Defending champs rip Meralco for comeback

“Final: 110 – 95 in favor of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel! Best Player: Sol Mercado with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

The Ginebra Kings proved that they want to win another Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup title after a double-digit victory over Meralco at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao last Sunday, May 26.

The score ended at 110-95 with the Ginebra Kings shooting past a 15-point deficit in the first quarter. Justin Brownlee totalled 27 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists to redeem his team from their overtime loss against Blackwater last Friday. Japeth Aguilar, Arth Dela Cruz, Sol Mercado, and Scottie Thompson also added double-digits with 19, 16, 14, and 11 points respectively.

For the Bolts, import Gani Lawal had a whopping 38 points and 20 rebounds, while Baser Amer helped with 10, but it did not prevent the team from dropping to a 1-2 win-loss standing as the Kings outscored the bolts, 39-17, in the third quarter alone. 

According to Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, “We played about as badly as we could in that first half,” referring to being 11 points down during halftime, “We didn’t look like we had any fight whatsoever. It was so discouraging.” He continued, “But then we played with so much fight in the second half. Couldn’t be prouder of this group in terms of getting that game around.” Cone shared that during their break after the second quarter, he “went to the locker room and turned off the lights, and when we turned the lights on, [Ginebra was] a completely different team,” smiling and adding, “It was fun to watch and fun to be around.”

Ginebra has a little less than a week’s break as they prepare for their next match against Northport Batang Pier next Saturday, June 1 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, while Meralco is set to face the Rain or Shine Elastopainters on Friday, May 31 at the same venue.