BARANGAY Ginebra secured the top seed in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup after trouncing Terrafirma, 102-80, on Monday night at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
A day after the team came under criticism for for its lackluster play in a lopsided loss to sister team San Miguel, the Gin Kings vented their ire on also-ran Dyip in a game that was all but over after a fiery second-quarter run.
Ginebra was back at full strength with Japeth Aguilar finishing with 21 points on a perfect 10-of-10 from the field, and Scottie Thompson flirting with a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
With the win, the Gin Kings ended their elimination-round campaign with an 8-3 win-loss record to clinch the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against whichever ends up as the eighth seed.
The Dyip dropped to 1-9 after playing without rookie Roosevelt Adams and Rashawn McCarthy due to injuries.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone was glad to see his players atone for the disappointing loss to San Miguel, which sparked accusations of connivance between sister teams.
“We knew we didn’t play the last game. I knew that they want to bounce back and come back hard. We knew how important this game was for us," Cone said.
"We went to the San Miguel game, we talked about it being a twice-to-beat situation for us. Obviously, you don’t want to lose the first game because you don’t know what’s going to happen in the second one,” said Cone.
The Kings broke loose behind a 19-0 run that Thompson spearheaded with two lay-ups for a 47-30 lead. Thompson also connected with Aguilar for a slam as the Gin Kings raced ahead, 49-32.
Ginebra’s lead reached as high as 24, 61-37, following another dunk by Aguilar to end the second period.
The Gin Kings’ margin was reduced to eight points, 75-67, late in the third but Aguilar and Thompson brought the lead back up before the game could get out of hand for the league's most popular team.
Aljon Mariano scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Stanley Pringle had 14 points for the Gin Kings in the lopsided win.
CJ Perez and Juami Tiongson scored 16 points each to lead the Dyip.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 102 – J. Aguilar 21, Mariano 17, Pringle 14, Thompson 13, Caperal 9, Chan 9, Tenorio 8, Dillinger 5, Dela Cruz 4, Tolentino 2, Balanza 0.
Terrafirma 80 – Tiongson 16, Perez 16, Ramos 15, Camson 8, Celda 8, Cahilig 6, Khobuntin 5, Calvo 4, Faundo 2, Gabayni 0, Agovida 0, Batiller 0, Balagasay 0.
Quarters: 26-23; 61-37; 77-67; 102-80.
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