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MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra rose from a deep hole in the third quarter and drew a big shot from Scottie Thompson anew to take a 2-0 series lead in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Thompson hit a go-ahead triple with 30.5 seconds left as the Gin Kings escaped the TNT Tropang Giga, 92-90, Wednesday night at AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center.
“it was a struggle for us all game long,” admitted Ginebra coach Tim Cone, whose squad trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter.
It was a struggle most especially for the Gin Kings’ guards in Thompson and LA Tenorio at least until the final 30 seconds of the game where the two were still able to make their mark.
Thompson’s 3-pointer—the biggest shot of the game—was his only field goal in nearly 40 minutes of action while Tenorio’s five points all came in the last 18 seconds of the game.
Tenorio went 5-of-6 from the free throw line to ice the game.
Thompson, who had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, hit the clutch three from the right corner that came just five days after sinking a last-second triple on the opposite end to propel Ginebra past Meralco and into the championship round inside the bubble.
Stanley Pringle carried much of the scoring load for the Kings with 34 points that went with six rebounds and eight assists.
Aljon Mariano also stepped up with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and nine rebounds.
Roger Pogoy fired 38 points built on seven triples while Poy Erram added 11 points and 11 rebounds for TNT, which missed the services of star guard Ray Parks.
Parks, who leads the league in the statistical race, was sidelined due to a calf strain.
Ginebra goes for a 3-0 lead on Friday night.