Gin Kings weather Painters to go up 2-1

MANILA, Philippines -- Falling behind by double digits in the first half, Barangay Ginebra weathered the storm and held on late against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-98, to take a 2-1 lead in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

Trailing by as much as 13 points in the first quarter, the Gin Kings exploded in the third quarter and broke the game wide open in the fourth before fending off a late rally to grab the victory.

Scottie Thompson carried the load for Ginebra with 25 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. Justin Brownlee flirted with a triple-double with 24 markers, nine dimes, eight boards, a steal and a block. 

“Well, we were down eight points at halftime, and we just felt like they had shot the ball extremely well… We just told our guys at halftime, just keep battling,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said. 

“We felt like at some point they would start figuring it out. And as long as we kept up our defense and just kept getting back and defending, then we'd have a chance to win this game. So that kind of happened,” he added. 

Ginebra trailed by eight, 56-48, at the half as Rain or Shine continued to pounce on the attack. 

But a massive 18-3 run, capped by a layup by Thompson, turned the tides, 66-59. 

A jumper by Adrian Nocum halted the run, 61-66, but the rampage of the Gin Kings continued. 

The lead ballooned to 16. 94-78, with 5:25 left in the ballgame after a trey by Brownlee. 

But a 10-2 blitz by Rain or Shine sliced the deficit to five, 91-96, with 2:41 left after a triple by the returning Caelan Tiongson. 

Thompson and Tiongson then traded triples, before a pair of free throws by Stephen Holt kept the Elasto Painters at bay, 101-94. 

A four-point shot by Jaylen Johnson pumped blood back to Rain or Shine’s comeback attempt, before Holt iced the game with freebies, as attempts by Johnson and Clarito could not connect late. 

“We just had to keep our calm and know that we were going to at some point punch back. Kind of weather the storm, which we did, and then we came back and punched back and got back into the game,” Cone said. 

“I think it was like a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Then our defense was able to take hold in the second quarter a little bit. It's just really about the players staying calm, continuing to do what they had intended to do in the beginning of the game,” he added. 

“We've got a veteran group and we're not going to rattle easily, especially early in the game. Again, hats off to our guys for keeping their poise and being able to punch back.” 

RJ Abarrientos, who wore a protective mask due to a nose injury, had 17 points in the win. Holt added 11 marrkers. 

Johnson and Tiongson top-scored for Rain or Shine with 23 markers apiece. The former had 21 boards and eight dimes, while Tiongson had an efficient shooting night, making eight of his 13 attempts. Nocum and Andrei Caracut provided the spark with 17 and 15 points, respectively. 

Game 4 of the series is on Wednesday, 5:15 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.