Ginebra ties series with OT win

By JAY R. GOTERA MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings fought off a mighty comeback by the San Miguel Beermen in the payoff period to prevail, 124-118, in an epic overtime victory in Game 2 of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals played in Lucena City Sunday night. The Kings’ victory ties the best-of-7 series at 1-1 with Game 3 set for Wednesday. Ginebra started hot and led by as much as 26 points before heading into the halftime break with a comfortable 67-43 advantage. The Beermen, however, launched a huge counterattack in the third quarter, outscoring the Kings, 39-18. The two sister teams fought furiously in the fourth period, with the Beermen finally gaining the upper hand, 96-95, which they increased to 98-95 on a three-pointer from Gabby Espinas. Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance then led a 12-3 run for Ginebra. The Beermen responded with a run of their own as Arwind Santos and Espinas hit clutch three-pointers to regain the lead, 109-108, with seconds left in regulation. The Kings sent SMB’s Ronald Tubid to the charity stripe to stop the clock. After Tubid split his free throws, Devance scored on a putback to send the game into overtime. The two teams traded clutch baskets in the extra five-minute period. With the score tied at 118-all, Aguilar hit two crucial free throws and Scottie Thompson drove to the basket to give Ginebra a 122-118 lead with 53 seconds remaining. After a miss by SMB’s Yancy De Ocampo, Sol Mercado scored on a jumper, 124-118, to seal the victory for Ginebra. There were plenty of heroes for Ginebra with six players in double-digits led by Aguilar with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Kevin Ferrer added 21 markers, including 18 in the second quarter when the Kings began pulling away. But the Best Player of the Game award went to Thompson who played his biggest game yet, finishing with a near triple-double of 18 points, a career-high 18 boards, and eight assists, on top of three steals. Devance, still playing with an injured foot, also sparkled for Ginebra, finishing with 16 points, none more important that his shot at the buzzer at the end of the fourth quarter. He also collected seven boards. LA Tenorio added 15 markers while Mercado had a well-rounded game of 11 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Santos led SMB with 23 points and 15 rebounds while Marcio Lassiter, who got thrown out of the game in the third quarter for incurring two technical fouls, finished with 21 markers. Chris Ross had a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists while Tubid also finished with 16. June Mar Fajardo added 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks before fouling out in the fourth quarter.