Stanley Pringle made the biggest of plays late, as the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel held off the tough challenge by Korean squad Changwon LG, 95-91, in their Asian Showdown 2 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Tuesday.
“We played them well. We knew it was going to be tough. To be honest, it’s always a delight to win against a Korean team, especially what happened in the [1998] Asian Games,” quipped Ginebra head coach Tim Cone as Changwon LG defeated them last Friday in a tune-up game.
Clinging to a two-point lead with 9.3 ticks left, Pringle then converted a huge triple that gave Ginebra enough cushion.
“Tremendous shot. He’s just going to get better and better when he fully understands what we do,” Cone said about Pringle, who had 17 points in the contest.
Though the Sakers were able to get those three points back, LA Tenorio knocked down to huge free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Justin Brownlee led the way for Ginebra with 27 points. Tenorio added 15 markers in the exhibition game.
Kim Sirae sparked the LG-backed squad’s comeback, cutting the lead down to a solitary point, 81-82, late. Scottie Thompson scored four straight points, but Cady Lalanne put the visitors within striking distance.
That set-up Pringle’s heroics.
Former Magnolia import Vernon Macklin paced Changwon LG with 23 markers.
“It’s almost like playing June Mar Fajardo with a lot of shooters. It’s always a challenge,” Cone remarked about Macklin.
