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| RJ Abarrientos once again led Ginebra's late charge. PBA Images |
MANILA––Ginebra once again delivered the goods in crunch time as it stole Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals from San Miguel with a 99-90 win on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Led by another clutch takeover from RJ Abarrientos, the Gin Kings outscored the Beermen, 27-17, in the fourth quarter as, just like last Sunday against the Converge FiberXers in the knockout quarterfinal, the long bombs became pivotal again for Ginebra.
This time, though, it was Ralph Cu and Norbert Torres who stunned their opponents, scoring huge threes early in the fourth that set up the Gin Kings' breakaway from the Beermen, who struggled from both the perimeter arcs and the free throw line.
Abarrientos led Ginebra with 23 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and two steals off the bench, while Scottie Thompson added 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting including a solid 4-for-5 on threes, five rebounds, four assists, and one block.
June Mar Fajardo's monster game of 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 23 rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal went down the drain as SMB saw its 10-game winning streak snapped.
The team's first loss in nearly three months saw them only going 15-of-31 from the foul line and 5-of-30 from the outside.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 99 – Abarrientos 23, Thompson 22, Cu 13, David 10, Torres 8, Rosario 8, J. Aguilar 7, Holt 6, Gray 2, Pinto 0, Estil 0
SAN MIGUEL 90 – Fajardo 27, Perez 18, Lassiter 12, Tiongson 8, Trollano 5, Calma 4, Cruz 4, Cahilig 3, Tautuaa 3, Brondial 2, Rosales 2
QUARTERS: 26-18, 48-46, 72-73, 99-90
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