Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Ginebra’s intense finish ties series at 2-2


This championship series is now down to a virtual best-of-three.

Notwithstanding a bleak third quarter, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel flipped the script late to hang on against the Meralco Bolts in Game Four of another thrilling Friday night action, 88-86, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Down by 16 to start the final frame, Ginebra clawed their way back quickly to tie things up at 76 with a 16-2 blast. During the run, a vintage performance between the duo of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand ignited the silenced crowd.

As both teams exchanged crucial blows in the dying moments of regulation, Ginebra managed to carve out a five-point lead with 2:40 left at 85-80. Afterwards, Meralco countered with a quick 6-0 zip via Reynel Hugnatan’s lone triple of the match.

With under a minute to play, the ball was in the hands of Joe Devance, who delivered a big turnaround basket to bring back the lead to Ginebra for good. However, panic hit the Ginebra side as Tenorio missed two big free throws after Allen Durnham clunked a potential game-winning three-pointer for Meralco. With Ginebra leading 88-86, they successfully clamped down on the rookie Chris Newsome, who clanked the potential game-tying jumper at the end of regulation.

Ginebra survived a massive 39-point third quarter surge by the Bolts, which included a stretch of 16 unanswered points. Coming off a splendid first half wherein they led by double-digits, Ginebra became gun-shy in a forgettable third frame against the upstart Bolts, who relied on their transition attack for easy points.

Looking for something to start a fightback, Coach Tim Cone resorted to the Caguioa-Helterbrand tandem to start the fourth. The move paid dividends instantly, as the two woke up the stunned squad.

#ReadMore  Earl Scottie Thompson named NCAA Player of the Week

 

“We had a point in the game where we got mesmerized by Meralco,” said Coach Tim Cone after the pulsating match. “Mark and Jayjay brought the crowd in. They’re hungry and the gave us a chance. Wow.”

 

But at the end of the game, it still boiled down to their defense, which Cone emphasized. He credited the Bolts for their pressure, but Ginebra won tonight in the battle of adjustments.

 

“Meralco had a good job defending us and we have to find something that will work for us. We’re the best defensive team, we’re kinda getting away from that and we need to get back to it.”

 

Five Ginebra players ended up scoring in double figures, with Japeth Aguilar’s 19 points and LA Tenorio’s 12 leading the way. Also, Caguioa and Helterbrand combined for 20 points, with both guards shooting 4/8 from the floor.

Durham finished with 34 points for the Bolts, along with 20 rebounds and three assists. Newly-minted Rookie of the Year Chris Newsome provided a stellar night despite the last-second miss, with 15 points and seven dimes.

The series will  continue this Sunday in its pivotal Game 5, still at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The scores:

Ginebra (88) – Aguilar 19, Tenorio 12, Helterbrand 11, Brownlee 10, Mercado 10, Caguioa 8, Cruz 7, Devance 7, Thompson 4, Marcelo 0.

Meralco (86) – Durham 34, Newsome 15, Caram 8, Al-Hussaini 8, Hodge 6, Hugnatan 5, Nabong 4, Uyloan 3, Amer 3, Faundo 0, Alapag 0, Guevarra 0.

Quarter scores: 20-13, 46-35, 58-74, 88-86.

Written By


You May Also Like

Basketball

Converge displayed character to pull off the 98-91 upset of Barangay Ginebra and post its third straight win in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s...

Basketball

PBA squads Meralco and San Miguel suffered tough defeats in the continuation of the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) season on Wednesday night....

Basketball

Ginebra is closely monitoring Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt after suffering injuries during their eventual loss to Hong Kong Eastern last Sunday. Aguilar pulled...

Basketball

Justin Brownlee dropped 49 points to power Barangay Ginebra past the luckless Terrafirma, 114-98, and get back on track in the PBA Season 49...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO — Stephen Holt assured that there’s nothing to worry about after a scary slip cast a cloud of anxiety over Ginebra during their...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO – Hong Kong Eastern outlasted an exhausted Barangay Ginebra side by way of a 93-90 decision to stretch its winning streak to three...

Basketball

Ginebra sustained its solid start into the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup following a 94-72 beatdown of a struggling Phoenix to register its second...

Basketball

Blackwater nailed its first win of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup after a 114-98 conquest of Meralco on Thursday night at the Ninoy...

Advertisement