BARANGAY Ginebra got a huge lift from Ralph Cu and Norbert Torres during a pivotal fourth-quarter stretch to overcome San Miguel, 99-90, on Sunday in Game One of their PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup semifinals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Cu and Torres led Ginebra's bench mob as they combined for six three-pointers, hitting two treys apiece during a 14-6 run which got the Gin Kings ahead for good against a top-seeded and in-form San Miguel squad.
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With RJ Abarrientos and Scottie Thompson running the offense and hitting big shots, the Gin Kings snapped the Beermen's 10-game winning streak ahead of Game Two of the best-of-seven semifinal series on Wednesday, also at the Big Dome.
Cu scored 13 points and Torres nine off the bench as they cushioned a 27-point, 23-rebound performance by SMB star June Mar Fajardo while Ginebra starter Japeth Aguilar sat out due to foul trouble.
The contributions of Cu and Torres were big for a Ginebra team that was facing a San Miguel squad that leads the league in bench points.
“We know that they are the number one team in bench points so we challenged our guys that we have to come out and really play well against Don Trollano, Jericho Cruz, Juami Tiongson, Mo [Tautuaa], all of those guys. We knew we had to come out and play,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Abarrientos had 23 points and seven assists to lead the Gin Kings, including a three-point play that started a 7-0 run in the final stretch of the contest.
Scottie Thompson had 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Cu and Torres helped Ginebra's bench outscore its San Miguel counterparts, 54-29.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 99 – Abarrientos 23, Thompson 22, Cu 13, David 10, Rosario 8, Torres 8, J. Aguilar 7, Holt 6, Gray 2, Pinto 0, Estil 0.
San Miguel 90 – Fajardo 27, Perez 18, Lassiter 12, Tiongson 8, Trollano 5, Calma 4, Cruz 4, Cahilig 3, Tautuaa 3, Ross 2, Brondial 2, Rosales 2.
Quarters: 26-18; 48-46; 72-73; 99-90.
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