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PBA: Ginebra outlasts Meralco, now a win away from championship

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/tvpatrol/10/20/ginebra.jpg"/><figcaption>With the absence of Sol Mercado, LA Tenorio needed to play a little more than he used to in Barangay Ginebra&#x27;s Game 5 win over Meralco on Sunday. PBA Media Bureau</figcaption></figure></div>Greg Slaughter scored 17 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and blocked 6 shots in his first start of these PBA Governors’ Cup finals to lead Barangay Ginebra to an 85-74 win over Meralco in Game 5 at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on Sunday.Slaughter, the conference best player whose contributions came as part of Ginebra’s second unit, was inserted into the first five for only the fifth time in the tournament and his presence enabled Ginebra to set an early defensive tone, with the reigning champions limiting Meralco to just 5 field goals in the first 15 minutes of the game for a 33-15 lead.“Greg made a statement right off the bat with some tough rebounds,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said.“He went in and sealed on and got physical with Durham and those were the two things, the biggest difference makers between Game 5, and Games 3 and 4.”Slaughter said: “We were gonna win this with team effort. It was just my night tonight.” But Meralco, as seen previously in this series, can be just as “never say die” as Ginebra, clawing out of that early deep hole to tie the game 62-all in the third quarter.With little help from its locals on the offensive end and Allen Durham overexerting himself to the point of exhaustion, Meralco fell by the wayside in the fourth, scoring just 4 buckets the entire quarter as Ginebra ran away with the win.After a game that saw 36,445 arrive at Philippine Arena, a PBA finals record and the league’s second highest gate attendance all time, according to chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, Ginebra now has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series and can close out Meralco on Wednesday.Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a quiet scoring night, while LA Tenorio, who was scoreless in Game 4, added 17 points playing 40 minutes and the entire second half with backup playmaker Sol Mercado out because of an injury.Durham tallied 27 points and 19 rebounds to pace Meralco in a game that saw both teams combine for a series-low 159 points.Each team missed 50 attempts from the floor en route to both squads finishing with shooting percentages that were just in the mid-30s.For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Barangay Ginebra has defeated Meralco 85-74 in Game 5 of PBA Governors' Cup finals at Philippine Arena Bocaue, Bulacan on Sunday.

Barangay Ginebra has defeated Meralco 85-74 in Game 5 of PBA Governors' Cup finals at Philippine Arena Bocaue, Bulacan on Sunday.