MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings survived a tough stand by Blackwater Bossing for an 81-80 overtime win in the 2023 PBA on Tour last night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Down 80-77 midway in the extension period, the Gin Kings pulled closer at 79-80 on two free throws by Von Pessumal before they took the lead at 81-80 on a putback by Sidney Onwubere with 45 seconds left.
The Bossing still had a chance to snatch the victory with less than a second remaining in the contest but sophomore center Tyrus Hill misfired on his two free throw attempts to allow the Gin Kings to escape with the win.
Onwubere top-scored for the Gin Kings with 25 points, with 16 coming in the first two quarters, to go with 11 rebounds, one steal and a block as they recorded their second win in five games.
Jeremiah Gray added 22 markers, with four three-point conversions, to go with eight rebounds and five assists, while Nard John Pinto had 13 markers, five assists and four rebounds for Barangay Ginebra.
The Gin Kings surged to an 18-7 start behind three-point connections from Gray, Pinto and Raymond Aguilar. The Bossing cut the deficit to eight but conversions from Onwubere widened Ginebra’s advantage to 29-17.
Ginebra went on to build its largest lead at 34-19 after an Onwubere triple early in the second quarter but Blackwater went on a huge run to make it a 36-39 score but six straight points from Gray gave the Gin Kings a 47-38 halftime lead.
The Bossing opened the third quarter with triples from James Sena and RK Ilagan to tie the score at 49-all. The Gin Kings reclaimed the lead at 57-52 but conversions from Renato Ular and Michael Digregorio allowed Blackwater to take a 61-59 advantage.
An 8-0 start by the Gin Kings in the fourth period behind Onwubere and Gray gave them a 67-61 advantage. The Bossing answered with a run to capture a 77-75 lead on a layup by Jeth Troy Rosario but Ginebra forced an extension with a last second layup by Pinto.
Sena finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, Rosario had double-double 12 points and 11 boards, while Ilagan and Rashawn McCarthy ended with 10 markers each as the Bossing dropped to 3-3.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 81 – Onwubere 25, Gray 22, Pinto 13, Mariano 9, R. Aguilar 8, David 2, Pessumal 2, Dillinger 0, Gumaru 0, Aurin 0, Salcedo 0, Cu 0.
BLACKWATER 80 – Sena 18, Rosario 12, Ilagan 10, McCarthy 10, Casio 9, Digregorio 9, Ular 7, Hill 4, Suerte 1, Banal 0, Escoto 0, Ayonayon 0, Publico 0.
Quarterscores: 29-17, 47-38, 59-61, 77-77, 81-80./PN
