By JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings survived yet another do-or-die match, finally eliminating the second-seeded Star Hotshots with an epic 89-76 Game 7 semifinals victory on Tuesday night to arrange a showdown with the San Miguel Beermen in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
The seventh-seeded Kings led from start to finish, never allowing the Hotshots to mount any serious rally en route to their second straight Finals appearance. Ginebra thus became one of the lowest-seeded teams in the league to reach the Finals.
Sol Mercado reprised his Game 6 heroics with yet another solid performance as he led the Kings with a season-high 23 points, including four three-pointers, on top of four rebounds and five assists. The stocky guard also shone on the defensive end, limiting Paul Lee, one of Star’s top gunners, to just four points.
LA Tenorio also dished out his A-game, finishing with 21 points, four rebounds, and five assists. He made some huge plays and fired 10 of his points in the final period to douse a fiery Hotshots’ uprising that cut down Ginebra’s lead to three, 68-65, with 9:57 left.
Japeth Aguilar added 19 points and five boards, while Scottie Thompson chipped in 10 markers and nine rebounds.
Joe Devance played a second straight game with a foot injury. He scored all of his seven points in the first quarter as Ginebra raced to an early 16-4 lead.
Allein Maliksi led Star with 22 points and five boards, while Marc Pingris tallied 17 points, eight boards, six assists, two blocks, and one steal in 40 minutes that all went into thin air as the Hotshots blew a 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the series.
Game on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017: Barangay Ginebra Kings vs. San Miguel Beermen (Game 1, best-of-7 finals).
