PBA: Maverick Ahanmisi embodies Ginebra’s ‘next man up’ mentality

MANILA, Philippines—With some of Ginebra’s hitters misfiring, the Gin Kings flaunted their depth and drew a sterling performance from Maverick Ahanmisi in a win that clinched the crowd darlings’ return to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.

Ahanmisi unleashed a team-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field as Ginebra closed out San Miguel Beer in Game 6 of their semifinals showdown at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Article continues after this advertisement

“A lot of people stepped up tonight like Japeth (Aguilar) and RJ (Abarrientos) down the line but I think that’s what the characteristic of this team is the next man has to step up,” said Ahanmisi following the 102-99 win that arranged a finals rematch with reigning conference champion TNT.

READ: Ginebra eliminates San Miguel, sets up PBA Finals rematch vs TNT

Ginebra coach Tim Cone and Mav Ahanmisi after advancing to the #PBAFinals. @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/NHn1HypQlo

— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) October 20, 2024

“I think that’s the characteristic of this team: next man up. If Justin (Brownlee) has an off night, we have to help.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Veteran forward Japeth Aguilar and rookie RJ Abarrientos, who was coming off a 28-point effort in Game 5 on Wednesday, stepped up too with 20 and 16 points, respectively.

Ahanmisi picked up the slack with Justin Brownlee not having his usual explosive and efficient outing with 21 points on just 9-of-21 from the field. Stephen Holt was also held to just three points in 35 minutes.

READ: PBA: Ginebra crushes San Miguel, closes in on finals

Game 1 of the PBA Finals is on Sunday, October 27, at Ynares Center in Antipolo.

“It’s been a while and [I’m] definitely excited to be back in the Finals. It’s been a long time coming but I’m just glad we made it here ‘cause it was a tough series and tough playoffs so far.”

“Job’s not done yet so we’ll see what we can do in the Finals.”

View comments