MANILA, Philippines – After giving it their all, Barangay Ginebra defeated San Miguel Beer 102-99 on Sunday, advancing to the PBA Governors’ Cup final series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings won the best-of-seven series 4-2 thanks to a team-high 25 points from Maverick Ahanmisi and a 21-point effort from Justin Brownlee, who made what may have been the game’s most important basket.

Tim Cone, the coach of Ginebra, took stock of his team’s arduous triumph and acknowledged the tremendous work needed to guarantee their spot in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals. With the victory, Ginebra advances to face TNT, which had already guaranteed an early berth in the finals, in yet another race to four matchup. Despite the win, Ginebra acknowledges the toll the semifinal series has put on both their team and their opponents, and the series will start on Sunday.

Cone emphasized how draining the match was and credited his guys’ victory to using every last bit of energy they had. He also praised Jorge Gallent, the head coach of the San Miguel Beermen, for his team’s perseverance during the playoffs. Prior to facing Ginebra, San Miguel had to overcome a number of obstacles, including a taxing quarterfinal series against Converge and participation in the East Asia Super League (EASL), which further increased their stress levels.

Cone believed that Ginebra’s modest advantage over their opponents throughout the series was due to the fact that they had a little more energy remaining. Ginebra’s team was well rested, which ultimately provided them the advantage they needed to finish the series, while San Miguel’s schedule had left them exhausted.

As they get ready for the finals, Ginebra knows that the series against TNT—a squad renowned for its tenacity and strength—will be equally, if not more, demanding. In the little amount of time until the finals start, Cone and his coaching team will have to make sure that their players recuperate psychologically and physically. Given that the championship is at stake, Ginebra needs to be ready for another fierce contest, knowing full well that TNT will put out the same amount of effort and determination to win the title.

Although Brownlee’s clutch three-pointer over June Mar Fajardo’s onrushing challenge gave the Kings a 102-98 advantage, SMB did give Ginebra a serious fright with their campaign on the line.

Fajardo’s block on Scottie Thompson gave the Beermen the opportunity to win the game after a charity split, but Jericho Cruz missed a three-pointer and EJ Anosike missed a four-pointer right before the final buzzer.

Tim Cone, the coach of Ginebra, acknowledged that his squad was struggling as their arduous semifinal series came to a close. He observed that they were “limping to the finish line,” a reflection of the players’ extreme physical and emotional exhaustion at the pivotal moments of their triumph. Cone voiced his worries that the team might not have had the stamina to win and that they might have been forced into a Game 7, which would have made an already taxing series even more stressful and exhausting.

Ginebra was fortunate to escape the dreaded Game 7, which was a relief to the players and their coaching staff. Despite the difficulties they encountered in the latter parts of the series, Cone was grateful that his crew managed to survive. Ginebra is now focused on the finals after securing the victory, but the near-miss serves as a reminder of the mental and physical toll that the playoffs can take on even the most experienced teams.

Scores at the end of the match

GINEBRA with 102 points for the win 

Individual Scores: Ahanmisi 25, Brownlee 21, J.Aguilar 20, Abarrientos 16, Thompson 10, Cu 7, Holt 3, mariano 0, Adamos 0

SAN MIGUEL with 99 points

Individual Scores:  Anosike 30, Fajardo 22, Lassiter 16, Perez 13, Cruz 8, Trollano 8, Manuel 2, Romeo 0, Ross 0

Scores per quarter

23-27, 46-49, 76-75, 102-99