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MANILA, Philippines – Unfazed by a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, Ginebra pulled off another comeback win against its old rival.
The Gin Kings rose from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to turn back the Magnolia Hotshots, 85-81, in the 2025 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday, June 1, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win assured Ginebra of a top-four finish in the eliminations as they improved to a 6-3 win-loss slate.
Magnolia led 71-61 with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter before Ginebra stormed back with a 13-2 run to take the lead, 74-73, with six minutes remaining.
The Hotshots never tasted the lead again from there as Ginebra leaned on a timely Jamie Malonzo trey with under two minutes left to pull away, 85-79.
After Ian Sangalang chopped the lead to four at the 1:09 mark, Ginebra then kept Magnolia at bay the rest of the way, forcing a miss on a late Paul Lee four-pointer to seal the win.
“We persevered through adversity, and overall [we] just showed a lot of grit tonight,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said. “Tonight was just about our bounce-back ability.”
Japeth Aguilar had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Ginebra, while Troy Rosario contributed 15 markers on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting.
Stephen Holt also put up 14 points and 7 rebounds on top of Malonzo’s 11-point tally to help Ginebra return to its winning ways after losing to the Meralco Bolts last Friday, May 30.
Sangalang and Zav Lucero carried Magnolia’s scoring load with 16 points each, but no other Hotshots player scored in double digits in the loss.
Magnolia, despite the loss, still holds a share of the top spot at 7-2
The NLEX Road Warriors kept pace with Magnolia with a similar 7-2 card after booting out the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 105-95, in the curtain raiser.
With the win, NLEX ended Phoenix’s hopes of fighting for the eighth and last quarterfinal spot.
The Road Warriors also boosted their twice-to-beat bid with two games remaining in the eliminations.
Robert Bolick had another near triple-double performance of 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists while Javee Mocon topscored with 23 points for NLEX.
Meanwhile, the Fuel Masters dropped to 2-7 and bowed out of contention along with the Terrafirma Dyip, Blackwater Bossing, and the NorthPort Batang Pier.
Tied at 64 in the third quarter, NLEX zoomed ahead with a decisive 9-0 run to seize the driver’s seat and never look back.
Jason Perkins tallied 28 points for the Fuel Masters but all went for naught.
Other teams joining Magnolia, NLEX, and Ginebra in the quarterfinals are San Miguel, TNT, Rain or Shine, Converge, and Meralco.
The Scores
NLEX 105 – Mocon 23, Bolick 20, Bahio 15, Semerad 14, Torres 13, Nieto 8, Ramirez 6, Alas 3, Herndon 3.
Phoenix 95 – Perkins 28, Tuffin 17, Ballungay 11, Tio 11, Garcia 11, Rivero 6, Camacho 4, Jazul 3, Manganti 2, Ular 2, Cullar 0, Soyud 0, Alejandro 0, Verano 0 .
Quarters: 32-25, 55-47, 80-74, 105-95.
Second game
Ginebra 85 – J.Aguilar 17, Rosario 15, Holt 14, Malonzo 11, Abarrientos 10, Thompson 5, David 5, Pinto 4, Adamos 4, Gray 0.
Magnolia 81 – Sangalang 16, Lucero 16, Barroca 9, Laput 9, Lastimosa 8, Lee 6, Navarro 5, Dela Rosa 5, Alfaro 4, Dionisio 3.
Quarters: 22-24, 44-39, 59-68, 85-81 .
– Rappler.com
