The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel have assured themselves of a slot in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals as they added to the Meralco Bolts’ woes, 111-105, Sunday night at the Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.
Aside from earning a ticket to the next round, the Gin Kings have also solidified their hold on the top spot as they collected their fourth straight win to go 7-1. On the other hand, the Bolts lost their fifth game in a row and are now 1-5.
However, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone doesn’t want to feel so satisfied with their achievement. “I’ve been here before. We were on top of the standings but we got knocked out in the quarterfinals,” he recalled.
“Don’t wanna get too happy,” added Cone with a grin.
Justin Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar were at the forefront of the Barangay’s attack with 31 points apiece on a combined 23-of-42 shooting from the field. The frontcourt tandem also connived for 14 rebounds and had a block apiece.
“It’s not about one guy coming out every night, it’s about other guys coming out. Guys are stepping up,” said Cone.
The Gin Kings had to come back to bag home the win. From a 72-64 deficit in the third canto, Ginebra made a stunning 15-0 scoring blitz – ended by LA Tenorio’s triple – to take a 79-72 advantage with 11:31 remaining in the fourth.
The Barangay would not relinquish their advantage the rest of the way. They would go on to lead their rivals by as many as 14 points, 102-88, after Aguilar’s mid-range jumper off a Kevin Ferrer assist with 3:52 left in the game.
The Orangemen still tried to fight back late in the game and sliced the deficit to just a single digit a few times, but LA Tenorio’s freebies were enough to keep Meralco at bay. Tenorio finished with 18 markers.
Allen Durham paced the Bolts with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists. Chris Newsome added 25 points, six caroms, and six dimes.
The Gin Kings will look to sustain their run versus the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Saturday, October 13, in Lucena, Quezon, while the Bolts will face the NorthPort Batang Pier on Friday, October 12, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
Ginebra 111 – Brownlee 31, Aguilar 31, Tenorio 18, Caperal 8, Thompson 8, Chan 6, Ferrer 4, Mariano 3, Caguioa 2.
Meralco 105 – Durham 36, Newsome 25, Canaleta 11, Salva 11, Hodge 10, Amer 6, Caram 2, Hugnatan 2, Bono 2, Lanete 0, Jamito 0, Tolomia 0.
Quarterscores: 23-24, 46-48, 75-72, 111-105.
