BARANGAY Ginebra closed the elimination round with a 93-86 win over TNT on Sunday in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gin Kings wrested the No. 2 seed with a 9-3 win-loss record and arranged a quarterfinal showdown against seventh-ranked Phoenix Super LPG.
READ It's TNT vs NLEX, Magnolia vs Meralco, ROS vs SMB, Ginebra vs Phoenix
Ginebra stood its ground in the endgame to survive a last-gasp comeback by TNT, which wound up at No. 8 and a playoff against twice-to-beat top seed NLEX.
RJ Abarrientos knocked down a three with 48 seconds left to extend the lead to 91-83, effectively sealing the win for the Gin Kings.
The game was a rematch of last season's Commissioner's Cup Finals, but both teams were visibly preparing for the playoffs as well by stretching their rotation.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone said his team went into its final elims match without talking about its possible pairing in the playoffs.
“We didn't talk at all about who we are going to play. We walked in before the game, yesterday in practice, before the game, we didn't talk about, ‘We are going to play this team or that team,'" said Cone.
"We just wanted to come out and play up to our standard and make sure to put a good game together. Every player on the floor came out and did their job. In that respect, I'm really pleased," Cone added.
Justin Brownlee finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Abarrientos had 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field in front of 13,967 fans at the MOA Arena - the largest this conference.
The loss spoiled the 33-point, 10-rebound showing of Bol Bol, who was able to slice the gap to 86-83, only for Ginebra to pull away.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 93 – Brownlee 18, Abarrientos 17, Torres 10, Thompson 9, Go 9, Cu 7, Holt 6, J. Aguilar 6, Rosario 5, Pinto 2, Carino 2, Estil 0, Abis 0, Gray 0.
TNT 86 – Bol 33, Oftana 11, Castro 9, Ferrer 8, Heading 6, Nambatac 5, Aurin 5, Galinato 5, Quitevis 4, Enciso 0, Khobuntin 0, Williams 0, Nieto 0, Chua 0.
Quarters: 29-26; 56-45; 76-64; 93-86
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