Ginebra rallies from 19-point down to beat Phoenix in playoff bid

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel’s never-say-die attitude was once again on full display after erasing Phoenix Super LPG’s 19-point lead to clinch a momentum-boosting 94-87 PBA Philippine Cup victory.

It was one of those games where head coach Tim Cone would start the first 24 minutes of the ball game with his hands at the back of his head, scratching in disappointment.

The Phoenix squad started the heated battle with an opening lead of 19 in the first half led by a rolling Jason Perkins who man-handled the Ginebra frontcourt.

However, Ginebra showed signs of life in the second quarter after trimming the 19-point lead to single digits, courtesy of a hot LA Tenorio who caught fire from the three-point area.

Stanley Pringle then joined Tenorio’s trey party when he sank a confident pull-up jumper from the rainbow country to cut the Phoenix lead to just five.

With Ginebra surging with momentum, Matthew Wright answered in the third frame after finding his groove and helped Phoenix grow their lead back to double digits.

Head coach Topex Robinson then again went to Perkins on the low post and the big fella delivered huge, out-muscling Aljon Mariano who was his designated primary defender.

From a 76-69 lead heading into the final quarter, Phoenix again lost momentum when the surging Ginebra squad tied the ball game at 81.

Eventually, they got the first lead of the game off a Christian Standhardinger bucket underneath with 5:48 remaining in the fourth.

Everything then went Ginebra’s way in the remaining minutes as Phoenix attempted a couple of airballs and a crucial turnover in the last one minute of the ball game.

Ginebra was led by Pringle’s 31-point contribution while the hot Tenorio added 23 points including five assists and four rebounds.

With the win, Ginebra’s playoff campaign is still alive while moving up in the PBA standings with a record of 4-5.