The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings have successfully secured a quarterfinals incentive in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup playoffs.
The Gin Kings sealed a Top 4 spot in the All-Filipino conference after they dominated the Rain or Shine ElastoPainters, 98-80, in their faceoff at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal on Sunday evening, June 15.
Ginebra moved up to 8-3 in the team standings, enough for the fourth and final spot with a twice-to-beat advantage, and they will be facing the fifth-seeded Converge FiberXers in the quarters.
Stephen Holt led the Gin Kings in scoring, putting up 27 points — 11 of which came in the third — on top of 12 rebounds and four assists, while also taking charge were Japeth Aguilar (18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists), and Jamie Malonzo (15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists).
“This is Stephen in practice,” hailed Ginebra head coach Tim Cone after the game.
“If you guys come to our practice, this is Stephen all the time. The effort that he brings on both sides of the floor, and he really leads by example.”
“Tonight, he had a good shooting night and led us, but it’s usually the other things wherein he leads us in: defense, getting to the boards, that’s the usual stuff,” Cone added.
On the other hand, the Elasto Painters absorbed their second straight loss and fell to No. 7 with their 6-5 record, and they will be facing the second-seeded NLEX Road Warriors in the playoffs.
Rain or Shine initially avoided an early collapse in the game, as they cut an 18-point, 40-22 deficit to two, 45-43 at halftime, but Ginebra managed to retaliate in the second half.
Already a 74-67 lead at the end of three quarters, the Gin Kings zoomed past their counterparts with a 15-to-nothing run, and this not only resulted in Ginebra leading by as much as 22, 89-67, but they also closed the door on the Painters eventually.
Adrian Nocum and Santi Santillan finished with 13 points each for Rain or Shine, while Anton Asistio and Mike Malonzo followed with 11 and 10, respectively, but these weren’t enough for their squad to bounce back from their previous loss to the San Miguel Beermen. (ABS-CBN News)
GINEBRA 98 — Holt 27, J. Aguilar 18, Malonzo 15, Abarrientos 11, Thompson 8, Rosario 8, David 8, Adamos 2, Pessumal 1, Pinto 0, Cu 0, Ahanmisi 0, Gray 0, Mariano 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 80 — Nocum 13, Santillan 13, Asistio 11, Malonzo 10, Mamuyac 9, Caracut 7, Clarito 6, Ildefonso 5, Datu 2, Norwood 2, Borboran 2, Escandor 0.
Quarterscores: 32-21, 45-43, 74-67, 98-80.