MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings is one win away from barging into the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals after a 91-84 triumph over Meralco Bolts in Game 3 of their semifinals at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Stanley Pringle tallied 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Prince Caperal chipped in 14 markers, including three triples, as the Kings surge to a 2-1 edge in their best-of-five series.
Japeth Aguilar added double-double 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four blocks while LA Tenorio and Negrense Joe Devance supplied 12 and 10 markers respectively for Barangay Ginebra.
The Kings zoomed to a 37-12 start with three-point conversions from Pringle and Caperal and inside hits by Aguilar. The Bolts, however, clawed their way to within 34-45 at the half.
The Kings widened the lead to 56-40 early in the third period with baskets from Tenorio and Devance, but the Bolts closed the gap to 51-58 before Ginebra increased it to 64-52 via a Caperal triple.
Conversions from Tenorio and Earl Scottie Thompson allowed Ginebra’s lead to swell to 71-56 in the fourth period before Meralco attempted several runs but could only come to as close as seven.
Allein Maliksi finished the game with 23 points, including six triples, Raymond Almazan added 16 markers and nine rebounds while Clifford Hodge and Chris Newsome ended with 13 and 12 markers respectively for the Bolts.
In the other PBA semifinals game, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters moved a win closer to the finals after a 92-89 victory over TNT Tropang Giga. The Fuel Masters are now leading in the best-of-five series, 2-1.
With the score tied at 77-all midway in the fourth, Jason Perkins and Justin Chua converted back-to-back triples while Matthew Wright scored on a layup to put the Fuel Masters ahead 85-79 with over three minutes left.
After a three-pointer by Wright, the TNT mounted a rally behind Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and Jeth Troy Rosario to come to within 89-90.
Wright then widened Phoenix’s lead to 92-89 via a turnaround hit with 22 seconds left. The Tropang Giga had opportunities to send the match into overtime, but triple attempts by Roger Pogoy and Jayson Castro were defended by the Fuel Masters.
Wright finished the match with 25 points, including five triples while Calvin Abueva added 24 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, and four steals for the Fuel Masters. Parks tallied 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Tropang Giga.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 91 – Pringle 24, Caperal 15, J. Aguilar 12, Tenorio 12, Devance 10, Thompson 9, Mariano 5, Tolentino 4.
MERALCO 84 – Maliksi 23, Almazan 16, Hodge 13, Newsome 12, Amer 9, Quinto 6, Black 3, Hugnatan 2, Pinto 0, Faundo 0, Jamito 0, Salva 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 27-12; Q2, 45-34; Q3, 64-52; Q4, 91-84./PN
