VIDEO: Cliff Hodge lands an elbow on Scottie Thompson and gets ejected

 Brgy. Ginebra got a much-needed boost from LA Tenorio in Game Four as they cruised past  Meralco with a convincing 90-71 victory at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, evening the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup semifinals at 2-2.

Tenorio, given the starting role in a crucial game, delivered a vintage performance, contributing seven points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals to help level the best-of-seven series at 2-games apiece.

The team’s momentum was further fueled by Scottie Thompson, who broke out of his shooting slump with a strong showing. The former PBA MVP set the tone early with a three-pointer and finished with 15 points on an impressive 6-of-7 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

From Thompson’s opening three-pointer, the Gin Kings dominated the game, starting with a 16-2 run that resulted in a commanding 31-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The crowd darlings bounced back emphatically from their Game Three loss in Dasmariñas City, showcasing their dominance by establishing a 27-point lead, 87-60, in the middle of the fourth quarter.

“As bad as we played last game, we played that good this game,” said  Brgy. Ginebra coach Tim Cone during the post-game press conference.

“I just felt the energy was so much better. We started differently. We really butt out LA and Stanley to start, give us that veteran presence to come out and play, get into our execution,” he added.

Japeth Aguilar led Brgy.  Ginebra in scoring with 21 points, accompanied by 15 points from Christian Standhardinger and 14 points from Stanley Pringle.

On the  Meralco side, Chris Banchero and Allein Maliksi scored 14 markers each while Chris Newsome contributed 10 points.

The stage is now set for Game Five at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, where both teams will look to break the tie and take a crucial lead in the series.