“All we did was basically stir the beehive. They’re going to come back and sting us in Game 2.

After suffering its worst loss of the conference, defending champion San Miguel Beer tries get back at Barangay Ginebra in Game 2 of their Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven finals showdown today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Hostilities erupt at 6:30 p.m. with the Beermen seeking to bury their forgettable 99-127 setback to the red-hot Kings in Game 1 to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole that would put their quest for another crown in great danger.

Justin Brownlee served as their executioner as he engineered a rally that threw the Beermen out of their comfort zone in the early stretch of battle.

When the smoke cleared, the power-playing American reinforcement had 42 points on a sizzling 17-of-19 field goal shooting and perfect 5-of-5 from the rainbow area together with seven rebounds and nine assists.

At one point, the Kings led by a whopping 39 points, 121-82, reducing the Beermen from a heavyweight champion into one bloody pulp.

San Miguel coach Leo Austria admitted to have been stunned by Ginebra’s performance in Game 1.

We were humiliated by Ginebra. We were outcoached. They came out really prepared,” said Austria, who remains unbeaten in his six finals stints with San Miguel Beer since 2014.

Austria said his coaching idol – Ginebra coach Tim Cone – shuffled his men very well like a chess grandmaster.

“He’s really the grandmaster. He moved his men very well,” he said.

Austria, however, believes that the series is not yet over and that his team is capable of mounting a comeback, similar to what it did in the Philippine Cup finals last year when they posted four consecutive victories to run away with the crown despite dropping Game 1.

“The good thing is, this is a best-of-seven. Whether we lost by 40 or 50 points, it’s just one game. We just have to move forward and adjust,” he said.

To do that, Austria calls on his wards to put complacency aside as this series would not be a walk in the park, especially against the talented Kings.

“I hope it could be the wake-up call for us,” he said.

“Everybody was too complacent after we beat contenders Talk ‘N Text and Alaska in the playoffs. But Ginebra is talented when it comes to firepower.”

“They’re experienced. They’re playing like a well-oiled machine.”

With the way the Gin Kings manhandled the mighty Beermen in the series opener, they are indeed well-oiled machines, clinching their 11th win in the last 12 games dating from the elimination round.

But Cone is not resting on his laurels as he braces for a full retaliation from Austria and the Beermen.

“All we did was basically stir the beehive. They’re going to come back and sting us in Game 2,” Cone said. “We’re expecting real forceful game from them in Game 2.”

Still, that massive Game 1 win gave Ginebra all the confidence it needed to pull it through.

“We haven’t won a series yet. We haven’t won a second game yet but we take some confidence from it,” he said.

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