By REYNALD MAGALLON
A Christmas Day win – in a true Never-Say-Die fashion – successfully delivered by RJ Abarrientos, Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson for their legion of fans.
Abarrientos and Brownlee provided the spark in the second half while Thompson put on the finishing touches with the game-winning triple as Barangay Ginebra completed a 22-point comeback to edge Magnolia, 95-92, in the Manila Clasico at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 25.
With the Kings looking like going nowhere in the final possession in the last 22 seconds, Abarrientos took matters into his own hands and drove hard to the basket.
Already with a huge second half performance, the rookie guard was naturally greeted by the Hotshots’ swarming defense but he found a way to kick the ball out to Thompson who had been waiting from the left corner.
Wide open, Thompson, who was scoreless in the final frame, drained the booming triple just as the game clock expired – much to the delight of most of the 12,198 Christmas Day crowd.
Abarrientos conspired with Brownlee in leading the comeback as they almost outscored the entire Magnolia team, 36-37, in the second half.
The rookie guard had 17 of his 20 points in the last two quarters while Brownlee poured 19 of his 28 in the same stretch. Brownlee added seven points and five assists while Abarrientos also chipped in five assists and three steals.
Troy Rosario also shone in his first Manila Clasico with 15 points and eight rebounds while Thompson finished with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Ricardo Ratliffe wound up with a double-double of 17 points and 19 rebounds but went down the drain as the Hotshots failed to protect a huge 76-54 lead in the third frame.
Meanwhile,
Jordan Heading waxed hot and fired 30 points as Converge seized control from start to finish en route to a Christmas Day 110-94 victory over Meralco.
Shrugging off the distractions brought by the holiday celebrations, the FiberXers were laser focused to open the game after unloading a blistering 22-6 start that set the tone to the wire-to-wire win.
Converge also showed poise and fended off repeated comeback attempts from the depleted but hard-fighting Bolts to end the year on a four-game winning streak and at the fourth spot of the standings with a 6-2 record.
Heading was brilliant all-game long, firing at least seven points in each of the four quarters – highlighted by four triples to go with eight assists, six rebounds and a steal.
Import Cheick Diallo provided the perfect inside complement to Heading’s outside threat with a double-double of 24 points and 19 rebounds laced with three assists and two blocks.
Justine Baltazar, seemingly already getting the hang of playing under the bright lights of the PBA, had his best scoring night with 16 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists while Schonny Winston and Alec Stockton had 11 and 10, respectively.
