The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are now just a win away from the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals as they put out a dominant showing over the Alaska Aces, 105-86, Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Barangay have improved their card to 5-5 to gain a share of the sixth spot of the team standings with the GlobalPort Batang Pier, while the Aces have lost their second straight match and now carry a 7-3 slate.
Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 29 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. LA Tenorio supplied 12 points and five boards, while Japeth Aguilar and Sol Mercado scored 10 apiece and combined for 12 rebounds.
The match was expected to be a tight affair up to the end, but the Gin Kings changed the narrative right away. They ended the first quarter with a huge 30-16 lead, and the one-sided show in favor of Ginebra commenced.
Their lead swelled to as large as 33 points, 85-52, after Tenorio’s split freebies with 3:16 left in the third.
“I was surprised by what happened in that first half. We had a really good groove,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “I don’t know why, I don’t know what we’re doing that making us play as good as we are, but it’s working.
“I wish I know what it was so we can continue to do it,” added the decorated tactician. “But we’re playing really well, guys are sharing the ball well, our defense has really stepped up. We did the little things well defensively.”
Scottie Thompson was on the verge of a triple-double as he scattered six points, eight assists, and seven rebounds with two steals for the Barangay.
Vic Manuel led the Milkmen with 20 points to extend his personal streak of scoring at least 20 points to nine games, tying the feat Terrence Romeo made back in 2016 when he was still with the GlobalPort Batang Pier.
Jake Pascual was the only other double-digit scorer for Alaska with 11 points.
Import Antonio Campbell – a consistent cog for Alaska this conference with averages of 22.6 points and 14.8 rebounds – was limited to six points and eight rebounds. The 23-year-old also had a minus-25 rating.
Both teams will play their last elimination games on July 6, Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome. Alaska will raise the curtains of the doubleheader against the Phoenix Fuel Masters at 4:30, while Ginebra will battle GlobalPort at the 7:00 PM main-eventer.
The Scores:
Ginebra 105 – Brownlee 28, Tenorio 12, Aguilar J. 10, Mercado 10, Devance 7, Slaughter 7, Thompson 6, Caperal 6, Ferrer 6, Mariano 5, Chan 4, Aguilar R. 3, Cruz 1, Manuel 0, Caguioa 0.
Alaska 86 – Manuel 20, Pascual J. 11, Pascual R. 7, Galliguez 7, Campbell 6, Banchero 6, Potts 6, Casio 5, Baclao 4, Enciso 4, Racal 3, Exciminiano 2, Magat 1, Thoss 0.
Quarterscores: 30-16, 63-38, 90-58, 105-86.
