DRAWING power from an RJ Abarrientos-led second-half outburst, Barangay Ginebra regained the upper hand in its PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinal series against San Miguel Beer, seizing a 2-1 advantage with a 100-90 win in Game 3 on Sunday, June 29, 2025, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Abarrientos erupted with a near triple-double of 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
The ace rookie dropped 22 markers in the second half, scoring or assisting in a game-changing 10-0 salvo that gave Ginebra a 69-58 tear in the third quarter, and then rifling in 18 points in the fourth to put the game beyond SMB’s reach.
Jamie Malonzo added 20 points and seven boards, Japeth Aguilar netted 18, Scottie Thompson accounted for 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and Stephen Holt produced 10 points and seven rebounds to back up Abarrientos in the bounceback win to the Gin Kings’ 83-100 loss in Game 2.
The troops of coach Tim Cone, who drew first blood in the race-to-four contest with a 73-71 triumph, will try to move to within a win of a third straight finals stint this season when they return to action on Wednesday.
“We didn’t play a good game last time out,” said Cone. “We had to tip our cap to San Miguel because you know they were stinging from their Game 1 loss and they knew that June Mar (Fajardo) was going to be playing limited minutes. But I’m just real proud of the guys for steadying themselves. I thought we played with a really good tempo and then RJ just played tremendous down the stretch.”
Don Trollano led San Miguel with 22 points, while Fajardo, nursing a calf injury, logged out a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double in just over 27 minutes.
Earlier, Rain or Shine made sure not to let a golden opportunity slip away as it fashioned a cruising 107-86 win over a TNT crew in their own semifinal matchup.
Anton Asistio took the time to shine the brightest among the less-heralded Elasto Painters guards, exploding for a personal playoffs-high 24 points, leading the team to its first win in the best-of-seven series.
Rain or Shine now aims to equalize the series also on Wednesday in Game 4, where TNT is expected to miss Game 1 hero Roger Pogoy again. Pogoy aggravated a hamstring injury early in Game 2 last Friday and has been advised to rest for at least a week. / PBA.PH