By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra snapped the 10-game winning streak of San Miguel, 99-90, to draw first blood in Game 1 of their PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 4.
The Kings rode on a pivotal 11-1 run in the last five minutes to take down the Beermen who last tasted defeat in October when they started 0-2 in the conference.
Picking up from the splendid showing in the quarterfinals, RJ Abarrientos provided the tip to Ginebra’s spear in that telling rally, firing seven of his 23 points in that telling rally that turned a slim 86-85 lead into a comfortable 97-86 advantage with 1:36 left in the game.
Scottie Thompson amply supported him with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists while Ralph Cu and Jayson David gave the much-needed scoring off the bench with 13 and 10, respectively.
With the win, Ginebra not only took a 1-0 lead in the series but also extended its own winning streak to eight.
June Mar Fajardo paced the Beermen with 27 points and 23 rebounds while CJ Perez chipped in 18 points.
Marcio Lassiter added 12 but the usual bench mob from the Beermen was virtually absent with Don Trollano and Jericho Cruz getting limited to just just nine points combined on a measly 3-of-14 shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, TNT exploded in the third quarter and then proved to be the steadier team in the endgame to gain the head start over Meralco, 100-95, in Game 1 of their own semifinals series.
The Tropang 5G unloaded a blistering 28-8 third quarter rally and erased a 21-point deficit before Calvin Oftana scored seven of his team’s last nine points to put the game away and take a 1-0 series lead.
RR Pogoy spearheaded the pivotal run, firing 11 of his 16 points as TNT enjoyed a 74-70 lead late in that frame after trailing 52-31 in the first half.
Oftana led the way with 28 points to go with his seven rebounds while Rey Nambatac finished with 17. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser was also crucial for TNT following a double-double showing of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Game 2 of the two series is on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the same venue.
