The Final Score: Ginebra launches The Rocket to force Game 5

In a close series, a minor switch can lead to a major breakthrough. All conference long, Ginebra, with its ever-changing line-up, has had to cope. A new player arrives, everybody adjusts. Playing minutes change. Roles change. And in Games 3 and 4 of the PBA Quarterfinals against the Alaska Aces, fortunes change. JC Intal, a quiet entity during the elimination round, is finally making noise for Ginebra, in all the right ways at the best possible time. The crowd, clearly, buzzes with anticipation whenever Intal has the ball. He’s given Ginebra the boost it needs during close games; combining long three point shots, dribble-penetrations with fast-break slam dunks.

Intal’s rise in the playoffs is both unexpected but understandable. After averaging just seven minutes in Games 1 and 2, Intal’s minutes have gone up to 23 per game in Games 3 and 4. His scoring is up from four points total in Games 1 and 2 to 16 points per game in Games 3 and 4. Most notably, after going 0 for 1 from 3-point country in Games 1 and 2, Intal is shooting 40% (6/15) from beyond the arc in the past two games. “The problem with a team like Ginebra is that they have so much talent, they’re so deep, any one guy can go out and have a big game so it’s hard to cover everybody," Alaska Head Coach Tim Cone, facing the possibility of completely squandering a 2-0 series lead, laments. No one saw Intal coming. Not me. Not Alaska. Not even Ginebra. Alaska hopes in the winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday, Ginebra’s lack of cohesion emerges, not the natural talent that resides on Uichico’s bench. Otherwise, defending Ginebra suddenly becomes guesswork, wondering which prime-time player decides to breakthrough. Alaska saw glimpses of Ginebra’s lack of chemistry during the first half of Game 4. Teammates bumped into each other chasing the same loose ball. Players appeared to be lost in new roles. But since none of the games in the series have been blowouts, the slightest change in tune can change the tempo. Alaska can hear the difference loud and clear. “It’s hard to sweep a team because it’s so hard to keep that aggressiveness all the time," Cone adds. “So we’ve physically let down and they’ve physically picked it up. And we paid for it." Maybe all Ginebra really needs is extra time; the time to let rhythm shooters find their groove, the time to let talented stars settle into a system faster than average players could. In a series featuring games decided by 4 points or less, the awakening of dormant players and development of elusive team chemistry can spell the difference between make or break. “We’ve had acquisitions right in the middle of the tournament so we’re just trying to get them to fit into the system," Uichico, once again on the doorstep of the PBA Semi-Finals, says. “There was never time, really, to get into a flow. We’re trying to develop a flow now." -- Mico Halili, GMANews.TV