PBA: Ginebra trumps B-MEG, lives to fight anew

PBA: Ginebra trumps B-MEG, lives to fight anew
ADRIAN DY, GMA NEWS April 15, 2012 8:40pm

With the possibility of elimination looking likely, the never-say-die attitude of Ginebra emerged and took over.

The Barangay Ginebra Kings refused to be swept, pulling off an 88-79 victory over the B-MEG Llamados that kept them alive in their semifinals series of the PBA Commissioner's Cup, Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.


Peter June Simon draws the double-team of Jayjay Helterbrand and Jackson Vroman. Jeff Venancio

Back to back scores by import Denzel Bowles had B-MEG threatening to overtake Ginebra and close out the series, as his baskets cut the Llamados' deficit to three, 64-61 with 9:57 remaining in the final period. The Kings responded with a 14-4 run that featured four triples by KG Canaleta, restoring their double-digit lead, 78-65.

In response, Peter June Simon, JC Intal and Josh Urbiztondo exploded for nine unanswered, 78-74, drawing a timeout from the Ginebra coaching staff at the 2:46 mark.

With momentum ready to shift over to the other side completely, "Cool Cat" Mike Cortez took over and rifled in five straight. Joe Devance countered with a deuce off a B-MEG timeout, but Jayjay Helterbrand put the finishing touches on the game by taking it strong to the hoop twice times in succession, making it 88-76 with a little over half a minute remaining, preventing any chance of a comeback by B-MEG.

Barangay Ginebra shot 41 percent from the field in the first quarter, helping them erect a 17-12 lead, but they got a huge break when Llamados big man Marc Pingris got ejected at the 10:29 mark of the second period, thanks to a technical foul, followed by a flagrant foul the next time down the floor.

Still, both teams entered the second half with a clean slate, after James Yap knotted things up at 37-all, courtesy of a triple with two seconds remaining on the clock, right before the halftime break. Unfortunately, all 14 of his markers came in the game's first 24 minutes, leaving it up to his teammates to mount the comeback late.


James Yap waxed hot early, but fell silent in the second half. Jeff Venancio

In spite of that tied score, Ginebra was able to build several double-digit leads, only to have B-MEG topple each down, right up until the twilight of the fourth period when the Kings' firepower ultimately proved to be too much for the Llamados to handle.

Canaleta led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, while Cortez notched a triple-double of 17 markers, 11 boards and 10 dimes. Rookie Dylan Ababou scored 13 and veteran Jayjay Helterbrand stuffed the stat sheet with 12 markers, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for Ginebra, which got an automatic trip to the semis after beating B-MEG in a tiebreaker game.

With Pingris out and Yap ineffective, B-MEG needed scoring from other sources, and they got that from JC Intal, who led his side with 18 points, a conference-best for him and just the second time that the former Ginebra King notched double-digit points in the tourney. Peter June Simon added 15 points and 10 rebounds, while import Denzel Bowles was largely held in check, contributing only 11 on 3-of-14 shooting.

Ginebra's victory means they live to try to tie the best-of-five series up on Tuesday, while B-MEG will get another chance to eliminate their sister squad and advance to the Finals of the import-reinforced conference. - KBK, GMA News


The scores:

GINEBRA 88 - Canaleta 23, Cortez 17, Ababou 13, Helterbrand 12, Hatfield 9, Vroman 8, Labagala 3, Raymundo 3, J. Wilson 0, Mamaril 0.

B-MEG 79 - Intal 18, Simon 15, Yap 14, Bowles 11, Urbiztondo 8, Devance 7, Reavis 6, Barroca 0, Burtscher 0, Villanueva 0, De Ocampo 0.

Quarter scoring: 17-12, 37-37, 61-57, 88-79

Source: Gmanetwork.com