Beermen sweep Gin Kings to enter PBA finals

MANILA, Philippines -- San Miguel punched the first finals ticket in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after sweeping Barangay Ginebra, 94-91, Sunday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

With the Beermen leading by six, 75-69, at the start of the fourth quarter, Ginebra scored five straight to go within one, 75-74, capped by a 3-pointer by Scottie Thompson.

Jericho Cruz then answered with a 3-pointer of his own to extend the lead to four again.

Marcio Lassiter followed this up with a layup to grab an 80-74 lead.

Tony Bishop stopped the bleeding with a trey as Ginebra inched closer, 80-77, with 8:39 remaining.

San Miguel then uncorked a backbreaking 10-2 run to push the lead to 11, 90-79, with less than five minutes remaining capped by a 3-pointer by CJ Perez.

The Gin Kings, however, slowly nipped away the lead as they cut it to just three, 92-89, with 39 seconds remaining.

Bennie Boatwright missed a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to open a window of opportunity for Ginebra.

Christian Standhardinger, however, committed a big turnover on the other end.

June Mar Fajardo iced the game with a pair of freebies, 94-89, with eight ticks left.

Ginebra had a chance to cut the lead, but Tony Bishop’s 3-pointer was blocked by Bennie Boatwright, formalizing the sweep and dethroning Ginebra in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Boatwright had another explosive outing for San Miguel, finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Jericho Cruz added 17 markers off the bench.

Bishop led Ginebra with 25 points and eight rebounds.

Thompson chipped in 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Now the Beermen are awaiting either the Magnolia Hotshots or the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the finals.

Magnolia is currently leading the series with a 2-1 win-loss record.