Ginebra took a big step in its aspirations of regaining PBA Governors’ Cup glory as it marched on to the Finals after finishing off San Miguel in Game 6 of the semis, 102-99, on Sunday night at a packed SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Maverick Ahanmisi led the way with 25 points, while Justin Brownlee finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists as the Kings needed to do a little bit of everything to make sure that the series won’t go to a Game 7.
And, more importantly, book their trip to the Big Dance the soonest, where they will be waltzing with TNT anew in a rematch of the 2023 finale that saw the latter come triumphant. 4-2, behind Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Mikey Williams.
“It took every little ounce of whatever we had left to win tonight,” offered head coach Tim Cone, relieved that they can have some luxury of respite as the best-of-7 title bout won’t commence until next Sunday, October 27, in Antipolo.
Japeth Aguilar fired 20 points. RJ Abarrientos had 16 points, three rebounds, and six assists, while Scottie Thompson delivered 10 and 14 as the troika starred in the third-quarter reversal after trailing by as much as 10 early.
Aguilar scored half of his points in the said period, including the bucket inside that put them ahead for good, 76-75, to make sure that the efforts of the two backcourters in shifting the momentum in their favor won’t get wasted.
Abarrientos first nailed the go-ahead triple, then dished it underneath to Thompson in a beautiful set within the shaded lane that began from their fellow guard in Stephen Holt to stretch their lead to 67-64 with 4:11 left in the frame.
(C) PBA Images
Ahanmisi would come into the fray during the final frame, nailing a three-pointer to give themselves the 93-85 advantage with 7:36 remaining.
And when the Beermen knocked within just a point behind import EJ Anosike, Brownlee time and again rose to the occasion, sinking easily the most important triple of the night to make it a 102-98 spread with 1:47 left to play.
That apparently wore down their rivals. Fajardo could only split his foul shots, and the others could no longer find the bottom of the net.
Jericho Cruz missed the potential game-tying trey as time expired, and Ginebra would heave a sigh of relief before celebrating with the partisan crowd at the Big Dome as the franchise booked its 31st Finals appearance.
“We were limping to the finish line,” said Cone. “We just didn’t have anything left. Really worried that we weren’t gonna be able to pull that one out and then we had to go to a Game 7. Really thankful we’re not going to a Game 7.”
Anosike, meanwhile, led San Miguel with a game-high 30 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the loss. June Mar Fajardo had 22 and 15.
Marcio Lassiter finished with 16 points, 11 of which he made in the first half, five rebounds, and five assists. CJ Perez added 13 markers for the Beermen, a team that hasn’t reached the Governors’ Cup Finals since 2015.
With its conference done, Coach Jorge Gallent and Co. will head into a short break before going back to action first in the East Asia Super League, where they will host Taoyuan at the Philsports Arena on November 13.
The Scores:
Ginebra 102 – Ahanmisi 25, Brownlee 21, J.Aguilar 20, Abarrientos 16, Thompson 10, Cu 7, Holt 3, mariano 0, Adamos 0.
San Miguel 99 – Anosike 30, Fajardo 22, Lassiter 16, Perez 13, Cruz 8, Trollano 8, Manuel 2, Romeo 0, Ross 0.
Quarterscores: 23-27, 46-49, 76-75, 102-99.
