Scottie Thompson notched a triple-double as he spearheaded Ginebra’s epic comeback to defeat Terrafirma, 112-107, to post back-to-back wins in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup, Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The star guard finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, including the nifty pass to Christian Standhardinger underneath for a three-point lead with 29.8 seconds left as they went on to complete the rally from 22 down.
Big thanks to his fifth career triple-double, the defending champs have improved to 5-4, keeping themselves very much alive in the Top Four hunt.
“Scottie willed us to a win, just with his tremendous effort,” said head coach Tim Cone. “He was everywhere. On defense, on the boards, in transition.”
But it wasn’t all Thompson, as the other Gin Kings helped make the victory possible as well. Justin Brownlee top-scored with 29 points, alongside 15 rebounds and seven assists in over 44 minutes of play.
Standhardinger himself had 26 points and eight rebounds, as frontcourt partner Japeth Aguilar supplied 19 markers and seven caroms.
The two big men made their presence felt in the final minutes, combining for four straight points to tie the ball game at 101 with 3:52 to go.
LA Tenorio went on to deliver afterward, nailing a booming triple as a response to Juami Tiongson’s jumper to finally put Ginebra ahead, 104-103.
And when Terrafirma managed to erect a three-point lead, Aguilar made sure that it would be their foes’ last taste of the lead. He followed up Thompson’s layup earlier with a perfect trip to the line to make it 108-107, 1:03 left.
Then, the Thompson to Standhardinger connection widened the gap to 110-107. The Dyip tried to tie the game but Tiongson missed from deep.
Brownlee went on to sink both of his free throws with 20.8 seconds left. The win was sealed, fittingly, by Thompson himself, who blocked the long jumper of the 6-foot-6 Aldrech Ramos in the dying seconds.
“We also got a lot of contributions the rest of the way, from Japeth and Christian. LA hit some big shots down the stretch,” Cone said.
Ginebra is now at seventh in the standings and will look to climb up through its remaining assignments starting with NLEX (7-3) on Friday, 4 p.m., at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, Tiongson led Terrafima with 27 points as the team failed to repeat over Ginebra after beating them in the 2021 Philippine Cup.
Joshua Munzon had 23 points and seven assists. Antonio Hester made 18 points and 11 rebounds, as Andreas Cahilig added 10 for the Dyip, who absorbed their third loss in a row and fell to 2-7.
Terrafirma hopes to keep its flickering playoff hopes alive against the streaking NorthPort (3-5) on Saturday at 4 p.m. also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Ginebra 112 – Brownlee 29, Standhardinger 26, Thompson 20, J. Aguilar 19, Tenorio 8, Pinto 7, Onwubere 3, Tolentino 0, Chan 0
Terrafirma 107 – Tiongson 27, Munzon 23, Hester 18, Cahilig 10, Ramos 9, Go 7, Pascual 6, Daquioag 3, Calvo 2, Camson 2, Gabayni 0
Quarterscores: 20-34, 42-63, 76-85, 112-107
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