DEFENDING champion Barangay Ginebra rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to roll back Terrafirma, 112-107, and boost its chances for a quarterfinals berth in the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Justine Brownlee, Christian Standhardinger, Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar combined for 94 points as the Gin Kings overcame another lethargic start against the upset-conscious Dyip and notched their fifth win in nine matches.

Brownlee finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, Standharsinger added 26 points and eight rebounds, Thompson had a triple double of 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and Aguilar had 19 points and seven rebounds for Ginebra, which wiped out a huge 42-63 deficit to turn the game around.

Thompson had his fifth career triple double before one of the biggest crowds to watch the PBA since the pandemic.

Overall, Ginebra outscored Terrafirma, 70-44 in the last two quarters to get the job done.

“We’re still trying to find ourselves and I think this game, this comeback, would go a long way in terms of helping us to find ourselves,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, whose team won for the second straight time after a four-game losing skid.

Juami Tiongson carried the fight for Terrafirma with 27 points, followed by Joshua Munzon with 23 and import Antonio Hester with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Dyip dropped to 2-7.

Meanwhile, PBA officials , coaches and players took timeout to welcome the golden Naismith Trophy, which made a short stop in the PBA during games of the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center over the weekend.

The Naismith Trophy, which is named after basketball inventor James Naismith, is the symbolic award given to the champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The trophy which stands at 60 centimeters high and made almost entirely out of gold, is currently in the country for the opening window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

The trophy arrived in the country last Feb. 20 and was brought in by FIBA Executive Director David Crocker, who later presented it to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al S. Panlilio and chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan.

The scores:

First game

Ginebra (112) — Brownlee 29, Standhardinger 26, Thompson 20, J. Aguilar 19, Tenorio 8, Pinto 7, Onwubere 3, Tolentino 0, Chan 0.
Terradfirma (107) — Tiongson 27, Munzon 23, Hester 18, Cahilig 10, Ramos 9, Go 7, Pascual 6, Daquioag 3, Calvo 2, Camson 2, Gabayni 0.
Quarterscores: 20-34, 42-63, 76-85, 112-107.

Second game

Magnolia (104) – Lee 26, Harris 26, Barroca 12, Dionisio 12, Jalalon 10, Sangalang 9, Corpuz 4, Wong 3, Reavis 2, Ahanmisi 0, Escoto 0.
San Miguel Beer (87) – Muhammad 27, Perez 18, Manuel 16, Lassiter 11, Fajardo 6, Tautuaa 5, Romeo 4, Ross 0, Enciso 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 25-23, 57-44, 81-62, 104-87.