WIN or head on to the offseason.
That is the backdrop of Tuesday’s Game 5 of the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup quarterfinals between Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The series is now even following two straight wins by San Miguel including a 108-102 win over Barangay Ginebra, where a 22-0 run in the third quarter enabled the Beermen to come back from a 17-point deficit and even the series.
READ Ross notes importance of limiting RJ: 'He's head of the snake'
Though not as huge of a magnitude as their comeback from 0-3 down in the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals against Alaska, the Beermen have put themselves in a position for another ‘Beeracle’ as they look to complete a comeback from a 0-2 deficit in the quarterfinals.
After winning the first two games and losing the next two, the Gin Kings will look to finally put the Beermen away and advance.
The winner faces TNT in a best-of-five semifinals.
Here is a preview of Game 5.
BARANGAY GINEBRA VS. SAN MIGUEL
When: Tuesday, November 10. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Ynares Center-Antipolo
Will the third quarter decide Game 5?
There have been two games where the third quarter has been the decider. Ginebra had a torrid 33-20 third period in their 126-99 win in Game 2, while San Miguel responded in Game 4 with a 46-18 advantage in the same stretch of Game 4. The trend could happen again in Game 5, so the importance of being aggressive after the halftime break cannot be emphasized enough for both squads.
Who’s next to step up?
Ginebra should watch out for the next Beermen that could potentially step up. In Game 3, it was Marcio Lassiter who sizzled with 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting from threes. It was the turn of Chris Ross to deliver after going for his conference-best 20 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and five steals. June Mar Fajardo, Cjay Perez, and even former Finals MVP Jericho Cruz could be next.
Scottie’s strong Game 4
Lost in Ginebra’s defeat in Game 4 was the strong showing of Scottie Thompson, who produced a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds to go with four assists, and four steals. Thompson was efficient in Game 4 on a 10-of-19 clip, and even led Ginebra’s rally bid with 16 points in the fourth period. Another similar performance could mean victory for Ginebra.
RJ sorely missed
Ginebra missed the production of RJ Abarrientos in Game 4 where he only had seven points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field, and 0-of-6 from threes. Abarrientos even had zero assists, a first this conference for the Season 49 Rookie of the Year.
Chris Ross was right when he said that Abarrientos is the “head of the snake” and he should perform as one for Ginebra to advance.
Import watch
The play of the imports could also decide Game 5. George King’s game is on an upward trend for San Miguel after a shaky first two games. He has averaged 28.5 points and 13.5 rebounds over the last two games after logging 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the first two.
Jordan Murphy’s performance, on the other hand, is on a downward trend, at least in scoring, as he is averaging 16.5 points over the last two games after norming 31 in the first two, even though his rebounds went from 10.5 in the first two games to 19.5 in the last two.
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