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Ray Parks Jr. and Tropang Giga cut title hopes from Calvin Abueva and the Fuel Masters. —PHOTOS COURTESY OF PBA IMAGES
Scottie Thompson buried a game-winning triple and before he could catch his breath, he made it clear there would be no celebrations just yet.
“The job is not done yet,” the dynamic Barangay Geneva base said on national television.
However, he did a good job completing some of the homework.
His triple sealed Geneva’s 83-80 victory over Meralco on Friday night, sending the Kings to the PBA Philippine Cup championship series at the Angeles University Foundation.
Thompson finished with 20 points, the last three with less than a second left, when he converted a Prince Caperal pass to the corner into a championship walk. He also had 12 rebounds, the last of which came off the offensive glass, where he misfired Stanley Pringle for a 76-73 lead at the 1:52 mark of the game that greased the Kings’ path to 3-2. . series win. And, oh, he also added seven assists for Geneva.
“Scottie deserves that opportunity for all the hard work he’s been doing,” Geneva coach Tim Cone said after that game.
Thompson will have to work harder: Barangay Geneva faces Ray Parks Jr. and TNT, who reached the Finals of an all-Filipino tournament for the first time in eight years after tying Phoenix, 91-81, earlier in their own Game. 5 semifinal showdown.
Parks had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, leading a charge in the second half that ultimately deflated the Fuel Masters and sealed TNT’s 3-2 series win.
“It really got us to the Finals,” TNT coach Bong Ravena said of Parks, who has been the team’s strongest player in this semifinal series that came within five games.
Japeth Aguilar of Geneva and Cliff Hodge of Meralco battle for a rebound in a Game 5 duel won by the Gin Kings.
“It has matured. And we can really see it in his game. He really wants his teammates to look better. [Ray] He showed that he is a team player and not an individual player, ”added Ravena.
How mature? Parks returned to producing a high-scoring night without forcing anything. He made 9 of 18 shots from the field and finished with just one loss. He scored 22 of his total in the final two periods and joined Jayson Castro and RR Pogoy in a great run in the third quarter where TNT racked up leads of up to 17 en route to a Finals season.
Parks, however, passed the credit to his teammates despite the dominating performance.
“It’s not just me,” Parks told the Inquirer on the way to the team bus. “They are all, man. At the end of the day, it’s a five-on-five sport. My teammates trusted me. We really came through as a team. “
It’s going to be a monstrous clash between two teams that were favorites to win the title back in the preseason in January, when a freak injury to June Mar Fajardo in training camp practically knocked former defending champion San Miguel Beer out of contention.
TNT led the bubble tournament from the start, before Geneva took over the seed at the end of the knockout round. The Kings failed to close out the Bolts in Game 4, necessitating the knockout match, while Tropang Giga needed to overcome Phoenix’s 2-1 series lead to reach the Finals.
“We did our best. Some races have to end, ”said Phoenix coach Topex Robinson.
“The important thing is the memories and the learning experience here in the bubble,” he added. “Looking ahead, it is something we can continue. The experience, the adversities, the triumphs. There are so many things to be thankful for. “
Phoenix was left defenseless against a TNT defense that chained Matthew Wright, who was limited to 13 points on five shots of 19 at room temperature.
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