Previews:
BARANGAY Ginebra proved steadier again in its war of attrition against Star, pulling off a 93-86 decision on Wednesday night to even their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at two games apiece.
Recap:
STAR shrugged off a late rally by Barangay Ginebra as it hacked out an 89-80 victory on Friday night to move on the cusp of reaching the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
The Hotshots banked on a breakaway in the third quarter where they outscored the Gin Kings, 22-10, to build enough cushion to withstand their late stand in the fourth period to pull off the win in Game Five of their semifinal series.
Rafi Reavis sustained his resurgence, tallying 17 points and 13 boards to lead the Hotshots, while Mark Barroca, Paul Lee, and Allein Maliksi also put up solid numbers for a starting unit that greatly outplayed their Gin Kings counterpart.
The Gin Kings’ starters failed to find rhythm, so much so that coach Ginebra coach Tim Cone turned mostly to his role players in in the payoff period.
PBA Feb. 17, 2017
EVENTS: Full Game Replay
Where: MALL OF ASIA
When: FRIDAY 17, 2016
When: FRIDAY 17, 2016
WATCH REPLAY: CLICK HERE
Rodney Brondial gave the Hotshots an early lift by scoring all his eight points in the first period, before PJ Simon too over in the second canto where he pumped in all but one of his eight points.
Japeth Aguilar led the Gin Kings with13 points, but was held scoreless in the second half where Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand sparked their comeback that fell short
Japeth Aguilar stood tallest when it mattered most, pumping in 12 of his 18 points in the payoff period before dishing out an assist to Jervy Cruz for the exclamation point in Game Four in front of a huge crowd at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The scores:
STAR 89 – Reavis 17, Barroca 12, Lee 10, Maliksi 10, Simon 8, Brondial 8, Melton 7, Pingris 6, Sangalang 5, Jalalon 2, Ramos 2, Dela Rosa 2
GINEBRA 80 – Aguilar 13, Mercado 9, Ellis 9, Caguioa 9, Helterbrand 6, Cruz 6, Taha 5, Thompson 5, Tenorio 5, Ferrer 4, Mariano 4, Marcelo 3, Devance 2
Quarterscores: 21-22, 49-45, 71-55, 89-80