Basketball
Ginebra finally topples TNT, captures PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown
Ginebra finally tore the script apart this time and wrote itself as the victors over TNT after taking the 88-76 decision in Game 7 of the Finals to capture the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup crown, Wednesday night.
No longer wanting to become a mere footnote after losing in their last three championship bouts versus the Tropang 5G, the Kings turned it around with a 14-0 rally abridging the third and fourth quarters to take the 70-63 lead.
They’d never let up since, with Nards Pinto and Justin Brownlee adding on to the lead while the opposition struggled to find any more rhythm, with Chris McCullough himself going 1-of-6 during three straight trips to the line.
(C) PBA Images
McCullough made up for it by pulling his side to within three, as they tried to take advantage of RJ Abarrientos being benched for an F1. It proved to be their last stand, however, as Pinto hit a trey for the 80-74 lead with 3:04 to go.
The newly minted BPC was then brought back into the match after his three-minute stay on the sidelines, and went on to knock down a heavy trey from the top of the key to widen the spread to 83-74 with exactly two minutes left to play.
The pro-Ginebra crowd of 24,517 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena then erupted in jubilation, as it became a coronation waiting to happen from that point.
Misses by the Tropa from deep, together with Brownlee’s split from the line, Scottie Thompson’s alley-oop from Abarrientos, and Troy Rosario’s jam inside the final 39.9 seconds, proved enough to seal the gold for the SMC franchise.
(C) PBA Images
“Any seventh game is a really hard game to play. I mean, the players are beat up through the first six and through the semifinals. We didn’t have any days off for three weeks. It was really a game of attrition,” said Coach Tim Cone.
“It really comes down to who can defend and who can hit the big shots down the stretch. We hit some really big shots to get ahead … we just battled,” added the 68-year-old, who’s now won a record-extending 26th league championship.
Brownlee top-scored for Ginebra with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists to win his seventh title, enabling him to finally surpass Sean Chambers for having the most titles by an import in Asia’s pioneering pro league.
“Ten years ago, I would never have thought I’d be still playing at 38 years old and winning championships,” said ‘JB’. “But these fans, they give me the energy to go out there play for them, play for my family and give my best.”
Thompson flirted with a triple-double by registering 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists on his way to earning PBA Press Corps Finals MVP honors, in the process becoming the second winner of the Ramon Fernandez Trophy.
“Naging motivation ‘yung struggles. Gusto ko lang naman is makuha ‘tong panalong ‘to, makatulong sa team,” said the 2022 MVP, who turned in another all-around showing despite suffering an eye injury a minute into the game.
Abarrientos, despite struggling from the field by making just five in his 23 attempts, finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
Rosario produced 13 points as well alongside seven rebounds, and that jam of his to end the game emphatically ended not just the team’s wait for glory but his, too, as he finally snared his first PBA title with his dream ball club.
Japeth Aguilar supplied seven points while Pinto added six–all of which he got from deep–as their collective effort helped the Barangay win its first chip since the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup and grow the team’s collection to 16.
“This never gets old,” Cone said. “It was a really, really tough two days just getting ready for this Game 7. There’s still that excitement. It’s not getting old.”
(C) PBA Images
McCullough, on the other hand, had 28 points and 22 rebounds for TNT in the loss that ended the flagship MVP franchise’s reign in the conference.
Jordan Heading had 21 points but could no longer buy any bucket in the final period, and the lefty guard’s struggles affected the squad as a whole.
Roger Pogoy, a strong candidate for Finals MVP honors had they won, was the only other player in double digits with 15 points, together with five rebounds for the Tropang 5G, who have lost their third straight championship series.
The Scores:
Ginebra 88 – Brownlee 30, Thompson 19, Abarrientos 13, Rosario 13, J. Aguilar 7, Pinto 6, Gray 0, Holt 0, Cu 0.
TNT 76 – McCullough 28, Heading 21, Pogoy 15, Oftana 5, Aurin 4, Nambatac 3, Galinato 0, Khobuntin 0, Williams 0.
Quarterscores: 18-16, 40-47, 68-63, 88-76.
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Scottie Thompson’s eyes widened upon hearing the announcement that he was hailed as the PBA Press Corps Finals MVP on the heels of Barangay Ginebra’s conquest of the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday night.
The star playmaker could hardly believe that he earned the nod from the men and women religiously covering the beat–it took some time for him to process the reality, even if he already has the Ramon S. Fernandez Trophy in his hands.
“Kasi itong series na ‘to, alam ko ‘yung struggle ko, alam ko ‘yung ups and downs ko,” he explained as the dust settled in their 88-76 victory over old tormentor TNT in Game 7 of the Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The former league MVP did struggle after a remarkable Game 3 showing last June 7, in which he finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to start in their 116-102 victory for the 2-1 series lead.
In the three games that followed, the 32-year-old scored a total of 13 points on a combined 4-of-24 shooting from the floor, compelling Justin Brownlee to do much of the heavy lifting to make sure that the Kings stay afloat.
(C) PBA Images
Given that personal skid, fans and observers alike came in with their takes for the Finals MVP winner, vouching for either newly minted BPC RJ Abarrientos or Troy Rosario since they also submitted good games during the whole series.
The former overseas import himself actually had 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting back in Game 4, the same night where Thompson only had four to his tally.
However, Abarrientos subsequently became a marked man on defense, and his numbers–particularly his shooting percentage–would take a dip.
