Barangay Ginebra, arguably the most popular basketball team in the Philippines, booked a place in their first Finals in three years on Tuesday, beating San Miguel 117-92 to win their best-of-5 Governor’s Cup semi-final series.
The Governor’s Cup is the third and final of the Philippines Basketball Association’s three annual tournaments that comprise a season.
San Miguel, the winners of the season-opening Philippine Cup back in February, had extended the series with a 101-72 win over Barangay Ginebra on Sunday.
But on Tuesday Barangay Ginebra, who went 8-3 in the Governor's Cup regular season, fought back to secure their place in a first Finals series since the 2013 Commissioner's Cup, a drought that spanned seven tournaments. In Game 5, American Justin Brownlee scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Barangay, while standout rookie Scottie Thompson – who was apparently named after Scottie Pippen – earned player of the game honours for his 24-point, 15-rebound effort on 10-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-7 on threes.
Former Philippines national team point guard LA Tenorio came through with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 10 assists, and Sol Mercado added 22 points. National team power forward Japeth Aguilar scored five points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.
Arwind Santos, the 2013 PBA MVP and an eight-time all-star, led San Miguel with 24 points. American import Elijah Millsap, who was a top-10 scorer during the regular season, disappointed with a 6-for-20 shooting effort that yielded 18 points. National team big man June Mar Fajardo also was muted, with just seven points, all on free-throws, with 12 rebounds.
In the Governor’s Cup Finals, Barangay Ginebra will be looking to break a longstanding title drought that dates back to the 2008 Fiesta (defunct) Finals, when the PBA staged just two competitions per season. It was expanded to three for the 2010/11 season. The Philippine Cup is followed by the Commissioner’s Cup and then the Governor’s Cup, each tournament lasting 11 regular-season games (all 12 teams playing each other once) and then play-offs.
With eight titles, Barangay Ginebra have the sixth-most in PBA history and fourth-most among still-active clubs. San Miguel (22), Alaska Aces (14) and Star Hotshots (13) rank ahead, as do defunct teams that were sponsored by Crispa, a now-defunct textile company in the Philippines, and Toyota.
In the Philippines, any continuity in a team’s name is largely tied to their sponsoring company, rather than location or nickname. Barangay Ginebra, for instance, have cycled through ten names since their 1979 founding.
Meralco, founded in 2010, have never before appeared in a Finals series. They went just 6-5 during the regular season but upset top-seeded Talk N Text Tropang Texters 3-1 in their semi-final series. They are led by Filipino-Americans Jared Dillinger and Cliff Hodge and American import Allen Durham.
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