By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings rallied back from 15 points down to defeat the Meralco Bolts, 89-84, in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Sunday night, May 26.

Down 44-59 midway through the third period, the Gin Kings slowly clawed their way back behind Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle to cut the deficit to 67-69 entering the final quarter.

The Bolts were still ahead at 79-73 in the fourth quarter when the Gin Kings responded with a three-pointer from Ahanmisi and three consecutive jump shots from Standhardinger to snag an 82-79 edge.

Meralco tied the score for the last time at 82-all on a layup by Clifford Hodge before Barangay Ginebra surged ahead at 87-82 on an inside hit by Japeth Aguilar and a three-pointer from Earl Scottie Thompson.

Standhardinger finished with a double-double of 34 points and 10 rebounds, Ahanmisi added 13 markers, and Aguilar contributed a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Gin Kings took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Chris Banchero top-scored for the Bolts with 18 points, with 16 coming in the first half, Chris Newsome added 17 markers, while Hodge and Allein Maliksi ended with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Over the weekend, the San Miguel Beermen erased a 19-point deficit to eliminate the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in Game 4, 107-100, to sweep their best-of-seven semifinals series.

Down by as much as 19 points at 54-73 midway through the third quarter, the Beermen got conversions from June Mar Fajardo, Jeron Teng and Terrence Romeo to cut the deficit to 75-87.

The Beermen continued their run in the fourth period behind Jericho Cruz, Jaymar Perez and Celedonio Trollano for a 99-100 score before they took the lead at 101-100 on an inside hit by Fajardo.

Following misses from the Painters’ side, the Beermen increased the lead to 104-100 via a three-pointer from Perez before sealing the victory with free throws from Perez and Chris Ross.

Perez led the way with 26 points, four assists and two rebounds, Trollano added 20 markers and Fajardo contributed a double-double of 17 points and 23 rebounds for the Beermen./ASC, WDJ

GINEBRA 89 — Standhardinger 34, Ahanmisi 13, J. Aguilar 10, Pringle 9, Tenorio 7, Pinto 5, Cu 5, Thompson 5, Pessumal 1, Murrell 0, Onwubere 0.

MERALCO 84 — Banchero 18, Newsome 17, Hodge 14, Maliksi 13, Caram 8, Quinto 7, Almazan 4, Bates 3, Torres 0, Pascual 0, Dario 0.

Quarterscores: 22-19, 40-44, 67-69, 89-84.