JONG's TARGET DECISIVE 7TH GAME

Source: PBA.COM.PH

BARANGAY Ginebra has one simple approach in its coming PBA Philippine Cup semifinals encounter
against sister-team San Miguel.

The longer it takes the best-of-seven series, the better.

And if that means dragging the mighty Beermen to a decisive Game 7, so be it.

“I hope it goes the distance, go to a Game 7,” said Jong Uichico, the unassuming, soft-spoken
mentor of the Kings.

“If we manage to force a Game 7 it would give us a 50-50 chance of winning.”

Both teams are coming off the holiday break when they take to the floor of the Araneta Coliseum on
Jan. 5 for the opener of their semifinals series.

But while the Beermen had been idle since Dec. 19 when they formally slammed the door on the Air21
Express, 97-75, the Kings had to survive two knockout games against the Alaska Aces in a four-day
span to make it deep into the playoffs of the season-opening tournament.

Getting a combined 49 points from guards Mark Caguioa, Willie Miller and Mike Cortez, the Kings
mangled the Aces, 94-76, to forge a winner-take-all match in their best-of-three quarterfinals
series.

And working double time on Christmas Day, the league’s most popular ballclub needed to rally back
from as much as a 20-point first half deficit and frustrate the Aces, 79-70, for the right to face
the second-seeded Beermen in the Final Four.

While they may have lost their two head-to-head duels with San Miguel in the eliminations – both
by a single margin (69-68, 79-78) - it doesn’t deter Uichico from believing Ginebra can be capable
of pulling the rug from under the bigger and stronger Beermen.

And all the Kings need is to haul the Beermen to a winner-take-all.

“We can get lucky in one game,” he said.