Game 5 between the San Miguel Beermen and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum would determine who moves one win away from nailing a Finals berth in the PBA Philippine Cup. And it lived up to expectations, with both teams giving it their all to get that all-important win. In the end, it was San Miguel that moved to the proverbial hill after hacking out a 115-109 victory over Ginebra to take a 3-2 series lead.
What Happened?
The importance of Game 5 showed in the first quarter, as neither team gave an inch, leading to a 26-25 start in favor of Ginebra. But San Miguel began turning up the heat in the second quarter, outgunning the crowd darlings, 33-23, to take a 58-49 lead into intermission.
The Beermen seized control after three, extending their lead to 90-78 heading into the fourth. San Miguel was still ahead, 111-99, with 3:15 left when Ginebra launched a last-gasp rally and cut the lead to 111-109. The defending champs survived, though, making just enough clutch plays to fend off the rally.
Who Stood Out?
Chris Ross dished out another Playoff Ross special as he did all the little things and made the winning plays, like forcing a crucial turnover and grabbing a game-sealing offensive rebound in the waning seconds. He finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks while being San Miguel’s steadying hand. June Mar Fajardo played like an MVP as well, putting up 21 points and 11 rebounds and also making two crucial free throws in the midst of Ginebra’s last-ditch rally.
Ginebra, meanwhile, leaned on Scottie Thompson once more, and he delivered 20 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. However, he couldn’t get enough help from his teammates, especially with RJ Abarrientos going 6-for-18 to score his 18 markers.
3 Keys to the Game
- Three-point shooting. San Miguel rained treys on Ginebra in Game 5, drilling 14 of their 31 attempts. Crucially, the Beermen made six triples in the third and three more in the fourth to extend the lead to as much as 17 before Team NSD launched their last-ditch rally.
- Offensive rebounding. San Miguel shot 47.7% overall in Game 5, which in most cases would be enough to win. Aside from that strong shooting, the Beermen also got extra possessions as they won the rebounding battle by a mile, 23-13, and outscored Ginebra 17-6 in second-chance points as a result.
- Interior scoring. With Fajardo looking more like his MVP self, San Miguel also got plenty of opportunities inside, resulting in a 52-34 advantage in points in the paint.
Next Up for the PBA
With TNT ending its semis series against Meralco, the PBA Philippine Cup will have one Game 6 only on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen will look to seal a Finals rematch with the TNT Tropang 5G when they take on Ginebra for the sixth time in two weeks.
Tipoff between Ginebra and San Miguel will be at 7:30 p.m.
