Barangay Ginebra captures Governors' Cup crown anew after closing out Meralco in 6 games

It took them six games but Barangay Ginebra is once again crowned as PBA Governors' Cup champion.

Barangay Ginebra overcame Meralco in Game 6 of the reinforced conference finals, 103-92, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After a tie at 47 at the end of the first half, Ginebra tallied 31 points in the third period against Meralco's 26 to get a 78-73 advantage.

The Bolts were trailing by five, 85-80, early in the fourth period before Ginebra sparked an 11-0 run capped by a Justin Brownlee triple to extend their lead with 4:35 left in the game.

Meralco cut down their deficit to ten, 98-88, but an LA Tenorio triple at the 1:10 mark made it hard for the Bolts to come closer.

Christian Standhardinger then made sure that the Bolts had no more chance to come back after scoring an insurance basket with 42 seconds left. 

Tenorio proved to be a crucial part of the Game 6 victory as he listed a conference-high 30 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Best Import of the Conference Brownlee tallied 24 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists, while Standhardinger, in his first championship in the league, registered 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Best Player of the Conference Scottie Thompson had 15 points in Game 6 and was also named as Finals MVP after averaging 17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in the series.

Meralco import Tony Bishop made 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Aaron Black tallied 18 markers and five boards. Newsome added 11 points, while Raymond Almazan also made 11 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Game 6 was supposed to be played on Wednesday but was moved after a fire incident in the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

This is Ginebra's fourth Governors' Cup trophy in the last six years. Ginebra won the same title in 2016, 2017, 2019.

The championship is also Ginebra head coach Tim Cone's 24th overall PBA title and 18th for import-laden conferences.

Scores:

Ginebra 103 - Tenorio 30, Brownlee 24, Standhardinger 19, Thompson 15, Tolentino 6, Pinto 5, J. Aguilar 2, Chan 2, Mariano 0.

Meralco 92 - Bishop 21, Black 18, Maliksi 15, Newsome 11, Almazan 11, Banchero 6, Hodge 5, Quinto 5, Belo 0, Caram 0.

Scores: 24-19, 47-47, 73-78, 92-103.

—MGP, GMA News