Christian Standhardinger’s timely basket carried Barangay Ginebra to a thrilling come-from-behind 89-84 victory over the Meralco Bolts, bringing them closer to the finals on Sunday night in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Standhardinger scored an impressive 34 points for the Gin Kings, who now lead 3-2 in their best-of-seven semifinal series.
The Kings mounted a comeback from a 15-point third-quarter deficit. They need one more win over the Bolts on Wednesday to secure a spot in the finals alongside the San Miguel Beermen.
Maverick Ahanmisi contributed 13 points for the Kings, who finally gained the upper hand at 80-79 with Standhardinger’s crucial 10-foot shot with 6:10 left on the clock.
Japeth Aguilar also had a notable performance, recording a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
“We were down early on. I told the guys that we have to keep our heads up and move forward,” said Gin Kings coach Tim Cone.
Chris Banchero led the scoring for the Bolts with 18 points.
“I told them to get into the grind and get good shots,” added Cone.