The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings blew an early lead but managed to secure a 100-92 win over the Meralco Bolts in Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Earl Scottie Thompson led the way with a conference-high 23 points, along with seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, and a block, giving the Gin Kings a 1-0 series lead.
Justin Brownlee contributed 23 points and nine rebounds, while Japeth Aguilar and Rhon Jay Abarrientos added 19 and 14 points, respectively.
Ginebra can clinch the series in Game 2 on Friday.
After seeing their early 12-point lead cut to 89-90 in the fourth quarter, the Gin Kings went on an 8-1 scoring run behind Brownlee, Abarrientos, and Thompson to establish a 98-90 lead.
The Bolts responded with a basket from Chris Newsome to cut the deficit to 92-98, but the Gin Kings answered with an inside conversion from Aguilar for a 100-92 count with 2:55 left in the game.
“It was really a tough game because Meralco is a good defensive team, and they made it difficult to execute our plays at ‘yung ang challenge sa amin if we can stay disciplined with our execution,” said Gin Kings assistant coach Richard del Rosario after the game.
“The players talaga…‘Yung grit nila, and I think we did a better job getting our rebounds, but it is going to be tougher (in Game 2); they (the Bolts) know what they are doing against us,” he added.
Chris Newsome top-scored for the Bolts with 20 points, Akil Mitchell added a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Jansen Rios contributed 13 markers off the bench.
The post Scottie Thompson steps up as Ginebra takes 1-0 PBA quarterfinals lead first appeared on Fastbreak.
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