Barangay Ginebra San Miguel bounced back from its loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with an 84-75 triumph over the Meralco Bolts on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The win improves Ginebra’s PBA Governors’ Cup standing to 2-2 and drops Meralco to 2-3.
What Happened?
Smarting from their listless effort against Rain or Shine, Ginebra came out with more energy and intensity, clamping down on defense right from the start to hold the Bolts to 10 points in the opening frame while scoring 16. The crowd darlings continued their strong play in the second canto, adding 26 more points as RJ Abarrientos found his groove. At the half, Ginebra had a 44-29 lead thanks to some unforgiving defense and a few missed open shots from the Bolts.
Ginebra seized full control in the third, pushing the lead up to 62-43 with three minutes left in what would turn out to be a 21-21 quarter. Meralco tried to bridge the gap and managed to crawl to within 72-64 with a little over seven minutes left. But without CJ Cansino, Jason Brickman, Bong Quinto, and Raymond Almazan, the Bolts just couldn’t muster enough firepower to mount a comeback.
Who Stood Out?
Abarrientos led the way in this one, breaking out of his early-conference slump to fire 27 big points on 10-for-17 shooting spiked by three treys. Riley Grigsby also bounced back, putting up 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
For Meralco, Antonio Hester tried to carry the fight, tallying 24 markers and 18 boards. Chris Banchero added 15 with 5 dimes.
3 Keys to the Game
- Shooting. There was a vast difference in shooting for the two teams, with Ginebra making 42.6% of their shots and Meralco hitting just 33.7%. Part of that is a credit to Ginebra’s aggressive defense, while part of it is due to the Bolts missing even open shots.
- Starters. Ginebra’s starting unit outplayed Meralco’s, with Abarrientos and Grigsby doing much of the heavy lifting. Hester tried his best, but he just didn’t get that much help.
- Injuries. While the barangay still didn’t have its heart and soul in Scottie Thompson, Meralco was without four key players—Cansino, Brickman, Quinto, and Almazan. Brickman and Cansino make up the Bolts’ starting backcourt, while Quinto is a reliable player off the bench.
Next Up for the PBA
Saturday, August 1, 2026 | SM Mall of Asia Arena
NLEX Road Warriors vs. Converge FiberXers (5:15 p.m.)
San Miguel Beermen vs. TNT Tropang 5G (7:30 p.m.)