Rosario, on the other hand, had himself a good Game 1 with 16 points and nine rebounds, but struggled to at least emulate as much in the next six games.
Still, the two earned themselves good cases for the coveted title, but Thompson would go on to secure it for himself following a Game 7 to remember.
The former NCAA MVP out of Perpetual saved his best for last in the series and finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, as he played a crucial part in their third-quarter reversal that put the crowd darlings up for good.
And lest we forget that he did all that despite suffering a painful cut near the eye following an inadvertent hit by Kelly Williams barely a minute into Game 7.
2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals Game 7 – Ginebra vs TNT – Scottie Thompson
“Thank God. I think the more bukol, the more panalo,” he joked, as he also suffered a bump on the head late in Game 1 of their semis series versus Rain or Shine. “Siguro, parang naging blessing na lang ‘yun para magising ako.
“Kasama sa laro. Aggressive lang din siya, aggressive din ako. Natamaan lang din talaga. Nasaktuhan. Daming bugbog ngayong series kaya sobrang worth it.”
Eventually, the Finals MVP honors would come his way, becoming just the second recipient of the Ramon Fernandez Trophy after June Mar Fajardo, who got his by steering San Miguel to the top of the Season 50 Philippine Cup.
“Nagulat lang ako. Bonus na ‘yun for me. Ang daming teammates ko na maganda ‘yung nilaro,” he opined.
“But truly blessed na naibigay sa akin.”
Winning the award–now his third–was totally unexpected, said Thompson, as he only wanted to grow his collection of PBA championships to eight.
“Kasi ang gusto ko lang naman, makatulong dito sa team at makakuha pa ng isang championship para sa team and para sa sarili ko,” he said.
“Kasi, ang tagal na naming hindi nakakakuha, at the same time na-stuck ako sa seven,” he added.
“Ang sarap pakinggan, nadagdagan ng isa.”
The post Through pain and slumps, Scottie Thompson finds sweet reward in Finals MVP honor appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Figuring in a grueling conference, Scottie Thompson rose above adversity to power Barangay Ginebra to the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup championship.
The 6-foot-1 all-around guard was named Finals MVP after leading the Kings through a hard-fought seven-game series against TNT.
Thompson averaged 10.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in the series.
Battling through injuries and physical play throughout the run, Thompson still helped Ginebra secure his eighth PBA championship.
2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals Game 7 – Ginebra vs TNT – Scottie Thompson
“Eto yung pinaka mahirap na nakuha namin na championship. Kudos sa TNT. Wala akong masabi kung hindi thank God sa championship na ‘to,” said Thompson.
He took several hits during the conference, including early in Game 7 on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Still, he delivered in the deciding game, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.
“This is my most unhealthy situation in a Finals. I’ve been through ups and downs and a lot of pain but it’s all worth it right now. Thank God na na-sustain sa series,” he added.
Thompson now holds three Finals MVP awards.
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It sure has been turning out to be a PBA Finals to remember, as what Chris McCullough boldly claimed prior to the heavyweight rematch between TNT and Barangay Ginebra for the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup title.
And the comebacking import himself is playing a huge part in it, especially after writing history together with Justin Brownlee in Game 6 on Sunday night–a bout that practically became a slugfest between the two exciting reinforcements.
Both men dropped 50-plus points for their respective teams, but it was ‘C-Mac’ who came out on top of the showdown after willing the Tropang 5G to a 98-90 victory to force a Game 7–and more importantly keep their title defense alive.
“Just to come out and be aggressive, take my shots and not shy away from the shots even though I’ve been missing a lot,” he said of his Herculean performance shortly after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The one-time Commissioner’s Cup champion with San Miguel dropped a career-high 53 points, 16 of which he made in the final period that included essentially the dagger four for the 94-86 lead with 1:52 that broke the Kings’ backs.
He shot an efficient 55.6-percent from the floor, and also collected 22 rebounds plus a pair of assists, a steal, and a block in an all-out effort.
(C) PBA Images
Brownlee, on the other hand, finished with 52 for back-to-back 50-point outings after dropping 54 in their Game 5 win–which in itself is a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in a very long while, per league stats chief Fidel Mangonon.
He’s the first player in about 37 years to have back-to-back 50-point games in the PBA Finals since Añejo Rum’s Carlos Briggs, who produced at least 52 in all five games of the 1989 Reinforced Conference Finals versus the Beermen.
McCullough and Brownlee have also become the first opposing imports to score 50 each in the PBA Finals since Game 4 of that very same series, when Briggs had 60 while Ennis Whatley made 50 in SMB’s 150-136 victory.
The way that they delivered in front of 22,731 fans at the Big Dome brought back into light the statements issued by the former NBA pro during the pre-Finals presser held last June 1 at the nearby Novotel Manila Araneta City.
“I think this is truly gonna be one of the PBA Finals that’s gonna be remembered for a long time. Great team, and we’re going up against a great player,” McCullough said back then, which indeed piqued the interest of those present.
Fast forward to now, and that take of his may have just been vindicated following the classic duel between hoopers who have known each other from way back, at a time when they were still starting out their own careers in New York.
Soon, they’re headed to a Game 7, which, others say, are the best two words in sports. Needless to say, McCullough is looking forward to it.
“It’s the last game,” he said.
“I feel like both teams will leave it all on the line. And at this point, our motivation is high, our momentum is good, and we’re playing good team basketball. But we still gotta finish the job.”
The post McCullough backs bold claim as TNT–Ginebra Finals turn into instant classic appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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