PBA: Barangay Ginebra escapes NLEX for QF bonus

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel escaped the NLEX Road Warriors, 103-99, on Saturday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup in Legazpi City, Albay.

With the win, Ginebra was assured a twice-to-beat advantage heading into the quarterfinals.

The Gin Kings led by as much as 13, 42-29, early in the second quarter before the Road Warriors stole the lead, 54-53, by the end of the first half.

NLEX was leading 79-68 past the halfway mark of the third period and ended the said frame with an 82-77 advantage.

However, Ginebra fought back in the final frame and led by four, 98-94, with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Anthony Semerad then drilled a triple to cut the deficit to within one, before Tony Bishop answered with his own trey and widened the gap for Ginebra, 101-97. 

Coming off a timeout, Deandre Williams-Baldwin tried to give NLEX enough room to catch up, but freebies from Stanley Pringle off Jhan Nermal's foul sealed the deal for Ginebra.

Bishop had 27 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists for Ginebra, while Christian Standhardinger had 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Jamie Malonzo posted 16 points, while Stanley Pringle and Maverick Ahanmisi chipped in 13 points apiece as Ginebra ended the elimination round with an 8-3 card.

Williams-Baldwin had 27 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists for NLEX, while Enoch Valdez led the locals with 17 points.

NLEX went down to 4-7 and will wait for TNT's result in their game against Phoenix Super LPG on Sunday as the Tropang Giga is currently at 4-6.

Scores:

Ginebra 103 – Bishop 27, Standhardinger 18, Malonzo 16, Ahanmisi 13, Pringle 13, J.Aguilar 6, Thompson 4, Pinto 3, Pessumal 3, Tenorio 0.

NLEX 99 – Williams-Baldwin 27, Valdez 17, Nermal 15, Semerad 14, Anthony 12, Bolick 8, Rodger  4, Miranda 0.

Quarters: 31-23, 53-54, 77-82, 103-99.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News