PHI – Ginebra, TnT move within a win each of Finals

MANILA (PBA Commissioner’s Cup) - Import Nate Brumfield on Sunday scored a season-high 45 points to help Ginebra Kings get the better of Smart Gilas 110-103 in the semi-finals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup and stand on the verge of reaching the championship series.

In the other semi-final, All-Philippine Cup champions Talk N Text proved more than a handful for Air21 Express as they took a comfortable 114-96 win.

Ginebra and TnT both lead their best-of-five semi-finals 2-0 and can advance to the Finals with wins on Wednesday.

Brumfield was the most significant cog in Ginebra’s wheel.

Repeatedly attacking the Smart Gilas’ towering defense and making all but four of his 27 free-throw attempts, he carried the load for the Kings, much as he had done in Friday's series opener.

Attack mode

“I just want to attack, get them in the penalty, and make our free throws," Brumfield said after shooting 11 of 24 from the field, and adding 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals for good measure.

"Anything is possible. We have to come out and continue to outwork them.”

Guard Mark Caguioa contributed 18 points and Ronald Tubid 10 for Ginebra.

“Every win is nice. It’s good to be 2-0 up, but this series is not yet over. We have to keep our emotion down because we still have a job to do,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“We’ll try to recover. We have no doubt we can continue (this) series,” Smart Gilas Serbian coach Rajko Toroman said.

Smart Gilas, the core of the Philippines National Team, are playing in the PBA as a part of the preparations for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan later this year.

They also play host to the 22nd FIBA ASIA Champions Cup in the Filipino capital from 28 May-5 June.

But their naturalised player Marcus Douthit was held to 20 points on Sunday night.

“After not practicing for two weeks, I think two games in three nights is too much for him,” said Toroman about Douthit.

The 211-cm center collected a game-high 16 rebounds but had only 14 field goal attempts.

Chris Tiu (pictured) was the high scorer for Smart Gilas with 22 points to go with eight assists.

JP Aguilar had 16 points and eight rebounds while Joe Casio knocked down four of his nine three-point attempts for 14 points.

Early TnT explosion

Talk N Text got off to a quick start, leading 28-11 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

Import Paul Harris was a key part in the impressive start, scoring 12 of his game-high 29 points in the opening period.

Guards Ryan Reyes and Jimmy Alapag played their roles to perfection each accounting for 15 points apiece and combining for 13 assists.

Ranidel de Ocampo had 10 points.

“Our priority was to play better than what we did in Game 1, and I think we achieved that,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“But celebrating is still the farthest thing in our minds. We have to stay committed to our game. That’s important.

“I still believe Alpha Bangura is the best import in the league and we have to do our job to prevent him from torching us.”

Restricting Bangura, Air21’s Sierra Leonean import, to 18 points, was a key factor that made it easier for Reyes’ team.

Danny Seigle had 15 points for Air21, who now face the uphill task of needing to win three games in a row.

“This TnT team is really super strong to play like this after a long season. We need to bring our A-plus game to upset them,” said Air21 coach Bong Ramos.

“But I can’t blame my players. We played our eighth game in 17 days. It’s like we’re playing a game in every two days,” he said.

“We are still there. We can still come back. Who knows? Only God knows. But first things first; we have to win Wednesday,” said Ramos.

FIBA Asia