RJ Abarrientos starred as Barangay Ginebra got back at San Miguel, 100-90, to take the 2-1 lead in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semis, Sunday night.
The well-travelled rookie finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. And he put an all-around showing to lead the way, especially in the second half, to avenge the 100-83 defeat they absorbed the last time out.
A strong candidate for Rookie of the Year honors, Abarrientos sparked and facilitated the Kings’ critical 10-0 run to turn a slim one-point lead into a 69-58 advantage late in the third — a run which put them ahead the rest of the way.
He then went on to lead the breakaway come the final frame, knocking down an array of tough shots before hitting a booming trifecta to make it a 96-82 cushion with 2:19 remaining in the game, all but sealing the bounce-back.
Abarrientos scored 18 in the fourth quarter alone as his takeover wowed the pro-Ginebra crowd at the SMART Araneta Coliseum — all of them, of course, prouder with the fact that their team has regained the upper hand in this series.
(C) PBA Images
Soon, the Kings will shoot for a commanding 3-1 lead in Game 4 of the best-of-7 affair on Wednesday, July 1, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“I thought we played with a really good tempo, and then RJ just played tremendously down the stretch to keep them at bay,” said Coach Tim Cone.
Jamie Malonzo came up big with 20 points and seven rebounds, and was also key in their second-half blitz. He scored six consecutive points during the aforementioned run as he made sure not to waste Abarrientos’ assists.
Japeth Aguilar scored 18 points. Scottie Thompson tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists while Stephen Holt added 10 and seven boards.
“Their guys came out and played with tremendous energy and just outworked us, outplayed us in Game Two,” reflected Cone. “But I’m just really proud of the guys for steadying themselves, and we figured a couple of things out.”
(C) PBA Images
On the other hand, San Miguel’s loss wasted the splendid outing of Don Trollano, who finished with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor.
June Mar Fajardo, who’s still nursing a calf injury, notched a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. He had to play extended minutes — 27 minutes and 11 seconds, to be exact — for San Miguel to keep up, but to no avail.
CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz made 11 points each on a combined 1-of-7 shooting from three, while Juami Tiongson chipped in 10 markers in the defeat.
The Scores:
Ginebra 100 – Abarrientos 24, Malonzo 20, J. Aguilar 18, Thompson 16, Holt 10, Ahanmisi 7, Rosario 5, Pinto 0, R. Aguilar 0, Gray 0.
San Miguel 90 – Trollano 22, Fajardo 12, Perez 11, Cruz 11, Tiongson 10, Tautuaa 8, Ross 6, Lassiter 5, Rosales 3, Brondial 2 , Cahilig 0.
Quarterscores: 23-20, 46-50, 71-64, 100-90.
