RJ Abarrientos delivered in the clutch to help Ginebra author the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup chapter of the Manila Clasico rivalry in their favor by way of a 91-89 victory over Magnolia at the Mall of Asia Arena, Friday night.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year tallied 19 points, none more important than the quick layup off a Scottie Thompson inbound with 6.3 seconds left, which broke the 89-all knot–and made him find redemption from his blunder prior.
The game got tied due to his shooting foul on Mark Barroca, and the veteran made him pay for it by going a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line, enabling the Hotshots to get even after staring at an 87-81 deficit with 2:48 to go.
But then, Abarrientos made sure to make up for it, and sealing the deal for the Kings was Jerom Lastimosa’s turnover after the Hotshots’ timeout as his bail-out pass sailed the way of Norbert Torres with about a second left to play.
(C) PBA Images
“That was the play that we set up,” said Coach Tim Cone. “It was either him on the curl, or Justin on the pop-back. Scottie made a really, really great pass, and RJ made a tough shot between big guys to make that and get us ahead.
“We weren’t expecting to shoot that quickly,” he added. “We wanted to take the last shot. But it was presented to us, and we had to take it.”
Justin Brownlee finished with 29 points and nine rebounds plus four assists to lead Ginebra, which went above .500 again at 3-2 as it bounced back from the stinging 85-82 defeat it absorbed to San Miguel Beer the last time out.
This latest ‘Clasico’ appeared similar to that game as they also lost a 15-point lead, 50-35, after exchanging 30-point outputs in the middle quarters. But they had more steam this time to stay in motion and eventually finish with the W.
“Beating Magnolia in a Manila Clasico is never easy,” said Cone, himself a former coach of the franchise. “We’re just thankful we escaped with this one.”
Former MVP Thompson submitted his best showing of the tournament thus far by tallying 24 points, on top of 10 rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
“I stayed patient through the ups and downs,” he said. “But credit to the whole team, the coaches, and my teammates. As a team, we played really well.”
(C) PBA Images
Zav Lucero, on the other hand, led Magnolia with 19 points and seven rebounds in the loss that spoiled their bid to win a third straight game.
Clint Chapman got held to 18 points and 10 rebounds as he committed eight of the team’s 20 turnovers, with the most crucial being Lastimosa’s blunder in the dying seconds, in an after-timeout play which wasn’t executed properly.
Mark Barroca had 14 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Lastimosa made 11 while Paul Lee chipped in 10 in the loss, which brought their card to 2-4.
Both teams will return to action right away this Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Magnolia will open the double-header affair with a meeting against SMB at 5:15 p.m., before Ginebra takes the court to face Phoenix at 7:30.
The Scores:
Ginebra 91 – Brownlee 29, Thompson 24, Abarrientos 19, Holt 6, Torres 5, Pinto 4, Rosario 4, Cu 0, Gray 0, Go 0.
Magnolia 89 – Lucero 19, Chapman 18, Barroca 14, Lastimosa 11, Lee 10, Dela Rosa 9, Sangalang 5, Koon 3, Laput 0, Alfaro 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Andrada 0.
Quarterscores: 18-18, 50-35, 69-66, 91-89.
