BARANGAY Ginebra asserted its mastery of Meralco, 91-87, on Wednesday in its final game of the eliminations of the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings held off an all-Filipino Bolts side in game where the second and third stringers played the bulk of the minutes in the fourth quarter.
READ Why Meralco import Akil Mitchell sat out game against Ginebra
By holding on late, Ginebra wrapped up the eliminations with an 8-4 win-loss record and clinched a provisional tie with Converge for third place in the standings.
The Bolts played without import Akil Mitchell due to back spasms and saw a three-game win streak come to an end. They slipped to 7-4 for fifth spot with one final match to play against Magnolia on Friday.
Ginebra won its fourth game over Meralco this season after its 3-0 sweep in their Governors’ Cup quarterfinal face-off, although this game was totally different from their previous clashes as starters led by Justin Brownlee sat out most of the second half.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone admitted the team is already gearing up for the playoffs where the Gin Kings will play in best-of-three series.
“It was an opportunity. This game was more of an opportunity for us to get ready for the playoffs,” said Cone. “So we wanted to make sure guys have not been getting a lot of minutes. You just don’t know what's going to happen in the playoffs.
"So, number one, you don't want your starters or your core to get injured in a game like this and going into the (playoffs), and you want to make sure that the guys who are not playing a lot of minutes have a chance to stay sharp in case something does happen in the playoffs. So that was basically our goal today.”
RJ Abarrientos had 17 points including two free throws with 13.5 seconds left to settle the final tally, while Brownlee had 15 points in 22 minutes and 30 seconds of play.
CJ Cansino scored 15 points while Raymond Almazan had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Meralco, which also sat most of its starters led by Chris Newsome.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 91 – Abarrientos 17, Brownlee 15, Holt 13, Rosario 13, Malonzo 9, Pessumal 7, Ahanmisi 6, J. Aguilar 4, Pinto 2, R. Aguilar 2, Thompson 2, Tenorio 1, Mariano 0, Cu 0.
Meralco 87 – Cansino 15, Almazan 13, Black 11, Newsome 9, Hodge 9, Quinto 8, Torres 5, Rios 5, Banchero 4, Pasaol 4 Bates 4, Reyson 0.
Quarters: 21-22; 44-42; 68-59; 91-87.
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