Brgy. Ginebra mauls Phoenix, gains steam heading into playoffs

Brgy. Ginebra ended the elimination round of the PBA Season 47 Philippine Cup on a winning note, via 100-93 mauling of already-eliminated Phoenix Super LPG Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Gin Kings picked up their second straight win, 8th overall, against 3 losses and moved up to solo 3rd place in the team standings. The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, wrapped up their All-Filipino Cup campaign with a 3-8 record.

Japeth Aguilar, coming off a bout with dengue, came through with an impressive performance and led the crowd darlings with 17 points on a efficient 7-of-9 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block in just 19 minutes of action.

“It’s an eliminations-long process for us. We always think of the eliminations being our preparation for the playoffs,” said Brgy. Ginebra head coach Tim Cone during the post-game press conference.

“Today was especially important because it’s the one before we actually go so we want to be playing at a high level.”

Reigning MVP Scottie Thompson contributed a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards while Aljon Mariano added 13 markers. Nards Pinto and Stanley Pringle chipped in 10 points apiece.

Jason Perkins paced the Fuel Masters with 17 points while Sean Anthony, Tyler Tio and Larry Muyang added 16, 13 and 12 markers, respectively.

Brgy. Ginebra will wait for the results of Friday’s double-header to determine their quarterfinal opponent. A Magnolia victory over Blackwater will drop the Gin Kings to 4th spot (best-of-three with Meralco) while a Hotshots defeat will give them 3rd seed (best-of-three with either NLEX or Blackwater).

The scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 100 – J.Aguilar 17, Thompson 14, Mariano 13, Pinto 10, Pringle 10, Chan 9, Standhardinger 8, Onwubere 7, Tenorio 4, Caperal 4, David 4.

Phoenix Super LPG 93 – Perkins 17, Anthony 16, Tio 13, Muyang 12, Serrano 7, Melecio 6, Garcia 5, Jazul 5, Porter 5, Lalata 3, Rios 2, Robles 2.

Quarterscores: 22-14, 47-45, 76-66, 100-93.