THREE years don’t seem long to many, but not for Barangay Ginebra fans that have been waiting for a PBA championship.
The Gin Kings ended a three-year, seven-conference dry spell after defeating TNT, 88-76, in a Game Seven to remember in the 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup Finals at a packed Mall of Asia Arena.
READ Scottie Thompson named PBA Finals MVP after Ginebra ends drought
Ginebra won its 16th championship in the league, but its first since the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup title when they beat guest team Bay Area Dragons in Game 7 at the Philippine Arena on January 15, 2023.
Tim Cone extended his league record for most wins by a PBA coach to 26 titles after Ginebra closed the best-of-seven finals, 4-3, in front of 24,617 fans.
In between those three years were three heartbreaks where Ginebra lost to TNT in the finals, including last season's Commissioner's Cup when it squandered a 3-2 lead and lost a Game 7 that went into overtime.
Nards Pinto, who took over after RJ Abarrientos went to the bench due to a flagrant foul 1, knocked down a big three from the left corner with 3:04 left to steady the ship for Ginebra, 80-74, after the gap had dwindled to three.
Abarrientos returned to the court moments later, following it up with a three for a nine-point lead with 1:59 left in the match, sending the Gin Kings fateful in a frenzy.
Scottie Thompson was later adjudged as the Finals MVP after a near triple-double where he had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.
“Any seventh game is really a hard game to play,” said Cone. “The players are beat up through the first six and through the semifinals. We don’t any dayoff for like three weeks. It’s a really game of attrition.”
Barangay Ginebra had to fight back from a 49-40 deficit early in the third quarter in which it outscored TNT, 28-16.
The Gins never looked back from there even after TNT came to within three, 77-74, with five minutes left in the contest.
Justin Brownlee completed the finals with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists, but, more importantly, got support from his locals led by Thompson.
Chris McCullough had 28 points and 22 rebounds, but shot 9-of-14 from the free throw line, some of the misses coming in that crucial fourth quarter.
Not even Jordan Heading’s 21-point effort, and the return of Calvin Oftana and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser from injuries could salvage TNT’s campaign.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 88 – Brownlee 30, Thompson 19, Abarrientos 13, Rosario 13, J. Aguilar 7, Pinto 6, Holt 0, Gray 0, Cu 0.
TNT 76 – McCullough 28, Heading 21, Pogoy 15, Oftana 5, Aurin 4, Nambatac 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Williams 0, Galinato 0, Khobuntin 0.
Quarters: 18-16; 40-47; 68-63; 88-76.
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