History repeated itself as Barangay Ginebra shattered San Miguel’s Grand Slam dreams anew, 100-97, in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings pulled through on both ends down the stretch to come out with the narrow victory and spoil the Beermen’s bid for a Triple Crown, as they did in 2017.
Ginebra will now head into the semifinals, where it will face the winner of the NLEX-NorthPort series.
“That team is so great. They’ve been this great for so long… It’s really great for us to step up and play this team like that and play them tough,” said coach Tim Cone, a two-time Grand Slam winner.
Things looked bleak for Ginebra late in the game, but Justin Brownlee came up big. He drolled a triple from the corner to give his side a 96-95 lead with 2:33 left on the clock.
Stanley Pringle then did his part, forcing the Beermen to a turnover. He raced down the court to score on a lay-up that pushed the Gin Kings’ lead to five points with 2:05 to go.
John Holland, though, sank his free throws with 57.1 seconds left to trim the gap to one. Unfortunately, he then turned from hero to goat, losing the ball moments later after attacking Ginebra’s defense.
Pringle then made his own freebies with 24.1 ticks left to stretch the Barangay’s lead to three, 97-100. San Miguel tried to tie the game, but the crowd darlings’ defense held firm.
“We were struggling trying to stay in the game, then Justin hits a 3 in the corner, hits a floater, and before you know it we had the lead. I was shocked to look up there and see the lead,” Cone said.
“And then we held on with some really good defense down the stretch,” added the decorated bench tactician.
Brownlee powered Ginebra with 41 points and 11 rebounds. Pringle produced 24 points and five assists, while LA Tenorio added 12 markers, seven assists, six boards, and two steals.
Reigning five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo finished with 24 points and 18 rebounds to lead San Miguel.
The Scores:
Ginebra 100 – Brownlee 41, Pringle 24, Tenorio 12, Chan 6, Aguilar 6, Slaughter 5, Thompson 4, Dela Cruz 2, Devance 0.
San Miguel 97 – Fajardo 24, Holland 20, Tautuaa 12, Cabagnot 11, Lassiter 10, Romeo 8, Ross 7, Pessumal 3, Rosser 0.
Quarterscores: 23-23, 54-58, 78-83, 100-97.
