ANTIPOLO – Ginebra proved steadier down the stretch and outlasted Meralco, 94-87, to complete the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal picture much to the delight of a partisan crowd at the Ynares Center here Sunday night.
RJ Abarrientos, Justin Brownlee, and Japeth Aguilar joined hands for an 8-0 run to turn a narrow lead to an 88-76 advantage with 2:20 left and that proved enough to take the fight out of the Bolts — and keep mastery of their nemesis.
The rookie nailed a trey before ‘JB’ converted a three-point play, then came the two-handed jam of the veteran big for the back-breaking assault that enabled the Kings to beat the MVP team for the eighth time in 10 playoff duels.
With the victory, Ginebra has arranged a best-of-7 affair with the top-seeded NorthPort in the next round in a rematch of the 2019 Governors’ Cup semis.
“I guess we can turn all our sights on NorthPort now,” said Coach Tim Cone. “NorthPort beat us in the eliminations … they’ve been playing really well.”
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Brownlee finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists as he was the spark the Barangay needed in coming back into the match after their foes threatened to pull away when they led by 13 early in the second period.
Abarrientos, the subject of alleged death threats on the heels of their Game 2 loss two nights ago, delivered 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists as he did his best to stay locked in on the task at hand despite those.
“Mahirap sa part ko kasi alam naman natin, medyo alarming yung nangyari. Pero for me, we just need to move on kasi may game eh,” he said.
Coming through with key showings as well were guard Stephen Holt and Troy Rosario as they supplied 17 and 12 markers, respectively.
Leading Meralco, on the other hand, was Chris Newsome with 22 points although he got fouled out late in the game — indeed a tough blow for a team that had already lost Nenad Vucinic past the midway mark of the fourth.
The Bolts had to play without their active consultant in the final 5:41 of the match for incurring his second technical foul as he was in total disagreement with a pair of the referees’ decisions at a time they were catching up.
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Bong Quinto finished with 16 points. Cliff Hodge made 13 points and eight rebounds while Chris Banchero added 12 points as the locals carried the offense with import Akil Mitchell hounded by a recurring back injury.
Meralco appeared to be just fine despite Mitchell’s condition especially when it built a 32-19 lead but the crew could do only so much, especially when Ginebra unloaded a 10-0 run to get within a point, 38-37, entering the break.
That’s all the crowd darlings needed to believe that they could rally back, and that confidence allowed them to take the lead for good, 56-54, late in the third quarter thanks to a mini-run powered by the three-time Best Import.
Then came the strong windup to complete the classic NSD comeback, eventually leaving the Bolts a disappointed bunch as they absorbed their seventh defeat in as many playoff series against a Brownlee-led Ginebra.
“When we got back to one point at halftime, I think we were all confident that we could win this game,” said Cone as the Barangay are headed to its sixth straight semis — and will have a shot for a second Finals in a row this season.
The best-of-7 semis commences Feb. 26 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum after Gilas’ campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers’ third window.
The Scores:
Barangay Ginebra 94 – Brownlee 25, Holt 17, Abarrientos 16, Rosario 12, Thompson 7, J.Aguilar 6, Ahanmisi 6, Cu 5, Malonzo 0.
Meralco 87 – Newsome 22, Quinto 16, Hodge 13, Banchero 12, Black 9, Mitchell 8, Rios 5, Almazan 2, Bates 0.
Quarterscores: 19-22, 37-38, 64-58, 94-87.
