Games today
Mall of Asia Arena
3:00 p.m.- GlobalPort vs. Barako Bull
5:15 p.m.- San Mig Coffee vs. Rain or Shine
With the clock ticking down to its final seconds and his team down by two, Japeth Aguilar took one dribble to his left then fired a well-challenged step-back three-pointer.
Game over.
The six-foot-nine Aguilar drilled in a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Barangay Ginebra Kings to an improbable, 83-82 win over the hard-luck Meralco Bolts yesterday in the 39th PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The magnificent play was reminiscent of Aguilar’s heroics last Dec. 8 where he also sank a game-winning triple in the final 1.1 seconds that powered the Kings to a, 97-95 win over Meralco’s sister-team Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.
Meralco is the lone team to defeat Ginebra in the tournament so far, scoring a convincing 100-87 victory in their first meeting last Dec. 3 and the Bolts appeared well on their way of scoring a repeat when they took an 82-77 lead with only 15.1 seconds left.
Jay-ar Reyes, another Ginebra big man with a decent touch from the outside, kept the door of opportunity open for the Kings when he knocked in a triple that made it 80-82 with 12.8 seconds left.
John Wilson, known as a deadly shooter, had the chance to put the Bolts out of harm’s way but missed two crucial free throws with 11.8 seconds remaining. With no timeout left, the Kings inbounded the ball in front of the Meralco bench.
LA Tenorio initially tried to look for his shot outside the three-point line but was shut down by Anjo Caram. Tenorio was forced to pass to Aguilar who sank the game-winning triple over the outstretched arms of Reynel Hugnatan.
Interestingly, it was also Tenorio who assisted Aguilar in their previous cardiac win over Talk ‘N Text.
Greg Slaughter led the Kings with 17 points, while Aguilar came away with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for Ginebra’s sixth straight win to cement its hold of the number one spot with a 9-1 (win-loss) record.
The Bolts succumbed to their fourth straight defeat and seventh overall in 10 games.
BOX SCORES
GINEBRA (83)- Slaughter 17, Aguilar 15, Baracael 14, Tenorio 13, Ellis 7, Caguioa 6, Urbiztondo 5, Reyes 3, Monfort 2, Helterbrand 1, Mamaril 0.
MERALCO (82)- Dillinger 16, Hugnatan 13, Wilson 12, David 9, Cortez 8, Caram 6, Sena 6, Allado 6, Guevarra 3, Hodge 3, Al-Hussaini 0. QUARTERSCORES: 27-22, 40-40, 59-60, 83-82.