Ginebra climbed from a 15-point hole to gain a pivotal 3-2 lead against Meralco in their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinal showdown on Sunday, May 26.
Christian Standhardinger put in another herculean effort as Ginebra rallied from 15 points down to frustrate Meralco, 89-84, in Game Five to gain the upperhand in their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinal duel on Sunday, May 26.
Standhardinger churned out 34 points and 10 rebounds he laced with five assists as the Gin Kings moved on the threshold of a titular clash against San Miguel.
After the Bolts responded with back-to-back victories following a loss in the opener, it was Ginebra's turn to score twin triumphs to swing momentum back to its side in their race-to-four series.
Known more for taking the ball to the basket with brute force, the Fil-German settled for jumpers in the final seven minutes, including the dagger with 1:24 remaining that iced the final score as Meralco flubbed its four attempts after that.
Standhardinger also nailed three consecutive jumpers in a 9-0 blast prior that gave the Gin Kings the upperhand, 82-79, halfway in the final period after trailing behind, 44-59, in the third.
“It didn’t look pretty good two games ago. I just got to give credit to the guys. They kept their heads up, they moved forward, they moved on, just found a way to grind out two wins,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
The 6-foot-8 banger got help from frontcourt partner Japeth Aguilar, who turned in a double-double of his own with his 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Aguilar's contribution was highlighted by his putback off Standhardinger’s miss that broke an 82-all deadlock at the 3:53 mark and sparked the Gin Kings' 7-2 finisher.
Ginebra's closing tear included Scottie Thompson's left-corner triple which gave the squad a five-point buffer, 87-82, before Chris Newsome tried to will the Bolts back with a basket against three Gin King defenders to threaten within three with a little more than three minutes remaining in the match.
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But both teams played tremendous defense after that, with only Standhardinger making the last field goal.
Maverick Ahanmisi added 13 points while Stanley Pringle and LA Tenorio combined for 16 markers for Ginebra.
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Chris Banchero fired four triples in the first half, including three in the final six minutes of the second that gave Meralco its first taste of a double-digit lead in the match at 44-34.
Banchero produced 16 markers in the first two quarters but could not conjure his magic after that as he only coughed up two points in the succeeding periods to finish with 18.
Cliff Hodge took over after the break to give Meralco its biggest lead heading into the final seven minutes of the third. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Newsome scored 17 but struggled from deep, making only one of his five tries. Allein Maliksi chipped in 13.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 89 – Standhardinger 34, Ahanmisi 13, J.Aguilar 10, Pringle 9, Tenorio 7, Pinto 5, Cu 5, Thompson 5, Pessumal 1, Onwubere 0, Murrell 0
MERALCO 84 – Banchero 18, Newsome 17, Hodge 14, Maliksi 13, Caram 8, Quinto 7, Almazan 4, Bates 3, Pascual 0, Torres 0, Dario 0
Quarterscores: 22-19, 40-44, 67-69, 89-84