Kings repel Bolts to end elims campaign

MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra finished their PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations on a strong note, holding off the stubborn Meralco Bolts, 91-87, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ginebra, which rested most of their main guns for long stretches of the game, finished its elimination round with back-to-back wins to rise to 8-4 in the import-laden conference.

Meralco, which fielded an All-Filipino squad, dropped to 7-4.

RJ Abarrientos finished with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Justin Brownlee had 15 points in 22 minutes of action.

After trailing by as much as 17 points in the third quarter, the Bolts were able to slowly climb out of the hole and cut Ginebra’s lead to just four, 77-81, after a pair of free throws by Bong Quinto.

The two teams traded buckets, with Meralco making it a two-point deficit, 87-89, with 32.4 seconds left after a triple by Aaron Black.

Freebies by Abarrientos made it a four-point spread, 91-87, with 13.5 ticks left.

With a chance to tie the game up and send it to overtime, Meralco went to CJ Casino, who hoisted up a 4-pointer. He missed, then Ginebra’s Troy Rosario grabbed the rebound as time expired, securing the victory.

“Everything starts in practice with us, how we prepare, how we train, how we work hard. Again, it's always a next man up mentality with us. Whoever's on the floor, those five guys have to stay connected, especially within our offense, and so I'm proud of the way the guys came into the game,” Stephen Holt told reporters after the game.

“They fought, you know, we wanted to play well towards the end, and obviously we got the win, and now we just have to continue this momentum into the playoffs,” he added.

With the Bolts trailing by just two points, 42-44, at the half, Ginebra broke the game wide open with a 17-2 run capped by a deuce by Brownlee to go up by 17, 61-44.

But a 9-1 run punctuated by a split from the line by Raymond Almazan sliced the lead to nine, 53-62, with 2:56 left in the third.

The Gin Kings, though, regained a 13-point advantage, 73-60, after a Raymond Aguilar layup.

Meralco, however, heated up and nipped the lead away, setting up the heart-stopping finish.

Troy Rosario and Holt added 13 apiece for Ginebra, while Jamie Malonzo had nine markers.

Cansino starred for the Bolts with 15 points in 22 minutes. Almazan chipped in a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Black had 11 markers, six boards and four dimes.

Ginebra is currently at fourth place, while Meralco is at fifth. The two squads are seemingly locked into facing each other in the quarterfinals, but the Bolts will still face the Magnolia Hotshots, who are in survival mode, on Friday.