JAY R. GOTERA
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Led by three unlikely heroes, the Barangay Ginebra Kings overhauled a 22-point deficit late in the third quarter to vanquish the NLEX Warriors, 91-90, in an epic PBA Philippine Cup game Sunday night.
In a match that brought back memories of Ginebra’s patented never-say-die spirit, rookie Scottie Thompson combined with reserve Dave Marcelo and Chris Ellis to spark a furious Ginebra rampage in the final quarter that had the thousands of fans at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum screaming their hearts out in delight.
Thompson scored all 14 of his points in the second half, 10 of them in the fourth quarter, including the two game-winning free throws.
Ellis finished with 11 points, including back-to-back three pointers in the final period that helped spark the mighty Ginebra comeback. Marcelo added 10 markers, all in the fourth period.
The heroics of the strange trio of Ginebra finishers overshadowed the efforts of Greg Slaughter who still led the team with a double-double 18 points and 15 rebounds. His backcourt partner Japeth Aguilar added 12 points, seven boards and four assists.
The Kings were down, 75-53, late in the third quarter when Thompson engineered a Ginebra uprising that culminated with him taking two free throws with just 10.4 seconds left to give the Kings the first taste of the lead, 91-90.
The Kings then applied a vise-like defensive grip, with Joe Devance blocking the final shot attempt by NLEX’s Sean Anthony as time expired.
With its sixth win in 10 outings, Ginebra improved its chances of making it to the Top 6, with the Top 2 getting a semifinals slot and the next four getting a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. The Kings are currently in fifth place, ahead of TNT (5-4) and Barako Bull (5-5).
NLEX dropped to 4-6 and is now at solo eighth place in the standings. The Road Warriors are already assured of a place in the quarterfinal round, although they have to beat their playoff opponent twice to advance.
Evergreen center Asi Taulava led NLEX with 21 points while Anthony and Jonas Villanueva added 16 and 11 markers respectively.
Barako Bull 101, Star 83
The Barako Bull Energy stunned the Star Hotshots with a rousing 101-83 come-from-behind victory.
The Energy outscored the Hotshots, by 22 points, 34-12, in the fourth period en route to their fifth win in 10 games, fanning their hopes for a Top 6 after the elimination round. They are currently at solo seventh place behind Talk ‘N Text (5-4) and Ginebra (6-4).
Josh Urbiztondo led Barako Bull with 24 points while JC Intal and Willy Wilson added 18 points and eight rebounds apiece for the Energy.
Jeric Fortuna scored 14 points, all of them in the fourth quarter when the Energy broke the game wide open. Mick Pennisi also finished with 14 markers, including four three-pointers.
Star slipped to 3-7 to take solo ninth place in the 12-team conference. Mark Barroca led the Hotshots finishing with 17 points and seven assists James Yap scored 12 points.
Games Wednesday: Talk N Text Tropang Texters (5-4) vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier (7-3) and Star Hotshots (3-7) vs. Blackwater Elite (2-7).
