The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel rallied first, but they had to survive a major terror attack by nemesis San Miguel Beermen to come out victorious and snap their three-game skid, 100-96, Sunday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Barangay improved to 3-3, while the Beermen saw the bitter end of their five-game winning streak and are now 5-1.
“It was tough. Who would’ve thought that we can come out and win that game after the way we’ve played the last three games?” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, finally relieved that they finally won. “We had guys step up today.”
LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar led the Barangay with 23 points each, but — as Cone had said — it was the other guys who stepped up. Raymond Aguilar, who started the game, scattered 16 markers on 50 percent shooting.
“Can’t talk enough about Raymond, the other Aguilar for once. He was just phenomenal,” said Cone. “He hit big shots, he made big plays on his own. It was amazing. He played out of his mind tonight. I can’t thank him enough.”
The Gin Kings, who were down 16 late in the first half, unfurled an overwhelming 22-2 spree — ended by Tenorio’s shots from the charity stripe — from a 46-59 deadlock to turn the tables in their favor, 68-61, with 1:55 left in the third chapter.
The Barangay then kept their foot on the gas pedal to sustain the upper hand afterwards, even leading by as much as 14 points, 80-66, after Raymond Aguilar’s lay-up with 10:52 remaining in the fourth and final period.
However, a Beeracle almost took place.
The reigning all-Filipino champions, down 87-97 in the final 2:11, scored eight straight points behind Arwind Santos, Chico Lanete, and Marcio Lassiter, to knock within just a field goal, 95-97, with exactly a minute left to play.
Things became brighter for the Beermen after Japeth Aguilar made a turnover with 43 seconds left. Thankfully for them, Scottie Thompson grabbed their miss, which then led to Tenorio splitting his freebies to make it 98-95.
The Beermen still had a chance to tie it in the last 18.9, but Santos missed his treys twice. And it also didn’t help that Chris Ross was whistled for a technical as he took a free throw, which should’ve been awarded to teammate Lanete.
Tenorio then made the technical free throw on the other end and Lanete was still given the two foul shots. He split those to make it 96-99 with 4.5 ticks to go, but June Mar Fajardo was able to grab the rebound.
Unfortunately for them, the ball was given back to Ginebra, as reviews showed that as the ball was tapped away from Fajardo, Ross touched the ball last before it went out of bounds with just 2.8 ticks left in the game.
Japeth Aguilar’s split foul shots in the final 1.5 seconds iced the match and sealed the deal for Ginebra.
Jervy Cruz made his presence felt with 17 points and seven rebounds for Ginebra, while Kevin Ferrer had 11 markers on two treys.
SMB’s loss wasted Fajardo’s 33-point, 11-rebound, and four-block performance. Lassiter and Ross each had 16 to back Fajardo up, with the latter adding eight rebounds and seven assists to his name. Santos added 12 markers.
Ginebra will look to make it two in a row versus the NLEX Road Warriors on Saturday, February 3, 5:00 PM at the Cuneta Astrodome, while San Miguel will aim to get back on track versus the Magnolia Hotshots next Sunday, February 4, 7:00 PM, at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Ginebra 100 — Tenorio 23, J. Aguilar 23, Cruz 17, R. Aguilar 16, Ferrer 11, Thompson 6, Caguioa 2, Mercado 2, Wilson 0.
San Miguel 96 — Fajardo 33, Ross 16, Lassiter 16, Santos 12, Lanete 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 6, Pessumal 4, Heruela 2, De Ocampo 0, Mamaril 0.
Quarterscores: 19-33, 44-52, 75-66, 100-96.
