The Final Score: Sublime Sunday ends PBA Quarter-Finals

I was breathless afterwards. Partly because I watched two games with a nebulizer mask strapped to my face. Partly because I witnessed a PBA double-header to remember. We normally recall classic games, played during different dates and decades. But watching Sunday’s twin-bill featuring two epic Game 5’s was like watching Godfather 1 and 2 in succession.

Tony Washam’s first game was impressive. His second game was outstanding. It takes a professional to embrace an import’s burden instantly. It takes a winner to do it with flair. He scored 49 points in 52 minutes spiked by 6 three-pointers in Game 5. Cliff Brown, the man Washam replaced, was an additional big man. Washam, on the other hand, is an additional prime-time scorer. The Llamados felt the big difference. It’s no longer important to find out why Rod Nealy was benched for most of the second half. It’s more important to note how Sol Mercado and Gabe Norwood led Rain or Shine to a gritty comeback without help from their import. They were 18 points down. They seemed lost. But Mercado and Norwood combined for 48 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals against the league’s best defensive team to make the game close until the very end. B-Meg Derby Ace Head Coach Ryan Gregorio, mentor of the winning team, professed his man-crush for Mercado, crunch-time gladiator of the losing squad, during his post-game television interview. It was justified. Meantime, I thought a fourth quarter shoot-out between Cyrus Baguio and Willie Miller would’ve provided the perfect finish for the Alaska-Ginebra series. The game provided a wind-up just as dramatic. Ginebra, using every ounce of talent it had and squeezing every molecule out of whatever team chemistry it built in the last few weeks, kept it close. JayJay Helterbrand’s hurried three point basket in the midst of bedlam was how Ginebra almost won the game. Alaska, in contrast, used time, poise and ball-movement to set-up a lay-up by Diamon Simpson to regain the lead, for good. Ginebra, down by one, had one last chance. Eric Menk, Ginebra’s best post-up player of the last decade, with his back to the basket, turned right, then, pivoted left. Baguio, armed with a database of his ex-teammate’s moves, waited for him. Baguio slapped the ball away from Menk’s hands and Ginebra’s hopes along with it. Ironically, the man supposed to help rewrite Ginebra’s future was the one who crushed it in Game 5. “Cyrus reminds me a lot of Johnny Abarrientos," Tim Cone, Alaska Head Coach, said. “In terms of personality and bearing and the way he carries himself, reminds me a lot of Johnny." Ginebra and Rain or Shine fans will mourn for sure. But in truth, Sunday’s double-header gave us reasons to celebrate our fixation with the sport. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go crank up my nebulizer again. I was told to get total rest over the weekend. That double-header was bad for my lungs, but good for the game. -- Mico Halili, GMANews.TV