and their first all-Philippine crown in 13 years.
Japeth Aguilar was unstoppable the entire game, finishing with 32 points on just 12 field attempts. He made 19 free throw attempts against a hapless TNT defense and added nine rebounds for good measure.
But it was LA Tenorio who masterfully pulled the strings Wednesday night, delivering two key assists in the final Geneva race that knocked TNT out. Tenorio, who finished with 10 points and six assists, was named MVP of the Finals for his consistent leadership throughout the series.
“I came here [into the bubble] looking for my first fully Filipino title and God gave me a bonus, ”said Tenorio.
In the Finals, the Kings were off to a dream start again, beating Tropang Giga in the crucial stages of the game with a combination of offense and defense to jump to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
After TNT finally got a win, Guinevere responded with a Tenorio-inspired Game 4 win that put the Kings on the brink of the crown. And TNT faced even more problems. With Ray Parks Jr already out of the series due to a strained calf, Tropang Giga lost another key starter in Jayson Castro.
But TNT simply refused to fold, even taking a five-point lead with five minutes remaining in the game on a triple from Simon Enciso.
And again Guinevere rolled up her sleeves and went to work. The Kings threw a final kick 14-5 with Aguilar and Stanley Pringle providing the firepower and Tenorio keeping the team in check. Pringle, who finished with 13 points, had two 3-pointers in that streak, while Aguilar slammed a perfect Tenorio lob to deflate Tropang Giga. After that dunk, Tenorio fed Joe Devance for another basket, who made it 80-73 with 56 seconds left.
The final run, especially Aguilar’s dunk, would have generated a deafening roar from a full house crowd if this tournament had been played under normal circumstances. But a pandemic pushed the tournament into a self-contained setting, depriving Geneva of the support of its audience.
But the Kings heard the cheers of their fans, after all.
“We’ve received thousands of messages of support and that kind of support really gave us a lot of extra motivation,” said swingman Jared Dillinger.
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