BARANGAY Ginebra showed nerves of steel as they overcame a valiant stand by Blackwater to prevail, 85-82, in the PBA Season 47 Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Reigning league MVP Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar rescued Ginebra from the jaws of defeat as they scored crucial points in crunchtime to give the Kings a victorious debut this season.
The Bossing looked poised to pull off the monumental upset as they led, 82-79, after a left-handed layup and a tough jumper by Joshua Torralba with 1:05 to go in the match. But Thompson got fouled and made two free-throws to trim the deficit to just one, 81-82, with 55 seconds left.
Blackwater had several chances to extend their lead but JV Casio missed a triple while Baser Amer threw an errant pass with 25 seconds to go to give possession back to Ginebra.
The Kings then took advantage as Aguilar rose up and canned a midrange jumper to shove Ginebra in front, 83-82, with eight ticks left.
Amer then doomed Blackwater’s final offensive as he dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds.
“We knew we had a battle in place, but I think it even ended up harder than we thought,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone after the game.
Christian Standhardinger had 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while Aguilar added 15 markers, and six boards. Thompson narrowly missed out on a triple-double with 14 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists.
Former Cesafi MVP and Gilas guard Rey Anthony Suerte scored 15 points to lead the way for Blackwater.