SYDNEY Onwubere finished what he started, enabling Barangay Ginebra to eke out an 81-80 overtime cliffhanger over Blackwater Wednesday in the PBA On Tour at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
Onwubere's credited putback off a Nards Pinto miss proved to be the decisive basket as it gave the Gin Kings the one-point lead that stood up to the end when the Bossing failed to come up with the winning play.
Tyrus Hill's missed free throws in the last 0.5 seconds punctuated that Blackwater breakdown and preserved Onwubere's 25-point, 11-rebound performance that started when he scored 19 first half points in the match presented by Arena Plus and sponsored by Bingo Plus.
For the 29-year-old Fil-Nigerian, he was merely pouncing on the opportunity to show his wares in the absence of several Ginebra stalwarts like Christian Standhardinger, Japeth Aguilar and Stanley Pringle.
"We feel really blessed, na mabigyan ng pagkakataon to play. Kasi this is our chance na makapagpakita and of course para mahasa din 'yung talent namin," said Onwubere, who went into the game averaging just 3.0 points.
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"Ang sinasabi lang sa amin ni coach Richard (del Rosario), dapat i-take namin itong opportunity na ito. Huwag naming tingnan na wala 'yung veterans namin, na ito 'yung pagkakataon namin," added Onwubere.
"So he's really pushing us to have confidence."
Another Gin King who seized the moment and helped them jack their record to 2-3 was Jeremiah Gray, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Pinto, whose drive atoned for an earlier miss, tied the count at 77-all and forced OT, had 13 points on top of five assists.
James Sena's 18 points and Troy Rosario's 12 points and 11 rebounds paced Blackwater, which dropped into a tie with idle Terrafirma at 3-3.
The Bossing seemed to have the game wrapped up when Rosario's drive gave it a two-point lead in the last 15 seconds of regulation and Pinto missed a short stab in the ensuing play.
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But Rashawn McCarthy issued a bad inbounds pass to Rosario, paving the way for Pinto's equalizer.
Sena's turnaround jumper and Rosario's charity split put Blackwater ahead, 80-77, but Von Pessumal countered with his own freebies before Onwubere was given the go-ahead putback following a rebounding battle with Rosario. (NC)
