Meralco’s loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals still stings for point guard Baser Amer.
And Amer felt that dropping the first game of that series was a lost opportunity for the Bolts, who at the time were aiming to finally beat the Kings in their third finals meeting in the season-ending tournament.
“Feeling namin amin talaga yung panalo,” Amer said during Saturday’s episode of 2OT where he was joined by Meralco teammates Nico Salva and Bong Quinto.
The Bolts lost the opener in front of a big crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum 91-87 on Jan. 7, but not after Amer and company blew a 10-point third quarter lead.
Eventual Best Import Allen Durham, Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan carried the cudgels for Meralco before Ginebra rallied to take the lead behind resident reinforcement Justin Brownlee.
Ginebra sealed the deal when Japeth Aguilar, later adjudged Finals Most Valuable Player, blocked Durham’s game-tying layup in the dying seconds.
“Kung baga sayang na sayang talaga kasi nandun na, kaya lang nagkaroon lang ng miscommunication kaya natalo,” Amer said without elaborating.
The Bolts did bounce back to tie the series in Game 2, winning 104-102 in Lucena City. But their title chances disappeared when Almazan turned his ankle in the early moments of the team’s Game 3 defeat.
Ginebra won the last two to take the series in five, handing Meralco another painful finals setback.