Ginebra rallied behind the injured Jeremiah Gray by beating NLEX, 91-85, in the PBA On Tour finale Sunday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Kings lost the young winger to a scary knee injury with only 22.5 seconds left in the third canto that silenced the whole venue, but managed to regroup shortly after and take care of business to end the preseason with a win.
Still, none from the Barangay are celebrating after what happened to the 26-year-old, who was having himself a good game with eight points, seven rebounds, and five assists until his knee gave up while trying to finish the break.
“We know that the doctors are going to take care of him, so we just have to take care of business here first and pray for him para naman ‘yung effort niya hindi masayang,” said lead deputy Richard del Rosario.
“We dedicate this win to Miah. We’re really praying that it’s not that serious, that he can recover soon,” added the seasoned mentor.
Von Pessumal led Ginebra with 23 points as he led the key 7-0 run for a 91-80 lead with 1:40 left to play, which was all enough to secure the win.
Sidney Onwubere came through with another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Don Gumaru and Raymond Aguilar added 13 and 11 markers, respectively, as the team finished the preseason with a 6-5 record.
“We needed to focus on the last few minutes,” said Del Rosario. “We hope that we made you (fans) proud with this PBA On Tour. It was a good experience.”
Sean Anthony led NLEX with 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the loss. Tony Semerad backed him up with 24 and eight boards.
Don Trollano chipped in 12 markers for the Road Warriors, who finished the On Tour with five wins and six losses.
