Locals take charge as Gin Kings edge Painters for finals berth

Game Friday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

7 p.m. – San Miguel vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – Justin Brownlee struggled for only 12 points after a big 44-point explosion but the Ginebra locals stepped up and proved they are more just  Brownlee's team as they beat out Rain or Shine, 96-94, in a gripping battle to make the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Monday night.

Scottie Thompson gutted it out to get crucial rebounds and make key defensive stops while LA Tenorio, Joe Devance and Greg Slaughter came through on the offensive end as the Gin Kings hurdled the Elasto Painters to set up a best-of-seven championship showdown with the San Miguel Beermen.

Curiously, it’s a duel between the fifth-seeded Ginebra team and the sixth-ranked SMB squad as both teams survived their scrambling starts in the midseason tourney. Ousted were top seed Rain or Shine and No. 2 Alaska Milk.

“San Miguel may well be the greatest team of all time, but we’re happy where we are and we’re happy to play San Miguel. The challenge is there for us, and I expect our guys to embrace it,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

Game One of what could well be a slam-bang title showdown is Friday, also at the Big Dome.

The Kings actually set the pace most of the way, but needed the heroics of Tenorio, Slaughter, Devance and Thompson to survive a tough battle at the finish.

It came down to the last possession, and Ginebra won it as Thompson stole Gabe Norwood’s throw-in to James Yap in the last 1.4 seconds.

Slaughter and Devance scored 19 points each, Tenorio fired 16 markers while Thompson snared 10 rebounds, took three steals and chipped in six points as Ginebra advanced to a 24th PBA Finals, with a chance to win an 11th crown.

“It’s a relief we’ll not play Rain or Shine in a deciding Game Five,” said Cone.

“What a battle it was. It’s an incredible battle. We led almost all throughout, yet they never went away. They’re such a team with great poise, and they’re really tough down the stretch,” Cone also said. “We’re fortunate there were crucial bounces that went our way. It’s too good not to play them in Game Five.”

The Kings were still very much in control at 79-71 before the E-Painters pressed their bid and roared ahead at 90-88 entering the last two minutes of play.

Tenorio drained a trey, Devance scored on a breakaway layup following an error by Beau Belga then Tenorio made another bucket as Ginebra regained the lead at 95-90 with 37.9 ticks left.

Still, the E-Painters refused to die.

But the Kings won’t be denied in the end through the big games of their locals.

“They had a good defensive job on Justin in the second half the last time. We knew they would do that again. We knew it was coming. But because of their shutdown defense on Justin, that opened things for a lot of players,” said Cone.

“And we like to think, we’re more than just a Brownlee team or an LA Tenorio team. We have weapons out there,” Cone added.