Resident import Justin Brownlee and top guard RJ Abarrientos provided Barangay Ginebra the potent one-two punch to knock Rain or Shine out.
In front of a massive 11,321-strong crowd, the Kings’ never-say-die spirit prevailed in a 118-107 Game 6 to close the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven semifinals series Sunday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
Ginebra put the series in the bag, 4-2, with back-to-back wins for the franchise’s 32nd finals appearance and seventh in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The Kings will meet in the best-of-seven championship, the survivor between defending champion TNT and Meralco.
“We didn’t want to play a Game 7 against a Yeng Guiao team. That would’ve been a disaster for us. So we put all our eggs in one basket in this game tonight because we didn’t want to play a Game 7,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who eyes a 26th PBA title.
Brownlee dropped 31 points on 10-of-20 field goal shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds with five assists, two steals and one block for the Kings, who connected 16 triples and limited Rain or Shine to just six fastbreak points.
Abarrientos got 30 points, seven assists, six boards, three steals and a block.
“It’s hard to get back-to-back wins in this series. Teams get to prepare well after a loss or a win. That’s the hardest part for us because we’re coming off a win. The coaches are looking at how we respond and it’s up to us how we’ll react. Good thing we’re able to respond well,” said Abarrientos, who scored 31 in Game 5.
Brownlee converted a triple to push Ginebra’s lead to 110-100 with over three minutes remaining in the fourth before Thompson made it 116-102 distance in the last 1:43 off a trey.
Japeth Aguilar put the punctuation mark with a tomahawk slamdunk in the final 25.8 seconds for a 118-105.
Ginebra survived a 40-point third-quarter storm by the Elasto Painters with timely answers led by tireless Brownlee and Abarrientos to frustrate Rain or Shine.
The Elasto Painters gave the Kings a scare when they burned a 17-point deficit to begin the second half with a scorching 17-2 barrage to close in within two, 64-62, after a Jhonard Clarito three-pointer with 8:20 left.
Brownlee and Abarrientos connived with Isaac Go and Ralph Cu in bringing Ginebra back to a safe distance. A Go trey and two foul shots by Cu gave the Kings a 93-81 advantage with 12 ticks remaining before Jaylen Johnson cut it down to single-digit with a four-pointer to end the period.
Ginebra gained control of the game after erasing a 24-27 deficit early in the second quarter with 12 unanswered points punctuated by a layup for a 36-27 advantage with 8:04 left.
