Q'finals: Ginebra limits RoS import's production in Game 1 win

Hassan Adams' worst game in the PBA Philippine Cup couldn't have come at such an unfortunate time. The Rain or Shine reinforcement was held to a conference-low 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting against Barangay Ginebra, whose 100-91 win moves the Kings a game away from barging into the semifinals of the import-laden tournament. Adams only had two points in the opening half when the Kings made their run and took control of Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinals series. Ginebra led by as many as 16 points at the turn. Another Ginebra win in Sunday's Game 2 would shove the Kings to the semifinals, where they will face second seed Pilipinas-Smart Gilas in a best-of-five series. But Ginebra coach Jong Uichico isn't about to dismiss the Elasto Painters. "One game pa lang 'yan," he said shortly after Friday's game at the Astrodome. "We need one more win to get into the next round. We don't want to relax at this point. And we should come into Sunday's game thinking that the series is still 0-0." The Ginebra mentor thought that the third-seeded Kings just caught Adams on his off-night. "He (Adams) just had a bad day," Uichico said. "There was nothing technical in what we did against Adams. We just tried to limit him the best we could." Ginebra counterpart Nate Brumfield obviously got the better end of his match-up with Adams as he produced a team-high 24 points on 10-of-17 field goal shooting. He got ample support from Mark Caguioa, who had 20 points, as well as the 18 of Ronald Tubid, who sizzled for a 5-of-8 clip from the three-point range. Despite Adams not being a big factor in the series opener, the Elasto Painters managed to claw their way back into the game after trailing 34-50 at the break and 38-58 early in the third. A 9-0 spurt ending the third quarter, capped by a rare four-point play by Gabe Norwood, cut down the deficit to 70-65 with a full 12 minutes left to play. But Brumfield suddenly went berserk and scored six straight points in conspiring with Eric Menk to tow Ginebra back into safer ground, 84-70 with 7:16 remaining. With Adams ineffective on offense, Larry Rodriguez carried Rain or Shine's scoring load to finish with 20 points. Norwood had 18 markers and nine rebounds, while Beau Belga added 11. - JVP, KY, GMA News