Ginebra capitalized on Converge’s miscues in the endgame to carve out the 99-93 come-from-behind victory for a quick bounce-back in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
RJ Abarrientos sank the marginal free throws to break the 93-all deadlock with 2:02 to go, and came through with key pick-ups as the FiberXers committed costly turnovers, the last of which was a failed inbound by Alec Stockton.
Justin Brownlee then scored off a tough layup with 34.2 seconds left to make it a four-point gap before knocking down his foul shots for the eventual scoreline, as Mikey Williams and Stockton could no longer hit from beyond the two arcs.
Brownlee finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds, while Abarrientos fired 32 as the two combined for seven of the team’s 12 three-pointers to lead the rally after trailing for most of the night, in which they trailed by as many as 10.
(C) PBA Images
The Kings improved to 2-1 as they atoned for their collapse against NLEX last Friday, doing it even without Japeth Aguilar due to a sore right knee.
“You lose on a Friday and play on a Sunday, and there’s a lot of pressure and a big challenge coming in here,” offered head coach Tim Cone as they repeated against the same team they ousted in the last Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Troy Rosario was also crucial in the win with his 10 points and 13 rebounds, with Stephen Holt and Nards Pinto contributing significantly as well.
(C) PBA Images
Justine Baltazar, on the other hand, had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead Converge, which fell to its fourth straight loss and dropped to 1-4 as the struggles continued for a team that’s been hounded by injuries.
Williams made 16 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. MJ Garcia had 15 points while Kylor Kelley added 13 points and 15 rebounds for the FiberXers, who actually led by seven at the half but fell behind, 81-74, entering the fourth.
That, as they allowed Ginebra to explode for 39 big points in the third chapter, which practically shifted the tide in the crowd darlings’ favor.
“Grabe ‘yung ipinakita ng Converge, kaya kinailangan naming higitan,” said Abarrientos, named Player of the Game after a career second-best outing.
The Scores:
Ginebra 99 – Brownlee 33, Abarrientos 32, Rosario 10, Holt 9, Pinto 7, Thompson 6, Go 2, Cu 0, Torres 0, Estil 0, Gray 0.
Converge 93 – Baltazar 20, Williams 16, Garcia 15, Kelley 13, Stockton 9, Policarpio 9, Concepcion 8, Muyang 3, Reyson 0
Quarterscores: 28-30, 42-49, 81-74, 99-93.
