PBA: Petron weathers Ginebra fightback for first semis appearance this season

LA Tenorio of Ginebra (light) vs June Mar Fajardo of Petron (dark). PBA IMAGE / NUKI SABIO

MANILA, Philippines — Petron Blaze weathered a furious Ginebra fightback and salvaged a 101-94 victory Thursday night at the Mall of Asia Arena to advance to the semifinals of the 2013 PBA Govenors’ Cup.

The Boosters foiled the Kings’ tremendous second-half effort, which turned their commanding 25-point buffer in the third to just a point, and scored a semis berth for the first time this season.

Up only by a hairline, 91-90, a 9-0 run sparked by a triple from Marcio Lassiter in the last 5:32 to play shut down the never-say-die Ginebra for good.

“We played a very tired Ginebra. We know for a fact they won’t give up and they showed that. It was food that Blaze Boosters stayed together,” said head coach Gee Abanilla.

Elijah Millsap had a triple-double effort of 22 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists along with 10 turnovers while Junemar Fajardo had a near perfect performance with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

Petron Blaze faces Rain or Shine in the semifinals starting on Monday.

The Kings’ post-season stint, meanwhile, was cut short even after a valiant effort from LA Tenorio, who had 13 of his 20 points in the third quarter.

Tenorio took over after Mark Caguioa didn’t come back in the second half  as he succumbed to a suspected medial collateral ligament injury after falling down awkwardly.

Dior Lowhorn finished with 31 points, including the slam which pulled the Kings to their closest with 5:47 left, along with 17 rebounds and five boards.