By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
It was the most disappointing night for the whole Barangay Ginebra San Miguel franchise after suffering its worst franchise defeat against the San Miguel Beermen on September 15, 2024.
What everybody expected to become a neck-and-beck battle turned out to be a blowout after the Beermen demolished the Gin Kings by 49 points, 131-82, their biggest win in the ongoing PBA Governor’s Cup.
It was an embarrassment as thousands of their die-hard fans bought tickets in a jam-packed SMART Araneta Coliseum venue, only for the Gin Kings to get whooped by a sizable margin.
Ginebra didn’t look like themselves in their classic rivalry game against the Beermen after only shooting 33/70 from the field and getting out-rebounded, 37-23.
Aside from those, Ginebra had a forgettable performance from the three-point territory after only draining six out of their 28 total attempts.
The Gin Kings only spent 20 seconds holding the lead, with that one coming in the opening minutes of the game in the first quarter.
Ginebra also addressed how they were lazy on the defensive end as they gave up 13 made three-pointers from San Miguel and 41 field goals in the two-point area.
In total, the Beermen capped off their dominant win with a 74% shooting from the field, their highest and most efficient outing out of their eight games played in the import-laced conference.
The Gin Kings will face the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters next later this evening and the coaching staff hope that their adjustments will finally take effect in a must-win situation.
Currently, Ginebra holds a 5-3 win-loss record and another defeat will put them in a tight spot for playoff qualification as teams like Rain or Shine and TNT are starting to redeem their groove.
