ANTIPOLO – Barangay Ginebra clinched the last quarterfinal berth in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup after a 101-96 win over Blackwater on Friday at the Ynares Center.
The Gin Kings got off to a fast start and were never seriously threatened on the way to booking the No. 3 seed in Group B, which meant a quarterfinal match-up against sister team Group a second seed San Miguel.
Ginebra played to win on Friday night instead of trying to avoid San Miguel in the quarterfinals which the Gin Kings could've done by losing to Blackwater by 23 points or less. Such a scenario would've seen Ginebra playing NLEX in the playoffs.
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“It was a tough group and we are real proud of our guys for working their way back into the conference, working our way back into the group, and still making the playoffs,” said coach Tim Cone after Ginebra's first win streak of the conference.
“It didn’t look that way a couple of weeks ago. We had to really scratch and claw to get to where we are,” Cone added.
Jordan Murphy had 22 points and nine rebounds, while Troy Rosario had 17 points. The two combined for 19 points in the first quarter to help the Gin Kings take a 33-19 lead that held the rest of the way.
Blackwater closed the conference with a 3-7 win-loss record to finish at the bottom of Group B.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 101 – Murphy 22, Rosario 17, Abarrientos 14, Gray 11, Thompson 10, J. Aguilar 10, Estil 8, Cu 7, Abis 2, Holt 0, Torres 0, Pinto 0, Go 0.
Blackwater 97 – Barkley 16, Barefield 12, Panopio 9, Murrell 9, Tratter 7, Una 7, Ilagan 6, Escoto 6, David 6, Mendoza 5, Cruz-Dumont 3, Demusis 3, Sena 3, DiGregorio 2, Austria 2.
Quarters: 33-19; 63-47; 87-72; 101-96.
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