MANILA, Philippines -- Scottie Thompson dished out a Christmas miracle, sinking a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift Barangay Ginebra over Magnolia, 95-92, in their Christmas Clasico matchup Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the Magnolia defense focused on RJ Abarrientos and Justin Brownlee, Thompson sank a corner trey with time winding down to complete the Gin Kings’ 22-point comeback.
Thompson finished with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds on 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, but none was bigger than the last shot of the game, which fell as time expired.
Ginebra led by two, 92-90, after a triple by Brownlee with 2:02 remaining.
However, Rome dela Rosa tied it up with 22.9 seconds left in the game after a layup off the slick backdoor play.
Ginebra then went to Abarrientos, who went bonkers in the second half to spark the comeback.
Abarrientos gave the ball to Brownlee, who passed it back to the rookie guard. Abarrientos then drove to the basket and, as Calvin Abueva defended him, kicked off to the wide-open Thompson.
Thompson then lined up the game-winning trey as time expired, playing the role of the Grinch to Magnolia’s Christmas.
Brownlee finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Abarrientos added 20 markers and five dimes. Both players had 17 points in the second half.
Troy Rosario added 15 markers and eight boards.
Ricardo Ratliffe powered the Hotshots with 17 markers, 16 boards and four dimes. Mark Barroca had 13, while Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang each had 11.
Magnolia led by as much as 22 points, 76-54, with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter after a Jerrick Balanza layup.
But Ginebra stormed back with a 15-2 run capped by an Abarrientos layup to cut the lead to nine, 69-78.
An Aris Dionisio triple cut the run, 81-69, but Abarrientos and Brownlee teamed up to slice the deficit to four, 78-82.
Ginebra finally took the lead with an 8-2 run capped by a Brownlee triple, 86-84, setting up the back-and-forth finish.
The Gin Kings rose to 4-2 in the season, while the Hotshots dropped to 2-5.