Barangay Ginebra finally tore the script apart this time and wrote itself as the victors over TNT after taking the 88-76 decision in Game 7 of the Finals on Wednesday night to capture the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup crown.
No longer wanting to become a mere footnote after losing in their last three championship bouts with the Tropang 5G, the Kings turned it around with a 14-0 scoring spree abridging the third and fourth quarters to take the 70-63 lead.
They’d never let up since, with Nards Pinto and Justin Brownlee adding on to the lead while the opposition struggled to find any more rhythm, with Chris McCullough himself going 1-of-6 during three straight trips to the line.
McCullough did try to make up for it by pulling his side to within three as they tried to take advantage of RJ Abarrientos being benched for an F1, but it proved to be their last stand as Pinto hit a trey for the 80-74 lead with 3:04 to go.
The newly minted BPC was then brought back in after his three-minute stay on the sidelines, and went on to knock down a heavy trey from the top of the key to widen the spread to 83-56 with exactly two minutes left to play.
The pro-Ginebra crowd of 24,517 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena then erupted in jubilation, as it became a coronation waiting to happen from that point.
Misses by the Tropa from deep on the other end, and Brownlee’s trip to the foul line, Scottie Thompson’s alley-oop from Abarrientos, and Troy Rosario’s jam all inside the final 39.9 seconds sealed the gold for the SMC franchise.
