Japeth Aguilar saved the day for Ginebra on Friday night, knocking down the game-winning bucket in a nail-biting 101-99 victory over Blackwater in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
With the clock winding down and every shot counting, Aguilar calmly sank a clutch baseline basket off a slick pass from Scottie Thompson, leaving just three seconds on the clock. His heroics sealed the win and sent Ginebra fans into celebration mode.
Earlier, NLEX made franchise history by securing its longest winning streak yet.
The Road Warriors extended their impressive run on Friday night, holding off a determined Converge squad, 88-83, in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at PhilSports Arena.
“We know Converge is a strong team. They’ve been playing really well, so we had to find that extra edge—and the players stepped up,” said coach Jong Uichico in the postgame press conference.
NLEX seemed to have the game in hand, leading comfortably at 76-60 heading into the final quarter. However, the FiberXers fought back, trimming the deficit to just three, 78-75.
With the game hanging in the balance, Robert Bolick delivered a clutch performance, draining a three-pointer and a two-point basket to push NLEX ahead, 88-80. Converge’s Justine Baltazar answered with a triple, closing the gap to 88-83, but that would be the final score as the Road Warriors secured their sixth straight win.
Bolick finished with an impressive double-double of 19 points and 10 assists. Xyrus Torres contributed 18 points and four rebounds, while Javee Mocon and Anthony Semerad chipped in 10 points each.
Baltazar led Converge’s effort with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Alec Stockton added 17 points and six boards.
Up next, NLEX faces Meralco in two days, while Converge looks to bounce back against Terrafirma on Wednesday, May 28.
The Scores:
NLEX 88 – Bolick 19, Torres 18, Semerad 10, Mocon 10, Bahio 9, Ramirez 8, Fajardo 6, Alas 5, Herndon 3, Nieto 0
CONVERGE 83 – Baltazar 21, Stockton 17, Winston 16, Arana 12, Garcia 9, Delos Santos 3, Suerte 3, Corpuz 2, Racal 0, Nermal 0, Caralipio 0, R. Santos 0, B.Santos 0
QUARTERS: 31-23, 52-42, 76-60, 88-83
