For the first time in eight conferences, we will see the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the final four.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel survived a massive scare from the Alaska Aces in their 109-104 closeout win to advance to the semifinals of the Governor’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
LA Tenorio waxed hot in the first half as he tallied 23 points en route to a 12-point cushion for his squad at intermission. Ginebra then mustered a 19-7 run to open the second half and increase their advantage to as high as 26 at 74-48.
“We moved the ball really well in getting the big lead. Getting the lead is already difficult, but holding onto it is more difficult,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone stressed.
Ginebra did not cruise to the win quickly; they had to defend Alaska’s massive surge as the Aces clawed their way back. Down 20 entering the final period, Ladontae Henton and Dondon Hontiveros started the rally from the defensive end that trimmed the lead to 13.
Alaska were not done yet, as despite Ginebra making some stops to halt the rally, the Aces erased a ten point lead with 2:07 left down to one, capped by a Ladontae Henton three.
With just 31 seconds left, the two imports found themselves in an one-on-one situation. Afterwards, Justin Brownlee provided a bankshot from beyond-the-arc to restore a two-possession lead and leave nine seconds on the clock.
On the flip side, Calvin Abueva fished for a foul from Japeth Aguilar while attempting a three-pointer, but Abueva missed all tries that paved the way for Ginebra’s victory.
Alaska ended up missing ten attempts from the foul stripe with their 20-for-30 clip. Meanwhile, Ginebra once again piled up the assists, with 30 dimes out of their 40 field goal makes. They also maintained a 49 percent clip from the floor.
Tenorio ended up with 32 points to lead all scorers, while Brownlee had 29 points and 12 rebounds.
Ladontae Henton had 27 points for the Aces, including 15 rebounds and three blocks. Calvin Abueva had 17 markers and six rebounds.
Looking forward, Cone knows that they cannot savor this win for long as they must be up to the task of facing the defending champs San Miguel Beermen in a best-of-five series which will start on Monday.
“I like how our guys competed against Alaska and It’s nice to be back (in the semis),” Cone added. “Our reward though is we play San Miguel. We’re gonna enjoy tonight and get refocused by tomorrow.”
The Scores:
Ginebra (109) – Tenorio 32, Brownlee 29, Mercado 14, Aguilar 12, Marcelo 7, Devance 6, Caguioa 4, Thompson 3, Cruz 2, Mariano 0, Helterbrand 0.
Alaska (104) – Henton 27, Abueva 17, Jazul 13, Hontiveros 12, Manuel 10, Casio 9, Thoss 9, Banchero 5, Racal 2, Baclao 0, Dela Rosa 0, Exciminiano 0.
Quarterscores: 23-23, 53-41, 86-66, 109-104
