Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio outdueled TNT Tropang Giga’s Roger Pogoy in a battle of three-pointers late in the game to tow the Gin Kings to a 98-88 victory Sunday, December 6, 2020 at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena & Cultural Center Powered by Smart 5G.
Ginebra, now leading the best-of-seven Finals 3-1, thus moved within a game of annexing the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup crown.
Ginebra led by as much as 17 points but TNT, led by the hot shooting of Pogoy came roaring back and almost caught up to the Gin Kings.
Pogoy drilled back-to-back triples to cut the Ginebra lead to just 3 points, 88-85, with 2:50 left to play. Tenorio countered with his own triple to extend the lead back to 6 points, 91-85, with 2:20 left to play.
Pogoy was again set up by his teammates as he drilled another triple to cut the lead back down to 3, 91-88. Tenorio replied right back with his own three-pointer to push Ginebra ahead by 6 points, 94-88, with 1:44 to go in the match.
TNT could not score after that and Scottie Thompson and Tenorio finalized the count, 98-88, after each scored a field goal.
Tenorio finished with 22 points (with 4 three-pointers), 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds to win Player of the Game honors. He said Barangay Ginebra was able to execute its game plan and was not thrown off by the pesky defense of TNT.
“This game we focused on our game plan. Hindi namin inintindi ang gagawin nila. We just focused on our game. Against TNT we cannot afford to be down. That was our mindset going into this game,” said Tenorio.
Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar also finished with 22 points. He also had 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Scottie Thompson missed a triple-double by one assist. He had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
Already missing Ray Parks TNT was dealt another blow when Jayson Castro limped out of the game with a hurting knee.
Pogoy led TNT with 34 points (with 4 three-pointers). He also had 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
Trying to complete a “two-for-one” TNT’s Pogoy missed a hurried layup attempt which led to a Ginebra fastbreak. An open Jeff Chan drilled a three-pointer which pushed the Gin Kings ahead by 3 points, 17-14, after the first quarter.
Tenorio drilled a three-pointer, added a field goal and a bonus free throw to extend the Ginebra lead to 8 points, 47-39, with 44 seconds left to play in the second quarter.
Thompson added two more free throws to cap the Ginebra 32-point explosion in that one quarter. The Gin Kings went into the halftime break with a 10-point, 49-39 advantage.
Pringle continued to pace Ginebra in the third period. With a second to go in the period he received an inbound pass, elevated to attempt a jumper, then changed his shot in mid stroke but drained the jumper just the same. Ginebra extended its lead to 16 points, 76-60, after the third quarter.
TNT came charging back midway into the fourth quarter.
Tropang Giga’s Troy Rosario received a pass just as he was cutting into the paint, then converted a layup to cap an 11-2 TNT run which cut the Ginebra advantage to just 8 points, 83-75, with 6:28 to go in the game.
The Scores:
Barangay Ginebra 98 – LA Tenorio 22, Japeth Aguilar 22, Stanley Pringle 16, Scottie Thompson 11, Joe Devance 8, Jared Dillinger 7, Jeff Chan 6, Prince Caperal 6, Aljon Mariano 0.
TNT Tropang Giga 88 – Roger Pogoy 34, Poy Erram 19, Troy Rosario 16, Simon Enciso 10, Ryan Reyes 3, Jayson Castro 2, Dave Semerad 2, Almond Vosotros 2, Jay Washington 0, Kib Montalbo 0, Samboy De Leon 0.
Quarter Scores: 17-14, 49-39, 76-60, 98-88.
