Ginebra wasn’t keen on playing another game and that’s precisely the reason why it refused to waste its win-once quarterfinal incentive.
The Kings leaned on a big third-quarter assault to show Converge the door, 88-80, and forge a showdown with San Miguel in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinals, Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
RJ Abarrientos sparked the crucial 14-0 run to turn a narrow two-point lead to a wide 73-59 cushion entering the final period, and that proved to be a cushion good enough for the crowd darlings to ward off — and oust — their foes.
(C) PBA Images
“In the past, we’ve played them multiple times,” said Coach Tim Cone of their long-time rivals. “But at the moment, we didn’t focus on them at all.
“There’s danger when you look past a young, hungry team like this and you’re looking forward to playing San Miguel, you get bit by the young, hungry team and you don’t make it to playing San Miguel,” he added.
Abarrientos finished with a game-high 21 points, including three in a row to re-establish their lead to double digits, 86-76, with 56.4 seconds remaining to make Alec Stockton and the FiberXers pay for a bizarre sequence.
Stockton was called for a technical foul for playing on and defending his fellow FEU Tamaraw while carrying his shoe, and the latter went on to sink the bonus. He then hit a short jumper moments later to push their lead to 10.
And when Stockton tried to lead a rally for his side by knocking down a pull-up four with 33.3 seconds left, Abarrientos put a halt on it by making both of his charities some nine seconds later for the eventual final count.
Japeth Aguilar produced 19 points and 13 rebounds with three blocks as he once again made it hard to the opposing frontline with sheer experience.
Jamie Malonzo supplied 14 points and six rebounds. Stephen Holt made 13 points while Troy Rosario chipped in 10 markers and six boards.
Now they turn their attention to the Beermen, who booked the first ticket to the semis after dethroning Meralco, 108-97, earlier in the night.
“We always say, if you’re gonna win an All-Filipino, you’re gonna have to go through San Miguel at some point, whether it be in the quarterfinals, or the semis, or the Finals, you have to go through them,” Cone said.
“That’s the runway we’ve been given, so that’s the runway we have to go through,” the league’s winningest mentor added.
(C) PBA Images
Justin Arana, on the other hand, had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead a Converge team that’s yet to reach the semis since joining the PBA.
Justine Baltazar made 13 points and eight rebounds. Stockton had 12 points while Deschon Winston chipped in 10 markers in the loss.
The Scores:
Ginebra 88 – Abarrientos 21, J.Aguilar 19, Malonzo 14, Holt 13, Rosario 10, Pinto 5, Thompson 3, Ahanmisi 3, David 0, Adamos 0.
Converge 80 – Arana 15, Baltazar 13, Stockton 12, Winston 10, Garcia 8, Racal 8, Caralipio 6, Corpuz 4, Delos Santos 2, R.Santos 2, B. Santos 0, Suerte 0.
Quarterscores: 21-26, 49-41, 73-59, 88-80.
