Barangay Ginebra overcomes Converge, books ticket to semis

Barangay Ginebra overcame Converge, 88-80, on Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.

Early in the fourth period, Ginebra led by as much as 16, 75-59, before the FiberXers trimmed their deficit to within seven, 83-76, with 1:29 left in regulation. Converge had several chances late in the game but Alec Stockton was called for a personal foul and a technical foul to put Abarrientos on the line. Eventually, he made another jumper to give Barangay Ginebra a 10-point lead before Stockton buried a four-pointer to put a glimmer of hope for the FiberXers' chances.

Eventually, free throws from Abarrientos sealed the victory for Barangay Ginebra.

Abarrientos had 21 points, four assists, and three steals, while Japeth Aguilar posted a double-double of 19 points, 13 boards, three blocks, and two assists.

The twin towers of Converge Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar had 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Stockton had 12 points.

Barangay Ginebra will face San Miguel in the best-of-seven semis and for head coach Tim Cone, they just have to take the mighty Beermen if they want the All-Filipino crown.

"We always say, if you're going to win All-Filipino, you have to go through San Miguel at some point, whether in the quarters or semis or finals. That's the runway we've been given, so that's the runway we got to go through," Cone said.

Scores:

Barangay Ginebra 88 – Abarrientos 21, J.Aguilar 19, Malonzo 14, Holt 13, Rosario 10, Pinto 5, Thompson 3, Ahanmisi 3, David 0, Adamos 0.

Converge 80 – Arana 15, Baltazar 13, Stockton 12, Winston 10, Garcia 8, Racal 8, Caralipio 6, Corpuz 4, Delos Santos 2, R.Santos 2, B. Santos 0, Suerte 0.

Quarters: 21-26, 49-41, 73-59, 88-80.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News