Scottie Thompson put on the emphatic finish to a familiar Ginebra comeback.
The reigning MVP showed nerves of steel and drilled a tough right corner triple with 4.8 seconds left to cap Barangay Ginebra’s comeback from 19 points down and beat San Miguel, 97-96, in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Nov 6.
Down by two, 97-94, with 9.2 seconds left, Justin Brownlee recovered the loose ball after a jump ball between CJ Perez and Jamie Malonzo before finding a wide open Thompson on the right corner. Thompson, with no hesitation, went for the shot and buried the go-ahead basket over the outstretched arms of SMB import Devon Scott.
The shot came as a fitting finale for the Gin Kings who went on a 13-2 run to erase an 11-point deficit late in the final frame to tie the game 94-all, much to the delight of the predominant Ginebra crowd inside the Big Dome.
Thompson finished with an all-around effort of 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals while Brownlee flirted with a near triple-double of 33 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Japeth Aguilar and Jamie Malonzo contributed 13 points apiece including timely hits in the fourth quarter when the Kings exploded for 34 points while limiting the Beermen to just 16.
It was actually SMB which took control for the most part of the contest, even building the 19 point lead, 76-57, in the third quarter after unleashing a 13-0 spurt spearheaded by Scott, CJ Perez, and Vic Manuel.
Ginebra, though, slowly but surely crawled its way back into the game with Brownlee triggering the last run with a booming triple off an inbound play, cutting the lead down to single digit, 92-84.
The Kings tightened up their defensive screws from there and forced SMB to consecutive turnovers which eventually put themselves in the position to steal the game on Thompson’s trey.
Scott paced SMB with 26 points and 21 rebounds while Perez added 19 points, five rebounds and five assists – all of which went down the drain as the Beermen even failed to make an attempt in their final possession to regain the lead.