Taking Game 1 of the best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup semifinals series over Meralco is extra sweeter for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

It was a much-awaited revenge over the same squad that handed the Gin Kings a humiliating loss in the elimination round two months ago.

“I think it motivated us to know that we hadn’t played on a certain level, we didn’t play at a high level in that game,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said following a 92-88 win in the best-of-seven series opener last Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Gin Kings pulled away midway through the fourth quarter but had to lean on veteran guard Stanley Pringle’s clutch baskets in the end game to draw first blood in their eighth straight playoffs head-to-head against the Bolts since 2016.

Ginebra played with more fire compared to what it showed in the elims where it got clobbered, 73-91, in a game that saw the Gin Kings get buried in a 31-point hole.

“A lot of that was because of them and a lot of it, we felt, was because of ourselves. We just weren’t prepared to play that game and it showed. It showed it all in the statistics. They dominated us everywhere,” Cone recalled of that fateful 15 March game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum before the league went on a long Holy Week and All-Star break.

The Gin Kings, who played sans injured guard Scottie Thompson, shot only 33 percent in their first meeting in the all-Filipino conference and committed 19 turnovers.

But Ginebra made sure it would connect better in the rematch to inch closer to a championship berth. It shot 49 percent on 37-of-75 field goal clip.

“So, we knew we had to play on a higher level before we’re going to be successful against this team. I think that’s the thing that motivated us the most,” Cone said.