It was a nip-and-tuck fourth period for Ginebra and TNT but the Gin Kings emerged victorious at the end of their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup duel.
Ginebra raced off to a scintillating start, sputtered late then hung tough in the end to fashion out an 87-83 win over TNT in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Friday, April 19.
Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar put up double-double outings as the Gin Kings extended their win streak to three for a 6-3 card while the Tropang Giga fell to 4-4.
Standhardinger finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Aguilar turned in the same number of points with 10 boards as Ginebra is now assured of a quarterfinal berth.
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The Gin Kings built an eight-point lead, 81-73, on rookie Ralph Cu’s deuce with 3:02 remaining in the fourth period.
But Kelly Williams tried to singlehandedly will TNT's recovery from that, dropping seven straight points that allowed the Tropang Giga to close in, 83-80, with under two minutes left to play.
Calvin Oftana then uncorked a triple for TNT to tie the count at 83 at the 1:15 mark.
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But Scottie Thompson, who displayed an all-around game for Ginebra, saved his best for last.
With 53.1 seconds left on the clock, the former Most Valuable Player swished a booming triple that gave Ginebra the lead for good, 86-83.
Scottie Thompson drills in the go-ahead triple for Ginebra in the late stages of its match against TNT in the PBA Philippine Cup. | Photo (c) PBA
Maverick Ahanmisi would miss two free throws after that, but Aguilar’s split from the foul line with 12.4 to go iced the victory for the Gin Kings.
Thompson finished with double-double numbers of 17 points and 10 rebounds he topped with six assists, five steals and two blocks.
Oftana and RR Pogoy paced the Tropang Giga with 19 points each, while Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Williams added 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
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The Scores:
GINEBRA 87 – Standhardinger 20, J.Aguilar 20, Thompson 17, Cu 12, Pinto 7, Ahanmisi 6, Onwubere 3, Pringle 2, David 0, Tenorio 0.
TNT 83 – Pogoy 19, Oftana 19, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 12, K.Williams 10, Castro 9, Reyes 5, Montalbo 5, Galinato 4, Aurin 0, Ponferrada 0, Heruela 0, Khobuntin 0.
Quarterscores: 30-13, 41-41, 63-59, 87-83