PBA: Meralco to challenge San Miguel in Philippine Cup

By Robert Andaya

The results:
Game 1 – Ginebra 92, Meralco 88.
Game 2 – Meralco 103, Ginebra 91.
Game 3 – Meralco 87, Ginebra 80.
Game 4 – Ginebra 90, Meralco 71
Game 5 – Ginebra  89, Meralco 84.
Game 6 – Meralco 86, Ginebra 81
Game 7 – Meralco 78, Ginebra 69.
(Meralco wins semifinal series, 4-3).

SORRY PBA fans, but there’s no San Miguel Beer-Barangay Ginebra title showdown in the PBA Philippine Cup starting June 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen and the Gin Kings are widely expected to meet in the best-of-seven championship series of the centerpiece tournament of Asia’s first play-for-pay league

The two crowd favorites are the two most dominant teams during the elimination round and even the  playoffs.

But instead of another installment of the fabled  San Miguel-Ginebra sibling rivalry, it will be Meralco facing San Miguel in the finals.

Yes, the Bolts.

Meralco brought down Barangay Ginebra, 78-69, in their do-or-die Game 7 showdown at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas on Friday night.

It is the first time in franchise history that Meralco, now handled by coach Luigi Trillo,  reached the finals of the Philippine Cup in 15 seasons.

Meralco’s two Cs — Chris Banchero and Chris Newsome — had a lot to do with it.

Banchero came through with playoffs career-high 24 points, highlighted by 4-of-10 shooting from the three-point area, while Newsome  added  20 points,  six assists and two rebounds as Meralco rallied from an early 11-point deficit in the second quarter and completed a dramatic 2-3 comeback to win the race-to-four series.

With the win, the Bolts also booked their fifth PBA finals, including four trips to the Governors Cup title series.

Interestingly, the Bolts lost to the Justine Brownlee-led Gin Kings in all four title showdowns in the import-flavored conferences.

The Bolts also had the last laugh against the Kings in their last two playoff matchups – the previous one in the 2023 Philippine Cup quarterfinals.

Bong Quinto also had significant contribution while playing in the starting unit for the second straight game for Meralco as he finished  with 10 points, four assists and three rebounds.

And while no other Meralco players scored in double figures in the out-of-town encounter, the  Bolts managed to get the job done in defense by holding the Kings to only 32-percent field goal shooting — their lowest output in a game in the post-elims plays.

Not to be outdone, Brandon Bates and Raymond Almazan formed an impenetrable defense near the rim.

Bates contributed six of the Bolts’ nine blocks, while Almazan and Cliff Hodge added two and one block, respectively.

Bates also contributed six points and 13 rebounds, while Almazan added three points and 10 boards. Hodge chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.

Former PBA MVP Scottie Thompson carried the fight for Ginebra as he finished with another all-around effort of 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

But Christian Standhardinger was held six points below his 22-point average in the series.

The 6-10 Fil-German star  struggled with a 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-12 from the free throw line for 16 points in 41 minutes of action.

Stanley Pringle was the only other Ginebra player to finish in double figures with 13 points.

Veteran Japeth Aguilar had eight points and 10 rebounds.

But these are not enough for the Tim Cone-mentored Gin Kings.

The scores:

Meralco (78) — Banchero 24, Newsome 20, Quinto 10, Hodge 8, Bates 6, Almazan 3, Caram 3, Pascual 2, Maliksi 2, Mendoza 0

Ginebra (69) — Thompson 20, Standhardinger 16, Pringle 13, J.Aguilar 8, Pinto 5, Ahanmisi 4, Cu 3, Tenorio 0

Quarterscores: 15-20, 36-31, 62-51, 78-69