SMART Clark Giga City - Barangay Ginebra is now on the verge of ending a 13-year drought in the PBA All-Filipino tourney.
The Gin Kings bounced back strong from their 21-point blowout loss the last time out and closed in on the bubble crown with a 98-88 trouncing of the TNT Tropang Giga Sunday at the AUF Sports Center Powered by Smart 5G.
Recalibrating after their 67-88 Game Three loss, the Kings dished out what their coach felt as their best game in the entire bubble play and went on to take the commanding 3-1 series lead.
They go for the clincher in Game Five Wednesday. Game Six, if necessary, is on Friday.
The Kings dominated from inside and out, with Japeth Aguilar running a dunk show and the Ginebra gunners raining down treys to highlight their progress, foiling TNT's bid for an equalizer.
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Coming back from a brief respite in the fourth, LA Tenorio pumped in big shot after big shot to close out their awesome Game Four job.
"He (Tenorio) was really calm under pressure. RR Pogoy was making incredible shots and they're getting pumped up. It's hard to respond but that's what LA did," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Tenorio stopped the Tropang Giga on their tracks with back-to-back triples described by the Ginebra mentor as "cold blooded."
From as many as 18 points down, TNT, anchored by Pogoy who finished with a game-high 34, rallied to within three, but Tenorio came out to quash an uprising.
The Ginebra chief playmaker fired four three-pointers in all and finished with a total of 22 points that went with six assists, three steals and two rebounds.
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Aguilar also piled up 22 markers, including a number of powerful jams, while Stanley Pringle and Scottie Thompson contributed 16 and 11, respectively.
Thompson had a near triple double as he also came through with 11 rebounds and nine assists.
In what's really their best game in the series, the Kings led for the most part and had little trouble dispatching a TNT side stymied by the continued sidelining of Bobby Ray Parks and the possible addition of Jayson Castro to their casualties.
Castro was helped to their bench in the third quarter never to return. (SB)
The Scores:
GINEBRA 98 - Tenorio 22, Aguilar 22, Pringle 16, Thompson 11, Devance 8, Dillinger 7, Chan 6, Caperal 6, Mariano 0.
TNT 88 - Pogoy 34, Erram 19, Rosario 16, Enciso 10, Reyes 3, Semerad 2, Castro 2, Vosotros 2, Washington 0, De Leon 0, Montalbo 0.
Quarters: 17-14; 49-39; 76-60; 98-88.
