BARANGAY Ginebra defeated Columbian, 113-90, to clinch twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings got a boost from second stringers Jeff Chan and Art Dela Cruz in a telling fourth-quarter breakway to finally put away the pesky Dyip and claim their seventh win in 10 games.
Ginebra kept its hold of fourth place behind idle TNT (7-2) but can still go up to third seed in the quarterfinals with a win over NorthPort in their final game of the elimination round on Sunday.
Justin Brownlee had a near triple-double, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, while Stanley Pringle added 20 points for Ginebra.
Chan and Pringle were responsible for getting Ginebra out of a 77-78 third-quarter deficit with an 18-2 burst that put the Kings ahead, 105-84.
Chan finished with 20 points, while Dela Cruz added 16. The two super-subs combined for 16 of Ginebra’s 31 points in the fourth quarter.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone lauded Columbian for making it tough for his team.
“We had a 19-point lead, and gave it up, and then we had a 20-point lead again. That’s the personality of Columbian. They come back from so many big leads and teams come back on them because they push the ball constantly,” said Cone, who arrived in the game just in time after a four-hour travel from his home in Alabang due to the horrendous Friday-payday traffic in Metro Manila.
“I thought we did a good job on CJ [Perez] for most of the time. He was our target. We really targeted him. Their import is a horse. He is tough. But, I thought we took our foot off the gas [pedal] on certain times of the game and they made us pay for it,” said Cone,
Khapri Alston tallied 34 points and 22 rebounds while Perez had 19 points for the Dyip, who ended the eliminations on a three-game losing streak.
Columbian dropped to 4-7, its fate in the quarterfinals no longer in its hands.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 113 – Brownlee 26, Pringle 20, Chan 20, J. Aguilar 19, Dela Cruz 16, Thompson 4, Caperal 4, Tenorio 2, Mariano 2, Dillinger 0, Sargent 0, Teodoro 0, R. Aguilar 0, Devance 0, Caguioa 0.
Columbian 90 – Alston 34, Perez 19, McCarthy 12, Tiongson 11, Camson 6, Corpuz 4, Gabriel 2, Agovida 2, Celda 0, Reyes 0, Cahilig 0, Khobuntin 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18; 58-44; 82-78; 113-90.
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