The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel solidified their status as the top seed entering the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals as they stamped their class all over the TNT KaTropa, 112-93, Sunday night at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The reigning, two-time champs finished the eliminations with a 9-2 record and will be heading into the next round armed with a twice-to-beat advantage. Ginebra will face the eighth-seeded NLEX Road Warriors this Tuesday.
“We certainly didn’t want to let up going into the playoffs. We want to get at full speed. It wasn’t really about winning as much as it was,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “We’re happy, but we know the hard work starts now.”
Justin Brownlee finished with a triple-double of 31 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists to lead the Barangay.
Greg Slaughter had 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists, Scottie Thompson flirted with a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds, and Japeth Aguilar produced 10 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Ginebra gained control of the match and never looked back in the third quarter, unleashing a 14-3 scoring spree – punctuated by an Aljon Mariano bucket – to turn a slim five-point lead to 16, 79-63, with 2:18 on the clock.
The Gin Kings would go on to lead by 22, 108-86, after a Kevin Ferrer triple with three minutes left to play.
Marqus Blakely led the KaTropa with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Roger Pogoy had 22 points, while Jayson Castro has seemingly regained his old form after the bone spur removal on his foot as he had 12 markers and 12 assists.
The now-out Texters missed the services of star guard Terrence Romeo for reasons yet to be known.
The Scores:
Ginebra 112 – Brownlee 31, Slaughter 25, Thompson 11, J. Aguilar 10, Mariano 9, Ferrer 9, Tenorio 7, Mercado 4, Dela Cruz 3, Chan 3, Caguioa 0, Caperal 0, R. Aguilar 0, Manuel 0.
TNT 93 – Blakely 23, Pogoy 22, Castro 12, Rosario 11, Reyes 8, Cruz 7, Trollano 4, Carey 2, Williams 2, Tamsi 2, Golla 0, Taha 0, Garcia 0, Paredes 0.
Quarterscores: 24-22, 54-45, 82-69, 112-93.
