The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel proved to be too hot to handle for the Globalport Batang Pier, and are now bound for the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals with a 96-85 victory, Tuesday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra became the second team after the San Miguel Beermen that will move on to the next phase. Moreover, their entry marks their return to the semis since 2013, when they eventually finished as runners-up to champions Alaska Aces.
“I thought we defended well tonight,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone in the victory.
Justin Brownlee starred for the Barangay with a game-high 39 points spiked by seven treys, alongside nine rebounds. Japeth Aguilar also flirted with a double-double of 21 markers and eight boards. He also added two blocks.
From a slim 56-50 lead midway in the third canto, Ginebra broke away through a 20-1 outburst — powered by a barrage of triples from Brownlee, Thompson, and Kevin Ferrer — to thrash the Batang Pier, 76-51, with 1:19 on the clock.
The Barangay then never relinquished the huge advantage all the way to the end.
However, controversy marred the game late on, involving LA Tenorio and Terrence Romeo. The two were slugging it out underneath; Tenorio pushed Romeo, leading the latter to retaliate with a backfist to the former’s rib.
Romeo was then slapped with a flagrant foul penalty two and was sent out of the playing court with 3:28 left to play. He unceremoniously finished with 22 points on 7-of-21 shooting in 34:46 minutes of playing time.
“That’s just two tough guys going at it,” said Cone of the incident.
Tenorio, who was whistled for a technical foul for taunting in that scene, chipped in 12 markers for the Gin Kings. Scottie Thompson finished with a double-double of 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 12 rebounds.
Justin Harper led the Batang Pier with 29 points on 32 shots to go with 15 rebounds. Stanley Pringle supplied 16 markers on a 38 percent clip, while Bradwyn Guinto had 10 rebounds to compensate for his three points.
Ginebra shot 46 percent from the floor, nailing 11 shots from downtown. They also had more rebounds, 57-47. However, the Barangay had a measly 19 turnovers, which led to 26 points for the Batang Pier.
The Barangay will now wait for the winner of the TNT-Meralco quarterfinal series to determine who they will play in the semifinals.
The Scores:
Ginebra (96) -Brownlee 39, Aguilar 21, Tenorio 12, Thompson 11, Devance 4, Ferrer 3, Mariano 2, Ellis 2, Caguioa 2, Mercado 0, Marcelo 0, Helterbrand 0.
Globalport (85) – Harper 29, Romeo 22, Pringle 16, Anthony 5, Cortez 5, Guinto 3, Ababou 3, Mamaril 2, Maierhofer 0, Grey 0, Pessumal 0, Pennisi 0.
Quarterscores: 26-19, 46-33, 76-56, 96-85.
