PBA: Jiwan Kim the unsung hero for Ginebra vs NLEX

Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio were the celebrated heroes of Barangay Ginebra's 110-107 victory over NLEX on Wednesday night.

The athletic forward made the game-winning trey while the veteran guard paced the team with 21 points and six assists to carry the Gin Kings to the playoffs of the Governors' Cup.

But according to head coach Frankie Lim, there was one more person who deserves credit for his crucial contributions to the team: Asian import Jiwan Kim.

The Korean wingman finished with 16 points and six assists for Ginebra, helping the team come back from a 52-38 deficit and keep them afloat against the Road Warriors' barrage of attacks.

"Kung mapapansin nyo si Jiwan, he makes good decisions pagdating sa offense. Hindi siya namumuwersa ng tira," said head coach Frankie Lim about Kim, who replaced Mongolian Sanchir Tungalag as the team's additional reinforcement.

The rookie PBA coach said Kim had a huge impact on the game for the Kings, especially with the firepower he provides from beyond the arc. The import shot 4-of-10 treys and scored all his points in the second half.

"I was struggling at the beginning because I was having a cold for the past few days so I was having bad shooting percentage in the first half," Kim said through an interpreter after the game.

The Korean said he slowly fought through the flu and eventually got his rhythm with the help of his teammates, Lim, and the Ginebra fans.

"I was able to make those shots getting open like that because our four and five men - Dave, Greg, Japeth, set a good screen for me," he said, adding that he was energized by the cheering of the crowd.

Kim also expressed gratitude to Lim for trusting him to make the shots for Ginebra.

"I just wanna say thank you to him because he draws a lot of plays for me so I can get wide open," he said. - RAF, GMA News