BENGALURU, India — In a solid turnaround in its conference, Barangay Ginebra advanced to the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals by ousting Blackwater, 101-96, on Friday night at the Ynares Centre in Antipolo.
The Kings jumped to a strong 33-19 start and led by as many as 20 points, and that cushion proved enough to withstand the Bossing’s late comeback attempt to clinch the No. 3 spot in Group B.
By overtaking Phoenix Super LPG in the challenging pool, the crowd darlings have forged a heavyweight best-of-5 showdown with San Miguel Beer, the No. 2 team in Group A, in the quarterfinals that begin Sunday.
(C) PBA Images
“First, let me say it was a tough group,” reflected head coach Tim Cone. “We had to work our way back and still made the playoffs as the third seed.
“It didn’t look that way early on, and we had to scratch and claw our way back. For that, I’m proud and pleased with our guys,” he added, pleased with how his charges changed their fortunes after dropping to 3-5.
Jordan Murphy led Ginebra with 22 points and nine rebounds. Troy Rosario made 17 points, 15 of which he poured on his ex-team in the first half.
RJ Abarrientos had 14 points as he’s still trying to regain the same form he showed when dropping 34 against Rain or Shine. Jeremiah Gray provided 11 points while Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar added 10 each.
“Maganda ang depensa namin, start pa lang ng game,” offered Rosario. “We made the stops to get the early lead, and we’re able to sustain the effort.”
(C) PBA Images
The Barangay finished the eliminations with back-to-back wins, its first winning streak of the season-ending tilt — the kind of momentum it’s hoping will be enough to pull off another deep playoff run
Soon, their attention will be on the ‘final eight’ as they start their clash with the Beermen on Tuesday, October 27, at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Kentrell Barkley and Sedrick Barefield, on the other hand, had 16 and 12 points apiece for the Bossing, who missed the playoffs for the 10th straight time.
The last time that the franchise reached the quarterfinals was during the 2022 Philippine Cup, where it got ousted quickly by the twice-to-beat SMB.
The Scores:
Ginebra 101 – Murphy 22, Rosario 17, Abarrientos 14, Gray 11, Thompson 10, J. Aguilar 10, Estil 8, Cu 7, Abis 2, Holt 0, Torres 0, Pinto 0, Go 0.
Blackwater 96 – Barkley 16, Barefield 12, Panopio 9, Murrell 9, Tratter 7, Una 7, Escoto 6, David 6, Ilagan 6, Mendoza 5, Demusis 3, Sena 3, Cruz-Dumont 3, DiGregorio 2, Austria 2
Quarterscores: 33-19, 63-47, 87-72, 101-96.
