Onwubere, Gray lead Gin Kings past Bossing

In the PBA On Tour on Wednesday at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City, Sidney Onwubere finished what he started, allowing Brgy. Ginebra to pull out an 81-80 overtime thriller victory over Blackwater.

The Bossing were unable to come up with the winning play, thus Onwubere’s credited putback following a miss by Nards Pinto proved to be the game-changing basket. It gave the Gin Kings the one-point lead that held up to the end.

Blackwater’s collapse was highlighted by Tyrus Hill’s missed free throws in the waning seconds, and Onwubere’s 25-point, 11-rebound performance—which began with his 19 first-half points—was maintained. The game was sponsored by Bingo Plus and presented by Arena Plus.

When numerous Ginebra veterans like Christian Standhardinger, Japeth Aguilar, and Stanley Pringle were out, the 29-year-old Fil-Nigerian just seized the chance to showcase his talents.

“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.

“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. So he’s really pushing us to have confidence,” he added.

Jeremiah Gray, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals, was another Gin King who grasped the opportunity and assisted them in improving their record to 2-3.

Pinto scored 13 points along with five assists, and his drive, which made up for an earlier miss and tied the score at 77 all, forced overtime.

Blackwater was led by James Sena’s 18 points and Troy Rosario’s 12 points and 11 rebounds as they tied Terrafirma for third place at 3-3.

When Rosario’s drive gave The Bossing a two-point advantage in the final 15 seconds of regulation and Pinto missed a short stab on the subsequent play, it appeared like The Bossing had the game in hand.

Pinto’s equalizer was made possible by a poor inbounds ball from Rashawn McCarthy to Rosario.

Blackwater led 80-77 after Sena’s turnaround jumper and Rosario’s free throws, but Von Pessumal fought back with his own free throws before Onwubere won the ball back after a rebounding fight with Rosario.

The scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 81 – Onwubere 25, Gray 22, Pinto 13, Mariano 9, R. Aguilar 8, Pessumal 2, David 2, Dillinger 0, Salcedo 0, Cu 0, Gumaru 0, Aurin 0.

Blackwater 80 – Sena 18, Rosario 12, Ilagan 10, McCarthy 10, DiGregorio 9, Casio 9, Ular 7, Hill 4, Suerte 1, Escoto 0, Ayonayon 0, Publico 0, Banal 0.

Quarterscores: 29-17, 47-38, 59-61, 77-77, 81-80.