Ginebra drops Meralco, secures no. 3 spot

By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings continued its winning run in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup following an 86-76 victory over the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gregory Slaughter led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds, Japeth Aguilar had 12 markers and eight boards, while Negrense Jeffrei Chan and Kevin Ferrer had 11 each for the Kings.
The victory increased the Kings’ record to 7-3 while also securing the no. 3 seed in the quarterfinals regardless if it wins or loses its final elimination round game against NorthPort Batang Pier on April 3.
From a seesaw battle in the opening half, the Kings gained control of the ballgame in the third period on inside conversions from Slaughter and Aguilar for its largest lead of 15 points.
The Bolts, however, attempted to capture a win in their final elimination round by coming to as close as 73-79 but timely hits from LA Tenorio and Slaughter restored a double-digit edge for the Kings.
Rookie Trevis Jackson tallied 18 markers, while Clifford Hodge and Rommel Niño Canaleta had 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for the 3-8 Bolts, which failed to reach the All-Filipino quarterfinals for the fourth straight year./ASC, WDJ