RJ ABARRIENTOS had a near triple-double of 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists as Barangay Ginebra reclaimed the lead in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup semifinals, beating San Miguel, 100-90, on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Abarrientos regained his shooting touch after struggling in the first two games of the best-of-seven semifinal series, which the Gin Kings now lead, 2-1, after bouncing back from a blowout 100-83 defeat to the Beermen in Game 2.
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Abarrientos was just 4-of-21 from the field in the series' first two games.
Jamie Malonzo was among five Barangay Ginebra players in double digits after he poured in 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
But the night belonged to Abarrientos, who took command by scoring 18 of Ginebra’s 29 points in the fourth quarter to sustain the big lead that they built in the third quarter when they outscored San Miguel, 25-14.
That quarter also saw Ginebra go on a telling 10-0 blast with Malonzo making six straight baskets to stretch its lead to 69-58.
“I’m just real proud of the guys for steadying themselves. We figured a couple of things out. I felt we played with a really good tempo and then RJ played tremendous down the stretch to keep them at bay,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Game 4 is slated on Wednesday, 5 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Japeth Aguilar had 18 points and four rebounds, while Scottie Thompson chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block for the Gin Kings.
After playing for only 17 minutes and finished with two points and seven rebounds, June Mar Fajardo, nursing a calf injury, played more minutes this time with 27, and Game 3 and had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Don Trollano topscored for SMB with 22 points while shooting 9-of-14 from the field.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 100 – Abarrientos 24, Malonzo 20, J. Aguilar 18, Thompson 16, Holt 10, Ahanmisi 7, Rosario 5, Pinto 0, R. Aguilar 0, Gray 0, David 0.
San Miguel 90 – Trollano 22, Fajardo 12, Cruz 11, Perez 11, Tiongson 10, Tautuaa 8, Ross 6, Lassiter , Rosales 3, Brondial 2, Cahilig 0.
Quarters: 23-20; 46-50; 71-64; 100-90.
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