MANILA – Earl Scottie Thompson and LA Tenorio scored when it mattered the most as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings eked out a 92-90 victory over TNT Tropang Giga in Game 2 of their 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals at the AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Struggling on offense all game long, Thompson nailed his only basket of the match – a three pointer – with 30 seconds left to surge the Kings ahead, 87-85.
Tenorio, who was also scoreless the entire match, nailed his first point via a split free throw with 18 ticks left before draining four more from the charity stripe to seal the come-from-behind win for Barangay Ginebra.
Thompson finished the match with three points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and six turnovers while Tenorio ended up with five markers and three assists.
But as hero as Thompson and Tenorio down the stretch, it was the duo of Stanley Pringle and Aljon Mariano who carried the load, steadied the ship and kept the Kings within striking distance all match long.
Pringle was the fire starter for Barangay Ginebra in the opening frame with 12 points for a 21-17 advantage. He, however, disappeared in the second period as Roger Pogoy led the TNT to a 40-36 halftime lead.
Pogoy went on with his torrid shooting in the third period as the Tropang Giga annexed their largest lead at 54-39 before Pringle, Mariano, Negrense Jeffrei Chan, and Jared Dillinger brought the Kings to within 68-70 entering the fourth quarter.
Barangay Ginebra, however, still struggled on offense in the final period as they missed point blank hits and free throws as the Tropang Giga pulled away at 84-77 with baskets from Pogoy and Jayson Castro with four minutes left in the match.
Two free throws by Mariano, a three-pointer and two freebies by Pringle knotted the count for the Kings at 84-all with 1:53 remaining before Castro handed the Tropang Giga their last taste of the lead at 85-84 via a split free throw.
Pringle finished the match with 34 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Mariano had a near double-double with 20 points and nine boards as Dillinger supplied eight points for the Kings.
Pogoy ended up with 38 points, including five triples, Simon Enciso added 15 markers while Castro contributed 13 for the Tropang Giga., who played sans guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr. due to injury.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 92 – Pringle 34, Mariano 20, Dillinger 8, Chan 6, J. Aguilar 6, Tenorio 5, Tolentino 4, Devance 4, Thompson 3, Caperal 2.
TNT 90 – Pogoy 38, Enciso 15, Castro 13, Erram 11, Rosario 11, De Leon 2, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Washington 0, Carey 0, Semerad 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 21-17; Q2, 36-40; Q3, 68-70; Q4, 92-90./PN
