MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings leaned on a huge fourth quarter rampage to defeat Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, 85-81, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Down 61-71 after a triple by Hotshots’ William Navarro, the Gin Kings leaned on conversions from Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, Stephen Holt, and Jeth Troy Rosario to take an 80-77 lead.
The Hotshots cut the deficit to 79-80 with two free throws from Zavier Lucero, but an inside hit by Holt and a three-pointer from Malonzo widened the Gin Kings’ lead to 85-79 with over a minute left.
Aguilar finished with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Gin Kings, while Rosario contributed 15 markers as they returned to their winning ways for a 6-3 record.
Holt chipped in 14 markers, while Malonzo and Rhon Jay Abarrientos ended up with 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Gin Kings, who still has a shot at securing a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.
“It was a statement win for us. We put our playoff lives on that game, we cannot afford to have a couple of losses anymore,” Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone said after the win.
Ian Sangalang tallied a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Lucero added 16 markers for the Hotshots, who remained on top of the standings with a 7-2 mark.
Meanwhile, NLEX Road Warriors ousted the Phoenix Fuel Masters from quarterfinals contention with a 105-95 victory.
Javee Mocon finished with a conference-high of 23 points to go with nine rebounds and three assists as the Road Warriors secured their seventh victory in nine matches.
Robert Bolick Jr. added 20 markers, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while JB Bahio, Anthony Semerad, and Xyrus Torres contributed 15, 14, and 13 markers, respectively, for NLEX./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 85 – J. Aguilar 17, Rosario 15, Holt 14, Malonzo 11, Abarrientos 10, Thompson 5, David 5, Pinto 4, Adamos 4, Gray 0.
MAGNOLIA 81 – Sangalang 16, Lucero 16, Barroca 9, Laput 9, Lastimosa 8, Lee 6, Navarro 5, Dela Rosa 5, Alfaro 4, Dionisio 3.
Quarterscores: 22-24, 44-39, 59-68, 85-81.
