PBA: Ginebra humbles King, San Miguel to book semis clash vs. TNT

MANILA, November 11 ------ Barangay Ginebra San Miguel humbled George King and San Miguel Beer, 110-94, in Game 5 to book its semifinals ticket in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at Ynares Center-Antipolo.

The Gin Kings erased a 13-point deficit in the third period and surged to a 19-point cushion by limiting the Beermen to just two points in the first seven minutes of the final canto, setting up a best-of-five semifinals clash against TNT Tropang 5G. Scottie Thompson impressed with 29 points, eight rebounds, five steals, two assists, and one block, while Jordan Murphy had his way with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. “For us, there was so much at stake, so it was the perfect time to show our 'Never Say Die' spirit,” said Thompson.

The Gin Kings earlier squandered a 24-11 lead and faced a 76-63 deficit after three quarters, with King already tallying 27 points on two triples and a four-pointer before the San Miguel import taunted the Ginebra faithful with a crown gesture. Ginebra, however, responded with a massive 29-to-2 run spanning the final two quarters, with King eventually fouling out at the 5:13 mark of the fourth, and that proved to be the turning point as the Gin Kings pulled away to oust the Beermen.

Also stepping up was RJ Abarrientos, who tallied 19 points, while Nards Pinto provided a spark with nine points, two steals, one rebound, and one assist for Ginebra, which extended its lead to its biggest at 101-82 in the fourth. King finished with 31 points for San Miguel, while June Mar Fajardo had a 20-point, 16-rebound performance with two assists. However, their efforts were not enough as the Beermen failed to complete their comeback from a 0-2 series deficit.

The Scores:

Ginebra 110 -– Murphy 31, Thompson 29, Abarrientos 19, Pinto 9, J.Aguilar 7, Holt 5, Rosario 4, Cu 3, Go 3, Gray 0.

San Miguel 94 -– King 31, Fajardo 20, Perez 15, Trollano 10, Ahanmisi 9, Lassiter 4, Teng 3, Ross 2, Brondial 0, Tautuaa 0.

Quarterscores: 26-20, 49-57, 76-80, 110-94.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com