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PBA: Star's Paul Lee admits he had no answer for Ginebra's defense

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/02/21/022117-paullee.jpg "/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Sol Mercado (right) and the rest of Ginebra made sure they took Star point guard Paul Lee out of his rhythm in their semifinals series. <cite>Richard Esguerra, ABS-CBN Sports</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines — Star guard Paul Lee could only commend Ginebra&#x27;s defense after he was forced into another subpar performance in Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series at Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.Lee was the hero of Star&#x27;s victories in Games 1 and 2, but he was thoroughly shut down in the final five games of the best-of-seven series. To cap his struggles, the former Rookie of the Year scored only four points on 2-of-8 shooting in Star&#x27;s 89-76 loss in the do-or-die Game 7.&quot;Ang sama rin ng laro ko,&quot; Lee admitted. &quot;Pinaghandaan din ako ni coach Tim (Cone). Hindi ako maka-counter sa ginawa sa akin. Nawala ako sa game.&quot;(I played bad. Coach Tim really game-planned for me. I didn&#x27;t have a counter to what they were throwing at me. I got lost out there.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/basketball/news/2017/02/21/ginebra-completes-manila-clasico-comeback-make-pba-finals-22213">READ: Ginebra completes Manila Clasico comeback to make PBA Finals</a></li></ul>After Lee scored 17.5 points in the first two games, the Gin Kings committed to stopping him, with Sol Mercado serving as his primary defender. Against the bulky yet speedy &quot;Sol Train,&quot; Lee found it difficult to catch the ball and even harder to get open looks.&quot;Parang hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko,&quot; said Lee, who was also unable to make plays for his teammates, further compounding Star&#x27;s problems.&quot;Para akong pusa na na-corner sa gilid. Talagang lahat ng papasukin ko, naka-abang sila lahat.&quot;(It&#x27;s like I didn&#x27;t know what I was supposed to do, like a cat that&#x27;s cornered. Everywhere I went, there was a defender waiting for me.)Cone said after the game that Lee was one of the key players that he wanted to limit, along with Star forward Marc Pingris and swingman Allein Maliksi.&quot;The job that Sol was able to do, one on one (against Lee), kept us in our defensive game plan,&quot; Cone said.Mercado added: &quot;We really focused on Paul because he&#x27;s the key to their team so it was definitely a group effort. Whenever I was in the front on him off a ball screen, we always had a guy eyeing him and everyone collapsing on him making him a passer.&quot;For Lee, the problems he faced in the semifinals against Ginebra was a learning experience.&quot;Siguro &#x27;yun ang kailangan ko gawin para sa next conference, maging ready. After the first two games, talagang humirap &#x27;yung basketball para sa akin,&quot; he said.For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a>

Paul Lee was the hero of Star's victories in Games 1 and 2, but Ginebra thoroughly shut him down in the series' final five games.

Paul Lee was the hero of Star's victories in Games 1 and 2, but Ginebra thoroughly shut him down in the series' final five games.

PBA: Star's Paul Lee admits he had no answer for Ginebra's defense

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PBA: Star's Paul Lee admits he had no answer for Ginebra's defense

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 22, 2017 02:12 AM PHT

Read More:

basketball

PBA

Philippine Cup

Star

Paul Lee

Ginebra

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