Maverick Ahanmisi came through with the biggest of buckets as Barangay Ginebra escaped Rain or Shine, 107-102, to re-enter the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup win column, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The seasoned guard drilled a trifecta from the top of the key to give the Kings a two-possession lead, 104-100, 54.2 seconds left, and that was all the breathing space they needed to come out victorious in the thrilling affair.
Ahanmisi finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists as the reigning champions bounced back from that stinging loss to Magnolia.
“That was the shot of the game,” said head coach Tim Cone of Ahanmisi, who went 5-of-7 from deep. “It was his shots that kept us in the game.”
Tony Bishop top-scored for the Barangay with 25 points, alongside 12 rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals against five turnovers — the last of which almost proved costly for the squad until luck sided their way.
The Panamanian forward lost the rock after a successful double-team by the Elasto Painters defense but Gabe Norwood forgot the situation and settled to pull up for a midrange jumper, which he airballed.
At that time, RoS was needing a three-pointer as it was trailing by three, 105-102. The vet’s uncharacteristic error and miss was then collected by Ahanmisi, who threw it to Christian Standhardinger to settle the final count.
Standhardinger finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. Japeth Aguilar scored 13 while Scottie Thompson tallied a line of 12-10-8.
Ginebra (2-1) will look to follow up the big win with another against the skidding Blackwater this Sunday, 6:15 p.m. at the Philsports Arena.
Rain or Shine, on the other hand, was led by the career-high 32 points of Andrei Caracut, who tried to will his team back, especially in the endgame.
“Yeng Guiao’s teams are always tough. They move the ball and they’re not afraid to shoot the ball. And when they get hot, they’re a tough team to play. They’re focused tonight, they’re a desperate team at 0-3,” said Cone.
Import Dajuan Summers backed him up with 25 points, including 16 in the first half, and 12 rebounds but his best game to date wasn’t enough to save the Elasto Painters from dropping their fourth game in as many outings.
Santi Santillan had 17 points on four triples as he helped his team go toe-to-toe with the Kings in the final minutes in an attempt to pull off the upset.
RoS will face another SMC team in San Miguel on November 29, Wednesday, 8 p.m. still at the Big Dome as it tries to break a dry spell.
The Scores:
Ginebra 107 -Bishop 25, Ahanmisi 21, Standhardinger 19, J.Aguilar 13, Thompson 12, Malonzo 11, Pringle 6, Pinto 0, Cu 0, Pessumal 0.
Rain or Shine 102 – Caracut 32, Summer 25, Santillan 17, Mamuyac 8, Asistio 6, Clarito 6, Norwood 6, Belga 2, Demusis 0, Belo 0, Nambatac 0.
Quarterscores: 24-26, 49-44, 75-69, 107-102
