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| Chris Ross was fired up in the second half to lift San Miguel past Ginebra. Peter Baltazar |
QUEZON CITY—San Miguel exploded in the third quarter before holding off a late Ginebra run for a 108-102 win in Game 4 of the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Held to just 41 points on 29 percent shooting in the first half, the Beermen ripped the Gin Kings for 46 points in the third quarter to take an 87-73 lead entering the fourth.
SMB stretched its lead to as high as 19 points 98-79 with 7:52 left in the final frame, but Ginebra crawled back and was just down three 102-105 with 25.9 seconds to go.
The Gin Kings thought they forced a George King turnover when the referee blew a whistle while the import tried to get past the defense.
However, the referee called a foul on Scottie Thompson, much to the anger of Tim Cone, who during a timeout confronted the officiating crew.
Jeremiah Gray tried to keep them in the game, but he missed back-to-back four-pointers.
King finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block to lead SMB, which sent the best-of-five series to a Game 5 on Tuesday night at the Ynares Center 1 in Antipolo.
Chris Ross added 20 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and five steals, taking over in the second half right after he confronted the referees and even Ginebra assistant coach Olsen Racela at halftime.
Scottie Thompson dropped 27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and four steals, while Jordan Murphy added 16 points, 22 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block for Ginebra.
