LA Tenorio buried a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left as Barangay Ginebra extended its season with a huge fightback against San Miguel, 88-87, in Game Six of the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup semifinals on Sunday.
Tenorio gave the Gin Kings an unlikely spark in the fourth quarter when all seemed lost for the team, none bigger than the clutch trey that extended the best-of-seven semifinal to a winner-take-all match on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
"Miracles do happen," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone afterwards.
Tenorio finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in nine minutes of play to save Barangay Ginebra after being down 38-22 in the second quarter.
Scottie Thompson had a near triple-double of 17 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists, while RJ Abarrientos added 12 points and seven assists for the Gin Kings.
Tenorio, Thompson, and Abarrientos were on the court at the same time at one point in the game, and it led to an 11-1 run that enabled Ginebra to wrest an 85-83 lead.
Cjay Perez connected on a lay-up with 1:01 left after an Abarrientos turnover to give SMB the lead, 86-85, before the Tenorio game-winner.
The Beermen looked on their way to victory after an 80-71 lead with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter on Rodney Brondial’s three consecutive short stabs.
June Mar Fajardo had 21 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists. The eight-time MVP split his two free throws with 11 seconds left to make it a two-point lead instead of a three in the final moments.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 88 – Thompson 17, J. Aguilar 16, Abarrientos 12, Holt 12, Rosario 12, Tenorio 11, Malonzo 2, Ahanmisi 2, David 2, R. Aguilar 2, Cu 0.
San Miguel 87 – Fajardo 21, Perez 15, Trollano 13, Brondial 12, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 6, Teng 5, Tiongson 4, Lassiter 3, Rosales 2.
Quarters: 20-27; 45-54; 67-70; 88-87.
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