Ginebra withstood Meralco’s late rally and came away with the 91-87 decision in a battle between teams gearing up for the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup playoffs, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts surged back from 17 down and got to within just two, 89-87, with less than 32 seconds left to play but the breaks of the game went in favor of the Kings, eventually authoring another chapter of the rivalry in their favor.
As a result, the Barangay finished the elimination round with an 8-4 record and will head into the quarterfinals as the fourth seed.
Not only was the triumph beneficial for them, but it also enabled NorthPort (9-3) to formally secure the no. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history.
“This game was more of an opportunity for us to get ready for the playoffs,” offered head coach Tim Cone as the match appeared to be a preview of a best-of-3 quarters series, with Meralco clinching the fifth seed.
(C) PBA Images
RJ Abarrientos led Ginebra with 17 points, none bigger than the free throws he calmly sank with 13.5 seconds left to play for the eventual scoreline — and left the opposition dejected as it doused water to their comeback bid.
It was off a foul by counterpart Kurt Reyson, indeed a costly one from the rookie guard as the Bolts were already at the penalty situation — and were just a field goal away from at least sending the game into an 89-all deadlock.
Meralco still tried to tie things up by launching from the four-point area but missed, and Troy Rosario’s rebound was enough to secure the win.
Justin Brownlee finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 22 minutes as he wasn’t used much by Cone in battling a depleted crew.
(C) PBA Images
The Bolts played with an all-Filipino unit as Akil Mitchell remained on the sidelines due to a back injury — the same issue that kept him out of their 2024-25 East Asia Super League game against Ryukyu just a week ago.
“Obviously, Meralco, they didn’t play their starters long. They rested their import, so I think that both teams were kind of of the same mindset trying to get ready for the playoffs,” said Cone, who’s aiming for title no. 26.
“And if I’m not mistaken, I think we’re going to end up playing each other at 4-5, so it’s kind of like a short preview of what the series is going to be about.”
Meralco was led by CJ Cansino with 15 points. Raymond Almazan had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Aaron Black added 11.
The Bolts (7-4) will now look to end their elimination round campaign on a high note as they take on Magnolia this Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Scores:
Ginebra 91 – Abarrientos 17, Brownlee 15, Rosario 13, Holt 13, Malonzo 9, Pessumal 7, Ahanmisi 6, J.Aguilar 4, Thompson 2, R. Aguilar 2, Pinto 2, Tenorio 1, Cu 0, Mariano 0.
Meralco 87 – Cansino 15, Almazan 13, Black 11, Hodge 9, Newsome 9, Quinto 8, Torres 5, Rios 5, Pasaol 4, Banchero 4, Batess 4, Reyson 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 44-42, 68-59, 91-87.
