BARANGAY Ginebra moved on the verge of reaching the PBA Philippine Cup finals when it rallied past Meralco in Game 5 on Sunday night, 89-84, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Kings trailed by as many as 15 points, 59-44, in the third quarter, but came roaring back before the period ended to take the lead, 69-67, as LA Tenorio buried his lone basket from deep.
Christian Standhardinger then took over, hitting one crucial jump shot after the other to help the Kings regain the lead in the best-of-seven series, 3-2.
Ginebra will now be looking to close Meralco out in Game 6 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and arrange a title series with defending champion San Miguel.
Here are the takeaways in Game 5 of the semis series between the Kings and Bolts.
AHANMISI GETS SHARE OF LIMELIGHT
With Scottie Thompson again having a hard time buying a basket, Maverick Ahanmisi stepped up. The veteran Fil-Am, who came on board the franchise during the off-season as an unrestricted free agent, tallied 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists coming off the bench. He has previously been a starter in Games 1 and 2. After Stanley Pringle in Game 1, LA Tenorio in Game 4, now it’s Ahanmisi’s turn to contribute to the Ginebra cause as he teamed up with Standhardinger in rallying the Kings back from a 15-point third quarter deficit.
BANCHERO FIZZLES OUT AFTER FIERY START
After a sizzling start in which he finished with 16 points in the first half, Chris Banchero’s guns went silenced the rest of the way. The Fil-Italian guard would only score two points in the second half to finish with 18. He was 7-of-20 from the field and 4-of-7 from long distance, but none in the second half. The Kings didn’t do anything special to hold the hot-shooting Banchero after the halftime break as coach Tim Cone maintained it was difficult to maintain the pace the Meralco guard had in the first two quarters and predicted Banchero would eventually cool down. Coach Tim was right. Banchero finished with six assists though, tops for his team.
AN EVEN LONGER RESPITE FOR SMB BEFORE FINALS?
If it’s true the best-of-seven finals won’t start until June 5, it means early finalist and reigning champion San Miguel will be idle for almost two weeks heading to Game 1 of the title series. The Beermen had taken the day off on Saturday and Sunday following a sweep of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last May 24 in their semifinals series. The league though has yet to confirm the scheduled date pending the outcome of the Ginebra-Meralco series. The Kings hold a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6 on Wednesday. Game 7 if necessary, is set Friday (May 31) at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.
WILL STATISTICAL PROBABILITY BE PROVEN RIGHT AGAIN?
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, 47 of 62 teams which won Game 5 after a 2-2 deadlock in a best-of-seven went on to win the series or 76 percent of the time. Actually, 19 of the last 23 cases in the last decade achieved the feat for a high of 83 percent. Will Barangay Ginebra be up to the task? Or will Meralco be among those who will defy statistics?
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