Christian Standhardinger delivered time and again to lead Ginebra in a come-from-behind 89-84 win over Meralco and move one win away from the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup Finals, Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The two-time BPC chalked up 34 big points, none more important than the short jumper he nailed that pushed their lead to five with 1:24 left to play for the eventual final count, soon taking the pivotal 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Standhardinger scored eight of his points in the fourth quarter. He also collected nine rebounds and five assists in the victory that saw the Kings rally back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to win two straight after back-to-back losses.
“The guys really kept their heads, moved forward and moved on and just found a way to grind out two wins,” said head coach Tim Cone.
“It took us a bit to really get into battle mode. We weren’t really reaching deep and battling it out. Then all of a sudden, it started to click. Christian, LA, Scottie started to step up and the energy started to lift,” he added.
Maverick Ahanmisi supplied 13 points while Japeth Aguilar came through with a double-double of his own with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Scottie Thompson was held to just five points but nailed a crucial corner trey to give themselves an 87-82 lead with 3:21 left to play. The 2022 league MVP also had eight rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block.
LA Tenorio, who started the game once again, contributed seven points, including the triple to end the third and make it a tied game at 69-all.
“We battled and battled,” said Cone. “That’s what I’m most proud about – our guys’ ability to battle and fight through all of that adversity and find a way to win. That’s very character-building as a team. That’s basically playoff basketball.”
Ginebra could close it out in Game 6 on Wednesday, May 29, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
Chris Banchero, meanwhile, had 18 points behind four triples to lead Meralco although he was only held to two points in the second half.
Chris Newsome made 17 points while Cliff Hodge added 14 for the Bolts, who went scoreless in the last three minutes of the match.
The Scores:
Ginebra 89 – Standhardinger 34, Ahanmisi 13, J.Aguilar 10, Pringle 9, Tenorio 7, Pinto 5, Cu 5, Thompson 5, Pessumal 1, Onwubere 0, Murrell 0.
Meralco 84 – Banchero 18, Newsome 17, Hodge 14, Maliksi 13, Caram 8, Quinto 7, Almazan 4, Bates 3, Pascual 0, Torres 0, Dario 0.
Quartercores: 22-19, 40-44, 67-69, 89-84.
