PBA: Stanley Pringle out to keep fine form in Finals debut

By Jonas Terrado

It seems that Tim Cone’s vision for Stanley Pringle has come into fruition after the speedy guard played a major role in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s entry to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.

Pringle was Ginebra’s best local performer of the semifinals after averaging 19.0 points on 41-percent shooting with 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 assists in the 3-1 semifinal series victory over former team NorthPort.

Cone visualized numerous possibilities shortly after Ginebra acquired Pringle in exchange for veterans Sol Mercado and Jervy Cruz and third-year forward Kevin Ferrer in late-June.

It took a while before Pringle can really establish himself as a major piece with Ginebra, in the title series for the third time in the last four editions of the season-ending conference.

For Pringle, it would be his first Finals since entering the league in 2013, falling short in his two previous semis stints in the 2016 Philippine Cup for NorthPort (then known as GlobalPort) and the last conference (Commissioner’s Cup) with Ginebra.

“It’s really big, it’s my first Finals,” he said. “But you know, I’ve played on big stages before so I’m gonna give everything I had.”

He had won championships prior to his PBA entry, leading Penn State University to the title in the 2009 National Invitation Tournament, a competition for US college teams that failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Pringle also played the starring role in 2012 when the Indonesia Warriors defeated a San Miguel Beermen squad that had a young and raw big man on their roster named June Mar Fajardo for the ASEAN Basketball League title.

His semifinal performance will give Pringle all the momentum needed to play a crucial role in the Governors’ Cup Finals which starts on Jan. 8 against either TNT KaTropa or Meralco.

TNT and Meralco will play a deciding fifth game on Monday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

The Holiday break will play a crucial role for Pringle, who has been in good form since Gilas Pilipinas won the gold in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

“I’m thinking of my rhythm,” he said. “We had a break (before the semifinals), but luckily for me, I was playing with Gilas and that kept my rhythm going.

“Right now, I don’t know maybe coach’s gonna schedule some tune-up games or something, but that’s the biggest thing is to keep my rhythm. I’m gonna try to find new ways to keep my rhythm.”

Source: Manila Bulletin