The comeback genes of Barangay Ginebra didn’t fail to show up when it mattered the most.
The Kings lived up to their “Never-Say-Die” mantra, climbing back from a 15-point deficit to take the pivotal Game 5, 89-84, in their best-of-seven semifinals series in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, May 26.
Christian Standhardinger was virtually unstoppable inside the paint, dropping 34 points to go along with his 10 rebounds and five assists to put Ginebra on the verge of its first all-Filipino Finals since it ruled the same conference in 2020.
Ginebra can close out the series and join San Miguel Beer in the Finals in Game 6 on Wednesday, May 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Unlike in Game 2 when Standhardinger erupted with 41 points but ended up losing after barely getting any contributions from the rest of his team, the Kings big man got ample support with frontcourt partner Japeth Aguilar adding 10 points and 12 rebounds and Maverick Ahanmisi adding 13 points.
Trailing 59-44 early in the third frame, the Kings came alive and got things going behind a fiery 12-2 run to cut the deficit down to just five, 59-54 – much to the delight of the Ginebra faithful who braved through the Manila rain.
The run didn’t stop there as an LA Tenorio triple ended the quarter with the Kings only staring at a three-point deficit and giving the good-sized crowd a lot to cheer for Ginebra.
Tenorio tied the game at 71-all early in the payoff period but Meralco responded and regained its footing 79-73. That, however, hardly discouraged Ginebra which unloaded a back-breaking 14-3 rally to take the lead for good.
Chris Banchero had 16 points in the first half but since then slowed down to finish the contest with 18 points. He paced Meralco alongside the 17 points of Chris Newsome. Cliff Hodge 14 points and eight rebounds to his name while Allein Maliksi chipped in 13 in a losing effort.
