PBA: Stanley Pringle shines as Ginebra weathers late Meralco surge to take opener

Stanley Pringle battered Meralco on all fronts and Ginebra hammered out a 92-88 win over Meralco in Game 1 of their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Friday, May 17.

Pringle fired a conference-best 22 points, none bigger than the floater with 40.5 ticks remaining that proved to be the game-winner as the Gin Kings weathered a last-ditch Meralco effort in the waning moments.

“I was just trying to stay aggressive, just picking up my spots,” said Pringle during the post-game presser.

Apart from Pringle, Ralph Cu also put up a splendid shooting night to help Ginebra’s cause as he dropped six triples on his way to 18 points.

His biggest shot came in the 2:22 mark of the fourth period before Christian Standhardinger made it a 10-point game, 89-79 with 1:35 remaining in the game.

Chris Newsome, though, refused to fold.

Newsome, whose team is at a 6-1 disadvantage against Ginebra in their seven playoffs encounters, first nailed a left corner triple to close in, 89-82.

He didn’t stop there.

The Gilas mainstay also put the pressure on Pringle in the ensuing play, stripping the ball from the red-hot hands of the Ginebra guard and diving for the loose ball which led to Chris Banchero’s breakaway layup, to whittle the lead down to five.

He would later can a pair of freebies to inch closer, 90-84 with 1:01 left on the clock, but Pringle would completely shut the door on the Bolts with the floater after that play.

Newsome paced Meralco with 21 points and 13 rebounds he laced with six assists, and a steal.Banchero and Allein Maliksi added 15 and 13 points, respectively.

The Scores:

GINEBRA 92 – Pringle 22, Cu 18, J.Aguilar 17, Ahanmisi 15, Standhardinger 14, Thompson 5, Onwubere 1, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0

MERALCO 88 – Newsome 21, Banchero 15, Maliksi 13, Quinto 11, Hodge 10, Almazan 8, Bates 6, Caram 3, Pasaol 1, Mendoza 0, Torres 0, Pascual 0

Quarterscores: 22-22, 40-41, 73-61, 92-88