It took 53 long minutes, but Barangay Ginebra was able to accomplish its mission.
In a stunning cardiac tiff, the Gin Kings came out on top and outlasted San Miguel Beer, 124-118, in overtime after blowing a 26-point lead in the first half to equalize their best-of-seven finals showdown to 1-1 in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup and the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City, Quezon.
Following a 118-all deadlock with over two minutes left in overtime, Ginebra scored the game's last six points and shut down the Beermen, who lost June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross to disqualification, in the crucial stretch to preserve the victory.
Scottie Thompson was spectacular all-game long, tallying 18 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists and just barely missed a triple-double while Japeth Aguilar still top-scored for Ginebra with 23 points and Kevin Ferrer had 21, 18 in the first half.
However, it was Joe Devance who saved the Gin Kings in regulation as his putback of his own miss at the buzzer tied things up at 110 apiece, sending the game to overtime and giving his team a new lease on life.
Ginebra took a gigantic 67-43 advantage at halftime, but San Miguel came roaring back in the third, taking it 39-18, to get back into the game and only trail 82-85 heading the fourth quarter.
Game 3 is scheduled on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.