Ginebra outclasses San Miguel, takes 2-0 lead in semis
Barangay Ginebra reasserted its might on San Miguel with a masterful 121-103 victory to move on the cusp of making a return trip to the finals in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City Sunday night, March 26.
The Kings pounced on the Beermen with their ruthless offensive plays, directing the game tempo throughout to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series. Justin Brownlee and Christian Standhardinger teamed up with another explosive performance, pacing Ginebra with 32 points apiece, while Scottie Thompson sizzled on all fronts with a triple-double effort of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on top of three steals and two blocks. Ginebra coach Tim Cone said it was important to nail the Game 2 victory. “It’s a short series, so if you can get the first two, it’s really, really hard to do and they did,” Cone said, whose team won in Game 1, 121-112. “We got comfortable, but these guys just toughened up and focused on making stops to be able to extend our lead again. I’m totally shocked by this game in terms of how well we played… Shocked and pleased,” he added. The Kings opened with a 31-24 first-quarter start and went on outscoring the Beermen in the second period, 32-21, to pad their lead to 18, 63-45. San Miguel showed some signs of life midway the third canto by trimming their double-digit deficit to only eight, 76-68, off a Mo Tautuaa triple, but it turned out to be the Beermen’s last stand as Ginebra uncorked a 10-0 blast for an 88-68 cushion. Cameron Clark had 23 points and 17 rebounds while CJ Perez finished with 20 points for San Miguel, which needed to sweep their last three games to get a crack at the finals.
*Scottie Thompson steers Barangay Ginebra with a triple-double performance. (PBA Images)
*The Kings pounced on the Beermen with their ruthless offensive plays, directing the game tempo throughout to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series. Justin Brownlee and Christian Standhardinger teamed up with another explosive performance, pacing Ginebra with 32 points apiece, while Scottie Thompson sizzled on all fronts with a triple-double effort of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on top of three steals and two blocks. Ginebra coach Tim Cone said it was important to nail the Game 2 victory. “It’s a short series, so if you can get the first two, it’s really, really hard to do and they did,” Cone said, whose team won in Game 1, 121-112. “We got comfortable, but these guys just toughened up and focused on making stops to be able to extend our lead again. I’m totally shocked by this game in terms of how well we played… Shocked and pleased,” he added. The Kings opened with a 31-24 first-quarter start and went on outscoring the Beermen in the second period, 32-21, to pad their lead to 18, 63-45. San Miguel showed some signs of life midway the third canto by trimming their double-digit deficit to only eight, 76-68, off a Mo Tautuaa triple, but it turned out to be the Beermen’s last stand as Ginebra uncorked a 10-0 blast for an 88-68 cushion. Cameron Clark had 23 points and 17 rebounds while CJ Perez finished with 20 points for San Miguel, which needed to sweep their last three games to get a crack at the finals.