MANILA, 28 May 2003 — It is not exactly salvation, just a chance for it. But Ginebra will take it anyway.
Needing to buy time for a chance to prove critics wrong, Ginebra went to Erik Menk in the final quarter and survived a tough battle down-the-stretch to eliminate Shell, 69-64, on Monday night in the Samsung Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Menk finished with 31 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a monstrous 39-minute performance highlighted by nine fourth quarter points that helped the Kings score their sixth win in 18 games.
Bal David played second-billing to Menk with only seven points — hitting a trey that tied the game at 62-all in the 3:35-minute mark and two charities off Dela Cruz for a 67-64 lead with only 9.4 seconds left.
In the first game, John Arigo celebrated his inclusion into the All-Star starting unit with a career-high 29 points as Alaska snapped a six-game winning streak with a 90-85 victory over Purefoods.
John Arigo stood at the helm of a major face-saving effort by Alaska, leading the team with 29 points and 11 rebounds for a win that snapped a six-game skid and closed out its eliminations record at 9-9.
Ali Peek had 17 points and nine boards for the Aces who, prior to this game, had already tied the longest losing streak of the Uytengsu franchise since coach Tim Cone took over in 1989.
The Kings had lost five of their last six games and seemed headed for the exit when they couldn’t get past the slim bar-rier Shell put up in the first period.
A spate of errors in the third quarter and Menk’s misses from the perimeter early in the fourth slowed the Ginebra rally, which
kicked into high gear only late in the game.
Ginebra trailed by five when Menk scored a basket and hit Bal David for a triple to tie the game at 62, 3:34 to play. Chris Jackson gave Shell a two-point lead before Mark Caguioa sewed it all up again with a baseline drive that placed the score at 64-all.
That was when fortunes changed. Mike Hrabak missed three perimeter jump-ers, including two triples, as the Ginebra defense collapsed on Dale Singson down low. Menk gave Ginebra a one-point lead with a split and then Tony dela Cruz overshot a baseline jumpshot that gave the Kings possession again.
Ginebra was ahead three points and was only trying to prevent Shell from getting off a decent shot inside the dying seconds by using five fouls the Gin Kings could afford to give. David and Menk hit free throws to ice the game.
Meanwhile, the league announced the top five for the Governor’s and Commissioner’s teams in the coming 14th All-Star Game next week.
Eric Menk of Barangay Ginebra emerged as the top vote-getter among players who will start in the PBA All-Star game next Sunday, having garnered a total of 20,934 votes.
Menk, who will play in his third All-Star game, will play alongside fellow Fil-Am Asi Taulava in the Commissioner’s squad. Taulava emerged as the second best vote-getter with 18,859 votes.
San Miguel Beer’s Danny Ildefonso, already a two-time winner of the MVP award, was third best overall with 18,095 votes. Playing in his fifth All-Star game, Ildefonso will start at center for the Governor’s squad.
The Pangasinan-born cager was the All-Star MVP in 2001. The All-Star game was scrapped last year due to the league’s hectic preparations for the Busan Asiad-bound RP Team. Players from Group A teams in the All-Filipino Cup will be called the Governor’s while those from Group B will be known as Commissioner’s.
Joining Ildefonso in the team that will be handled by FedEx coach Derrick Pumaren are two other former MVPs-Kenneth Duremdes of Sta. Lucia Realty and Vergel Meneses of the Express.
Both making their 8th appearance in the All-Star Game, Duremdes got 14,193 votes while Meneses had 13,030.
John Arigo of Alaska, the only Film-Am who made it to the top five of the Governors team, tallied 13,833. Completing the top five is Realtor Marlou Aquino who will be making his 6th appearance in the All-Star Game. He had 8,839 votes.
Another Film-Am, Mark Caguioa of Barangay Ginebra and teammate Romel Adducul, the only pure-Filipino talent in the group, will join Menk and Taulava in the Commissioner’s team.
