Ginebra's Game 7 Win At The Philippine Arena
For all the marbles. Do or Die. Sudden Death. 54,086 basketball-loving fans trooped to the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan last October 27, 2017 to witness a fitting finale to a hard-fought and exciting conference dubbed as PBA's Governors' Cup. It broke existing record for crowd attendance.
The Philippine Arena is the world's largest indoor stadium. It stands on a 144 hectare property of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in Bocaue and extends to the neighboring town of Santa Maria in Bulacan. It was built in 2014 with a staggering cost of P9.4 billion.
Game time was 7 pm. We were lucky to have tickets for Patron D, which was only a few meters away from the Ginebra bench. But being too close to a team's bench, with the popular Ginebra bench at that, it could be a drawback. We felt pain in the neck trying to get a clear view of the playing court as officials and utility men blocked our view. Not to mention throngs of Ginebra diehards trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite players.
With LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson orchestrating Ginebra's offensive thrusts and behemoths Justin Brownlee, Joe Devance and Japeth Aguilar providing the much needed points, Ginebra built comfortable leads of 14, 16 and even 20 points as the Gin Kings tightened their defense to stave off the much-vaunted outside shooting of the Meralco Bolts.
With only a few minutes left, when everybody thought it was all in the bag, Meralco made one last surge and trimmed Ginebra's lead to just a single digit. Timely baskets by Devance, Brownlee and Tenorio doused cold water on the Bolts' rally.
As confetti rained all over the coliseum, Ginebra fanatics stormed the playing court to take pictures of the victorious Gin Kings. Somebody stepped on my shoe, a girl bumped me from behind. Pandemonium broke loose. But what else would you expect? It's Ginebra winning back to back titles. And when Ginebra wins, the whole nation celebrates. Kampai !!!
- Konted
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| Our tickets for Game 7 |
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| The world's largest indoor stadium |
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| Pre-game ceremonies |
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| Jampacked |
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| Breaking existing records |
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| 1st quarter score |
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| Basketball legend Robert Jaworksi is mobbed by fans. |
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| Our grandson Andre with former PBA's Mr. Excitement Paul Alvarez |
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| Our grandchildren Andre and Rachelle Anne enjoying the game. |
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| Rachelle Anne is a diehard Ginebra fan. |
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| Raining confetti at the Philippine Arena |
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| Ginebra Gin Kings are 2017 PBA Governors Cup Champions. |
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| Back to back titles for Ginebra |
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| Here we are at front row watching the awarding ceremonies |
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| Rachelle Anne is Ginebra's lucky charm. |
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| At the awarding ceremonies |
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| Final score |
