MANILA – Scottie Thompson came up with huge hits in the endgame as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings cruised to an 87-83 win over San Miguel Beermen in Game 5 of the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Final series Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra was trailing 80-83 in the final minutes when Thompson made 6 straight points for Kings to surge 86-83. LA Tenorio iced the match with a split from the free throw line.
Thompson finished the match with double-double 20 points and 11 rebounds for Kings, which can unseat Beermen from the Commissioner’s Cup throne with a victory in Game 6 on Wednesday.
Import Justin Brownlee struggled offensively to finish with 18 points and nine rebounds while Tenorio and Greg Slaughter finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively, for Ginebra.
Kings opened the match with a 19-10 advantage on 3-pointers from Thompson and Tenorio but Renaldo Balkman countered with a huge run for Beermen to surge 26-24.
Beermen pulled toward its largest lead in the game 36-26 with inside shots from June Mar Fajardo. Kings then answered with points from Brownlee, Slaughter and Devance to tie the scores 40-all at the half.
It was a seesaw battle in the second half, with no team leading more than 3 points, until Beermen surged to an 83-78 lead with over two minutes left.
Ginebra then went on an 8-0 scoring run for an 86-83 lead behind Thompson. Beermen had a chance to tie the count but Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos misfired from the outside.
Balkman finished with double-double 34 points and 20 rebounds while Fajardo added double-double 23 points and 11 rebounds for the defending champion./PN
