SCOTTIE Thompson and Christian Standhardinger came through in the clutch on Easter Sunday as Barangay Ginebra moved a win away from another PBA Governors’ Cup title with a 115-110 victory over Meralco in Game Five.
Thompson and Standhardinger delivered when it mattered most as Ginebra turned back a last-ditch Meralco comeback to take a 3-2 lead before the biggest crowd to watch a sports event in the country in the pandemic.
Best Import of the Conference Justin Brownlee also played a key role in the pivotal win, finishing with 40 points and 11 rebounds in the masterful Ginebra win fashioned out before 18,251 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Ginebra only up by one point with 4:31 left in the fourth after leading by as many as 14, Standhardinger nailed back-to-back midrange jumpers to keep the Bolts at bay.
Thompson then beat Meralco import Tony Bishop for an offensive rebound that led to his own three with 2:17 left to bring the gap back up to eight points, 105-97, to the delight of predominantly pro-Ginebra crowd at the Big Dome.
Near triple-double
Thompson had a near triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists, while Standhardinger had 13 points, including six in the fourth period.
“We did a great job of making shots all night," said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone. "Just big shots the whole game. I didn’t think it was sustainable but we were able to sustain it for 48 minutes.”
Arvin Tolentino contributed 16 points including a lay-up that increased Ginebra’s lead to 96-82 with seven minutes to play. That was before Meralco went on a 15-2 run to cut the gap to just a point in the endgame.
Tony Bishop willed Meralco back in the game but it was not enough. He finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds after only scoring four in the first half.
Chris Newsome added 27 points and Aaron Black reset his career high for the second time in the PBA Finals with 25 points for Meralco, which faces a must-win in Game Six of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday.
The scores:
Ginebra 115 – Brownlee 40, Thompson 19, Tolentino 16, Standhardinger 13, Tenorio 10, Pinto 8, J. Aguilar 6, Chan 3.
Meralco 110 – Bishop 30, Newsome 27, Black 25, Maliksi 12, Almazan 6, Belo 4, Banchero 2, Hodge 2, Quinto 2.
Quarters: 25-22; 54-43; 82-73; 115-110.
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