Gin Kings go down to the wire to beat San Miguel Beer
Scottie Thompson took charge in crunch time to lead Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to a thrilling 87-83 win over San Miguel Beer in Game 5 of the best-of-seven finals of Season 43 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings are now ahead of the series 3-2.
Faced with a 78-83 deficit with 3:17 remaining in the game, Thompson scored six straight points to allow Ginebra seize the lead 86-83. LA Tenorio sealed the win as he sank a free throw with only two seconds left in the game.
“Everybody got what they wanted, it’s a close game,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who praised Thompson for his endgame heroics. “He makes me so speechless and I can’t find the right words or adjectives to describe him. He is the best person in the world.”
Thompson scattered 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, his third career best, on top of 11 rebounds and three assists.
Best Import Justin Brownlee had a sub-par Game 5 performance of 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks while LA Tenorio contributed 15 points. The 7-footer Greg Slaughter had 13 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.
San Miguel Beer controlled the early part of the game resulting in a 34-24 lead until Ginebra, behind the combined effort of Brownlee and Thompson, unleashed a 16-6 run, tying the game 40-all at the halftime break.
Four-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, who finished the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds, executed an explosive one-handed dunk to give San Miguel Beer an 83-78 lead with still three minutes and 17 seconds to go.
But Joe Devance and Thompson delivered in the remaining minutes to smother all attempts of a fightback from the defending champion.
“I congratulate Ginebra. We just didn’t get the breaks in the endgame,” said San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria. “We will bounce back in Game 6 on Wednesday. The chance is still there.”
Import Renaldo Balkman led the Beermen with 34 points on 14-of-34 shooting from the field along with 20 rebounds.
Ginebra aims to wrap up the series in Game 6 on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Scores:
Ginebra 87 – Thompson 20, Brownlee 18, Tenorio 15, Slaughter 13, Devance 8, J. Aguilar 8, Chan 5, Mercado 0, Cruz 0, Ferrer.
San Miguel 83 – Balkman 34, Fajardo 23, Lassiter 13, Cabagnot 5, Ross 3, Standhardinger 3, Santos 2, Nabong 0.
Quarters: 24-26, 40-40, 66-66, 87-83.
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