BARANGAY Ginebra found a rallying point in guard Jeremiah Gray as it rallied past NLEX, 91-85, on the final day of the PBA On Tour at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Kings went on a 13-4 run to break free from a tight 71- all game to take an 84-75 lead which they never relinquished.
READ: Jeremiah Gray suffers knee injury
Ironically, the scoring run came shortly after Gray went out of the game after hurting his knee on a fast break play.
Gray was taken out on a stretcher and brought to Medical City hospital.
"We dedicate this win to Miah," said coach Richard del Rosario after the game.
"Freak accident yung kay Miah. And so we offered a prayer for him, we knew the doctors would take care of him, so we just have to take care of business here first and play for him. Para naman yung effort niya hindi naman masayang," added the Ginebra deputy, trying to fight back tears.
Von Pessumal topscored for the Kings with 23 points and was 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Sidney Onwubere added 16 and was among those responsible for the telling Ginebra run along with Raymond Aguilar, Donald Gumaru, and JJ Espanola.
Gray finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 32 minutes of play before going down with the injury,
The Kings won their last two games to finish the preseason with a 6-5 record for sixth place.
They actually shared the same slate with Converge, but the FiberXers owned the tiebreaker with their 123-95 win over the Kings.
The Road Warriors were led by the 26 points and nine rebounds of Sean Anthony.
NLEX finished with a 5-6 record.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra (91) - Pessumal 23, Onwubere 16, Gumaru 13, Aguilar 11, Gray 8, Cu 8, David 8, Espanola 2, Pinto 2,
NLEX (85) - Anthony 26, Semerad 24, Trollano 12, Nieto 6, Paniamogan 5, Fajardo 4, Doliguez 2, Alas 2, Adamos 2, Pascual 2, Galanza 0, Giussani 0.
Quarterscores: 19-21; 41-45; 67-68; 91-85.
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