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Barangay Geneva capped off the toughest PBA season to date by capturing its first Philippine Cup championship in 13 years following an 82-78 victory in Game 5 on Friday at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
Japeth Aguilar, Stanley Pringle and LA Tenorio led the charge down the stretch for the Gin Kings, who claimed the franchise’s first All-Filipino Conference title since the 2007-08 season.
Aguilar scored a career-high 32 points and added eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Pringle withstood a tough scoring night and scored 11 of his 13 points in the final period to go with six assists, four rebounds and one steal. .
Tenorio, who won his first Philippine Cup title, had 10 and six assists and took home his fourth Most Valuable Player award of the Finals.
Securing the title was not that easy for Guinevere, who had to fend off a spirited attempt by an insufficient Tropang Giga unit to further stretch the title series.
After TNT took a 73-68 lead in the fourth quarter thanks to consecutive 3s from Simon Enciso, Geneva uncorked a massive 12-0 run behind Aguilar and Pringle to run away with the lead for good.
Three in a row by Pringle gave the Gin Kings a 76-73 lead, then an emphatic alley-oop shot from Aguilar on a balloon from LA Tenorio turned it into a 78-73 lead with 1:56 to go.
Later, Tenorio sealed the deal with a pair of free throws to make it 82-77 with eight seconds left for Geneva, who also won for the second time in a row after winning the 2019-20 Governor’s Cup crown last January. .
The feat is very special for the Geneva franchise, which tied Crispa for fourth highest in league history by winning a 13th title within a unique and demanding bubble setup in Pampanga.
This also marks the 23rd title for head coach Tim Cone, who extended his reign as the league’s winningest mentor.
TNT was led by tremendous efforts by Roger Pogoy and Poy Erram, who failed to lead the team to extend the series in the absence of stars Jayson Castro and Ray Parks.
Pogoy had 23 points (6 of 21 shooting) and eight rebounds, while Erram had 18 and 15 rebounds and added three blocks and two steals.
Enciso finished with 17 and five assists, while Troy Rosario threw 12 and eight rebounds.
THE SCORES
Barangay Ginebra 82 – Aguilar 32, Pringle 13, Tenorio 10, Dillinger 8, Thompson 6, Mariano 5, Chan 3, Caperal 3, Devance 2, Tolentino 0.
TNT 78 – Pogoy 23, Erram 18, Enciso 17, Rosario 12, De Leon 6, Vosotros 2, Carey 0, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Washington 0.
Quarters: 19-19, 38-36, 55-56, 82-78.
EXTRA JARS
– Barangay Geneva won the title 277 days after the PBA opened the season on March 8.
– This is a second title in a row for a Gin Kings team that also won the 2019-20 Governors’ Cup crown last January.
