BARANGAY Ginebra went on a strong finishing kick to defeat Converge, 99-93, on Sunday in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
RJ Abarrientos broke the last deadlock at 93-all with two free throws with 2:02 left and Justin Brownlee nailed a floater with 34.3 seconds left for a 97-93 lead.
The Gin Kings went on a 6-0 finishing run to improve to 2-1 (win-loss) while sending the FiberXers to their fourth consecutive defeat.
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At 1-4, the pre-tournament darkhorse is just one rung above last place.
Brownlee tallied 33 points and 10 rebounds, and Abarrientos had 32 points for Ginebra, which was coming off a 118-113 loss to NLEX where Robert Bolick drained crucial baskets in the end game.
“We had a much stronger finish than we had in our last game,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “We blew one game. You lose on a Friday and you have to play on a Sunday, it puts a lot of pressure for you to come out and play because you are not fresh, you are a little bit tired, and you don't have your legs. It was a big challenge for us.”
Mikey Williams continued to improve with 16 points, six rebounds, and eight assists, and looked set on finishing off Ginebra with his his shots, the last one a three-pointer that pulled Converge within one before Justin Baltazar got his team a 93-92 advantage on a floater with 4:04 left.
Troy Rosario had 10 points and 13 rebounds, and knocked down a free throw to tie the ballgame at 93-all with 3:03 remaining. Ginebra didn't concede another point after that.
Ginebra won the match-up without Japeth Aguilar who is dealing with a knee injury.
Converge, on the other hand, missed Justin Arana due to an illness. Calvin Abueva was in uniform but didn't see action. Juan Gomez de Liano also missed out.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 99 – Brownlee 33, Abarrientos 32, Rosario 10, Holt 9, Pinto 7, Thompson 6, Go 2, Cu 0, Torres 0, Estil 0, Gray 0.
Converge 93 – Baltazar 20, Williams 16, Garcia 15, Kelley 13, Stockton 9, Policarpio 9, Concepcion 8, Muyang 3, Reyson 0.
Quarters: 28-30; 42-49; 81-74; 99-93.
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