MANILA — Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings erased a double-digit deficit with a blistering second-half fightback to outlast Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-98, and seize a crucial 2-1 lead in their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After trailing by as many as 13 points and entering halftime down by eight, the Gin Kings unleashed a dominant third-quarter assault behind Earl Scottie Thompson, Justin Brownlee, and Rhon Jay Abarrientos to completely shift momentum and move two wins away from a Finals berth.
Thompson delivered another all-around masterclass with 25 points built on five triples, along with seven rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block as Ginebra imposed its trademark pressure defense and transition attack in the second half.
Brownlee flirted with a triple-double after finishing with 24 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds, while Abarrientos and Stephen Holt chipped in 17 and 11 points, respectively.
The Gin Kings stormed ahead, 77-68, entering the fourth quarter before stretching the advantage to 94-78.
Rain or Shine, however, refused to fold and launched a late rally to close the gap to 91-96, threatening another dramatic reversal.
But Thompson answered with a clutch three-pointer before Holt calmly knocked down pressure free throws to preserve the win and keep Ginebra in control of the series.
Jaylen Johnson and Caelan Tiongson paced the Elasto Painters with 23 points each, while Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut contributed 17 and 15 markers, respectively.
In the other semifinal pairing, defending champion TNT Tropang 5G escaped with a tense 77-75 victory over Meralco Bolts after Roger Pogoy drilled a clutch go-ahead three-pointer in the closing seconds to give TNT a 2-1 series lead.
Trailing 74-75 after a triple by Chris Newsome with 28 seconds remaining, TNT turned to Pogoy, who buried the biggest shot of the night with seven seconds left to put the Tropang 5G ahead for good.
Meralco still had an opportunity to force overtime, but Crispin John Cansino missed a contested layup before Kier John Quinto failed to convert on a putback attempt at the buzzer.
Despite struggling offensively, Pogoy still emerged as the hero for TNT, finishing with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, along with three steals and two rebounds./PN
