Push Admin

Ginebra hangs tough to level series vs Meralco

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/sports/10/14/ginebra-101416.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">JayJay Helterbrand raises his fist after sinking a basket. PBA Media Bureau photo</div></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Vintage Helterbrand inspires Kings to victory</h2>(UPDATED) Birthday boy JayJay Helterbrand showed flashes of his old self while Joe Devance nailed a crucial turnaround jumper to help Barangay Ginebra squeeze out a hard fought 88-86 victory over Meralco Bolts in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals on Friday.The Gin Kings avoided falling into a 3-1 series deficit in their best-of-7 showdown by hitting important shots while holding down the Bolts in the final minute of Game 4. The series is now tied, 2-2.It wasn’t an easy win, however, for Ginebra, who saw their 11-point halftime advantage erased following a blistering 30-2 run by Meralco in the third period.“We played the way we want in the first half,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “But in the third quarter, I thought we didn&#x27;t play out there and was in panic mode for a while.”The Bolts were up by 16 points, 74-58, going into the payoff period when the Kings unloaded a 12-0 run. It was at this point where Helterbrand, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday, started hitting his shots.His dagger three gave Ginebra a 79-76 lead with 5:46 remaining in the clock. But the Bolts kept fighting with Allen Durham and Chris Newsome in charge.Barely three minutes were remaining when Reynel Hugnatan connected from downtown for Meralco to bring themselves within 83-85. Durham then sank a couple of free throws and tied the count, 86-all.Fortunately for Ginebra, Devance managed to score on a difficult turnaround jumper with 26 seconds to go.Durham had one last try from the three-point country, but missed his attempt.“That was a storybook game,” said Cone. “From my stand point, from a fan stand point it was fun to be a part of that game.”Japeth Aguilar, who wasn’t able to finish the game due to a hurt ankle, led the Gin Kings’ balanced scoring with 19 points. LA Tenorio added 12, while Helterbrand went 3-of-3 from the field for a total of 11 points.Import Justin Brownlee and Sol Mercado each scored 10 markers for the Kings’ second victory in the series.Durham had 34 points for Meralco, which also got 15 markers from Chris Newsome. Unfortunately, the rest of the squad failed to come up big numbers.<div>Box scores:</div>Ginebra 88 - Aguilar 19, Tenorio 12, Helterbrand 11, Brownlee 10, Mercado 10, Caguioa 8, Cruz 7, Devance 7, Thompson 4, Marcelo 0.Meralco 86 - Durham 34, Newsome 15, Caram 8, Al-Hussaini 8, Hodge 6, Hugnatan 5, Nabong 4, Uyloan 3, Amer 3, Faundo 0, Alapag 0, Guevarra 0.Quarterscores: 20-13, 46-35, 58-74, 88-86For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Birthday boy JayJay Helterbrand showed flashes of his old self while Joe Devance nailed a crucial turnaround jumper to help barangay Ginebra squeeze out a hard fought 88-86 victory over Meralco Bolts on Friday’s PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.