The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings celebrated Chinese New Year in a triumphant manner.
The perennial crowd favorites sent their fans home happy with a 91-87 victory over the Meralco Bolts in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday evening, January 29, at the Araneta Coliseum.
RJ Abarrientos led the Gin Kings with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal, Justin Brownlee finished with 15 markers, five boards and five dimes in limited minutes, and also showing out were Troy Rosario and Stephen Holt, who each scored 13.
“It was an opportunity. This game was an opportunity to get ready for the playoffs,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, who completed the eliminations with an 8-4 record.
“It was a chance for guys who were not getting a lot of minutes to play. You also don’t want your stars, your core to get injured heading into the playoffs.”
Also contributing to the victory were Von Pessumal (seven points, one steal), and Raymond Aguilar (two points, two rebounds, one assist), among others.
As Ginebra was leading by five, 89-84, in the payoff period.
Aaron Black drained a crucial three-pointer to get to within two, 89-87, to give Meralco a chance with only 30 ticks left.
RJ Abbarientos made both of his shots at the foul line on their next possession for a four-point lead, and while this kept the Bolts alive due to the four-point shot, CJ Cansino missed his attempt there in hopes of sending the game to overtime.
Earlier, after sitting on a slim 44-42 lead over Meralco at halftime, Ginebra produced a massive 17-to-2 run to build a 61-44 lead at the third’s 7:09 mark, all thanks to the efforts of Holt, Thompson, Rosario, and Brownlee.
The Bolts, for their part, were able to get to within nine at multiple points early in the fourth canto, all thanks to Cansino’s help, and this momentum eventually allowed them to cut their deficit to as low as two, 83-81, following a lay-in by Bong Quinto with still 3:29 left in the contest.
Unfortunately, Meralco, which was led by Cansino’s 15-point performance, was not able to take advantage of this as they eventually were handed their fourth loss in 11 outings.
However, this turned out to be a preview of yet another playoff matchup between the two teams, as the fourth-seeded Ginebra and the fifth-seeded Meralco will again face in the postseason, this time in the quarterfinals. (ABS-CBN News)
GINEBRA 91 — Abarrientos 17, Brownlee 15, Rosario 13, Holt 13, Malonzo 9, Pessumal 7, Ahanmisi 6, J. Aguilar 4, Thompson 2, R. Aguilar 2, Pinto 2, Tenorio 1, Cu 0, Mariano 0.
MERALCO 87 — Cansino 15, Almazan 13, Black 11, Hodge 9, Newsome 9, Quinto 8, Torres 5, Rios 5, Pasaol 4, Banchero 4, Batess 4, Reyson 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 44-42, 68-59, 91-87.