RJ ABARRIENTOS scored the game-winning lay-up with 6.3 seconds left as Barangay Ginebra held off Magnolia, 91-89, on Friday to get back to its winning ways in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Abarrientos was quick to make up for a foul he committed while Mark Barroca was taking a hurried three-point shot that gave the Magnolia veteran guard three free throws which he all made to tie the game at 89-89 with 8.9 seconds.
In the very next play, however, the cat-quick Ginebra guard made a perfect cut to the basket off an inbound for the layup that put away the Gins' third win in five games.
Justin Brownlee had 29 points, and Scottie Thompson had his best offensive outing of the conference with 24 points for the Gin Kings, who led by as many as 15 after a 32-17 second quarter.
After the Abarrientos lay-up, Magnolia still had a chance to equalize but Jerom Lastimosa went too deep on his drive to the basket, his kick-out pass going straight to Norbert Torres, who was fouled with one second left. Torres missed both free throws, but Magnolia had too little time on the clock to throw up a decent shot.
Abarrientos' heroics was after Magnolia outscored Barangay Ginebra, 31-19, in the third quarter to get back on track and trim the gap to 69-66 entering the fourth.
“I felt that if we had control in the third quarter the way we wanted to, it wouldn't turned out to be as tough as it was. But we have to scratch and claw for wins, and that's the way it's been,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Zavier Lucero had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Clint Chapman added 18 points and 10 rebounds but the Hotshots went down to a 2-4 win-loss record.
Head coach LA Tenorio lost for the first time against his former team after he beat the Gins during the 50th Season opener last October.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 91 – Brownlee 29, Thompson 24, Abarrientos 19, Holt 6, Torres 5, Rosario 4, Pinto 4, Cu 0, Gray 0, Go 0.
Magnolia 89 – Lucero 19, Chapman 18, Barroca 14, Lastimosa 11, Lee 10, Dela Rosa 9, Sangalang 5, Koon 3, Laput 0, Alfaro 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Andrada 0.
Quarters: 18-18; 50-35; 69-66; 91-89.
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