MARK Caguioa sparked a Barangay Ginebra breakaway with a barrage of three-pointers on the way to a 95-86 victory over Rain or Shine on Thursday in the PBA Governors' Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The flamboyant Caguioa scored 29 points including 11 in the third period -- nine of them coming from three-pointers that broke open a tight game and set the stage for the Kings' third win in as many games in the semifinals.
The Kings' defense also played a key role as they held the Elasto Painters to 37 percent shooting from the field -- including an anemic seven-for-25 from three-point range -- and import Jamelle Cornley to 13 points.
“We are just playing as a team right now especially on the defense side,” said Caguioa.
Ginebra remained undefeated in the semifinals -- one win short of assuring themselves of a playoff for a finals berth under the 4-of-5 incentive rule -- while improving to 8-4, half-a-game behind B-Meg before their crucial face-off on Sunday.
The Elasto Painters dropped to 9-3 but remained on pace for a finals berth.
The Kings led, 59-56, in the third when Caguioa converted a triple for a six-point lead. He scored the first of back-to-back triples by Ginebra to help the team pull away, 70-60.
Cedrick Bozeman had 19 points, Kerby Raymundo added 15 and Jayjay Helterbrand chipped in 11 for the Kings.
Paul Lee pumped in 19 points while Jeff Chan added 14 points, but the lefty struggled from the outside nailing only two of his 10 three-point attempts.
The scores:
GINEBRA 95 — Caguioa 29, Bozeman 19, Raymundo 15, Helterbrand 11, Hatfield 8, W. Wilson 5, Villanueva 4, Maliksi 2, Cortez 2, J. Wilson 0. Ababou 0, Maierhofer 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 86 — Lee 19, Chan 14, Cornley 13, Norwood 11, Ibanes 9, Cruz 6, Quinahan 5, Arana 4, Belga 3, Buenafe 2.
Quarterscores: 18-28, 45-45, 70-65, 95-86.
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