Gin Kings best Beermen to forge finals rematch vs Tropang Giga

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA Governors’ Cup finals cast is set.

Barangay Ginebra stamped the final ticket to the championship round after edging out the San Miguel Beermen, 102-99, to win their semis series Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings will be facing the TNT Tropang Giga in a finals rematch slated to start next Sunday.

Mav Ahanmisi paced Ginebra with 25 points, with 16 coming in the first half. Justin Brownlee filled up the statsheet with 21 markers, seven boards, seven dimes, three steals and two blocks.

The two teams were kept in a close game early on in the fourth quarter, with San Miguel trailing by just two, 77-79, after a pair of freebies by June Mar Fajardo.

However, Ginebra slowly broke the game wide open with a 7-1 run that turned it to an eight-point lead, 86-78, capped by an alley-oop jam by Japeth Aguilar.

The Beermen, though, stormed back with a run of their own, with a layup by EJ Anosike putting them within striking distance, 85-88, with 8:21 remaining.

The two squads then traded baskets as San Miguel made it a one-point difference, 98-99, after a deuce by Anosike with exactly two minutes to go.

But Brownlee once again hit his patented 3-point shot from the top of the key to make it a four-point advantage for Ginebra, 102-98, with 1:47 left.

On the other end, Fajardo split his free throws, which turned out to be the last point of the game.

The Beermen tried to get the lead with time winding down, but a 4-point try by Anosike missed.

Jericho Cruz was able to carom the offensive rebound, but his attempt to tie it missed the mark, solidifying Ginebra’s return to the finals.

“It took every little ounce of whatever we had left to win that game tonight. It just took a long toll on all of us, them too,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said after the game. 

“We were limping to the finish line. We just didn’t have anything left and we were really worried that we won’t be able to pull that out and we had to go on the Game 7. Just real thankful we’re not going into a Game 7,” he added. 

Aguilar also came up big with 20 points and six rebounds for the Gin Kings. RJ Abarrientos added 16, while Scottie Thompson had a double-double of 10 markers and 14 boards.

Anosike left it all on the floor with 30 points, nine rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. Fajardo chipped in 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block, while Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez wound up with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Game 1 of the Finals series will be on Sunday, 7:30 p.m., at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.