PBA: Barangay Ginebra overcomes Meralco, inches closer to Philippine Cup finals

Barangay Ginebra erased a 15-point deficit against Meralco to win, 89-84, and take a pivotal 3-2 lead in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bolts were leading 59-44 at the 7:01 mark of the third period but Barangay Ginebra went on a 10-0 run to cut its deficit down with 4:13 remaining in the said frame.

By the end of the third period, Meralco only had a slim 69-67 lead.

Meralco was leading 79-73 at the 8:13 mark of the fourth period before Barangay Ginebra responded with a 9-0 run, six of which came from Christian Standhardinger, to reclaim the lead.

The game was once again tied at 82 with 4:24 remaining but a Japeth Aguilar floater and a Scottie Thompson triple gave Barangay Ginebra control of the game until the final buzzer.

Standhardinger finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Maverick Ahanmisi had 13 points for Ginebra.

Chris Banchero had 18 points, six assists, and three boards, while Chris Newsome had 17 points for the Bolts.

The scores:

Ginebra 89 – Standhardinger 34, Ahanmisi 13, J.Aguilar 10, Pringle 9, Tenorio 7, Pinto 5, Cu 5, Thompson 5, Pessumal 1, Onwubere 0, Murrell 0.

Meralco 84 – Banchero 18, Newsome 17, Hodge 14, Maliksi 13, Caram 8, Quinto 7, Almazan 4, Bates 3, Pascual 0, Torres 0, Dario 0.

Quarters: 22-19, 40-44, 67-69, 89-84.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News