MANILA, Philippines — Nards Pinto was a deserving winner of Player of the Game honors after Barangay Ginebra overcame Rain or Shine, 116-108, to open their campaign in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup.
This, according to Ginebra head coach Tim Cone who praised the guard’s crucial contributions in their second-half runs that allowed them to overhaul a nine-point Rain or Shine lead. It was Pinto’s three-pointer that tied the game in the final quarter and sparked Ginebra’s pivotal 11-0 run that put them in control of the contest.
“We didn’t panic when we fell behind for that short time and got back into the game with a couple of big 3s, one from him [Pinto],” said Cone after their win. “And then we made a little bit of a run, again from Nards. So, he’s a well-deserved Best Player of the Game today. Really well-deserved.”
Pinto finished with 12 points off the bench, making five of his seven field goals including two three-pointers. He also had three assists and two rebounds in 20 minutes of game time.
Making his contributions all the more crucial is that Ginebra missed veteran point guard LA Tenorio for virtually the entire game. Tenorio played less than three minutes after feeling a “twinge” in his abdominals, and finished with just three points.
“We wanted to keep Scottie [Thompson’s] minutes down a little bit, and we didn’t think LA would have a lot of minutes,” said Cone. “So we knew Nards was gonna come out and man, he really played in that fourth quarter.”
Pinto, for his part, said he is always ready to play when his number is called, whether he is given spot minutes or longer playing time.
“The [mantra] Our policy is if someone is down, the next guy steps up,” he said. “We are all told to be ready to enter the game.”
Best known as a pesky defender, Pinto also downplayed his exploits on the offensive end against the Elasto Painters.
“It’s lucky. It was lucky that the rest went in earlier. So that’s it. I just tried again when I was shooting, so it went in well,” he added. “Besides, all of us at Ginebra, before practice we did shoe-shooting. It’s good that we used it in the game.”
Pinto’s efforts also earned praise from Barangay Ginebra point guard Scottie Thompson, the reigning PBA Most Valuable Player.
“The beauty of Nards is that he is ready every time his name is called, even if he is used late or never used,” Thompson noted. “He’s really ready and he’s the first one at practice.”
“To be honest, he was the one when I arrived, he was already sweating. It’s really all about hard work, his hard work during the playoffs. It’s really a credit to him that he was ready.”
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Source: ABS-CBN News