Scottie Thompson and Christian Standhardinger came through down the stretch as Ginebra denied a late comeback run by Meralco to take a 3-2 lead before the 18,251 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Thompson fell just a rebound short of his second triple-double in the finals, tallying with 19 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists, while Standhardinger chipped in 13 points, including the crucial six points in the final frame. 

Best Import of the Conference Justin Brownlee led Ginebra in scoring with 40 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks, while Arvin Tolentino contributed 16 points off four triples to go with four rebounds and three steals.

Come the fourth period, both teams were neck-and-neck before Meralco racked on a 15-2 run to trim the lead to just a point, 97-98.

But Thompson proved why he is the Best Player of the Conference, pulling out a crucial offensive rebound that led to his own three-pointer, capping a 7-0 blitz that gave Ginebra a 105-97 lead, with 2:17 remaining. 

Thompson then found LA Tenorio underneath the basket for a 109-101 advantage with less than a minute left as the Bolts failed to respond. 

Tony Bishop paced Meralco with 30 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and three steals Chris Newsome added 27 points and Aaron Black logged in 25 points, who are on the verge of losing their fourth finals duel against the Gin Kings. 

The Scores:

Ginebra 115 – Brownlee 40, Thompson 19, Tolentino 16, Standhardinger 13, Tenorio 10, Pinto 8, J. Aguilar 6, Chan 3.

Meralco 110 – Bishop 30, Newsome 27, Black 25, Maliksi 12, Almazan 6, Belo 4, Banchero 2, Hodge 2, Quinto 2.

Quarters: 25-22; 54-43; 82-73; 115-110.