PBA: GSM banks on 40-8 second-half run to eliminate SMB

The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings leaned on a decisive 40-8 second-half surge to kick the San Miguel Beermen out of the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, 110-94, on Nov. 10, 2026, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Trailing 63-76 after San Miguel dominated in the shaded lane, the Gin Kings once again lived by their never-say-die mantra and frustrated the Beermen with a run for the ages in the second half.

Ginebra kicked off its spirited comeback at the 2:48 mark of the third quarter, after RJ Abarrientos’ 4-pointer trimmed the Gin Kings’ deficit to nine points, 67-76.

Energized by the much-needed Hail Mary heave, Ginebra wrapped up the third frame with a momentum-boosting 11-4 run to pull within four points entering the fourth quarter, 76-80.

Little did the Beermen know that a massive run was coming as the laser-focused Gin Kings sucked the life out of their rivals with a clinical 24-2 surge behind the heroic efforts of Scottie Thompson, Nards Pinto, Jordan Murphy and Abarrientos.

Aside from the offensive outburst, the Gin Kings also made an effective defensive adjustment that limited San Miguel to just two points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.

With CJ Perez, George King and Chris Ross burying baskets from all around the floor in the first half, head coach Tim Cone decided to combine the traditional 1-2-2 zone with half-court man-to-man pressure.

The 1-2-2 zone disrupted San Miguel’s high-low plays for superstar center June Mar Fajardo, while the hybrid man-to-man defense gave the opposing guards tougher looks when they drove against Ginebra’s interior defense.

As soon as Thompson hit the acrobatic floater that ballooned Ginebra’s advantage to 101-82 at the 5:43 mark, the entire San Miguel bench knew what was coming, and the players could only scratch their heads in disbelief.

King tried to will the Beermen back into the game, playing hero ball in the final four minutes of regulation, but his forced shots were to no avail as the pumped-up Ginebra squad held the fort to prevent San Miguel from sparking a comeback.

San Miguel failed to cut its deficit to single digits and could only watch the Gin Kings spoil its chances of pulling off the Beeracle 2.0.

Murphy remained a beast for Ginebra, leading the team with 31 points and 11 rebounds, while Thompson added 29 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

San Miguel received 31 points from King and 20 from Fajardo, but most of the team’s offensive production came in the first half, and the Beermen were shut down in the fourth quarter.

With the win, the Gin Kings set up a highly anticipated rematch against Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the TNT Tropang 5G in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals on Dec. 4, 2026.