MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings wasted an early double-digit lead before staving off Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 98-80, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Stephen Holt tallied a conference-high of 27 points, including six triples, to go with 12 rebounds to be named Player of the Game as the Gin Kings locked in the No. 4 seed with an 8-3 win-loss slate.
“This is Stephen Holt all the time, the effort he brings is really phenomenal,” said Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone after the win. “Tonight he had a good shooting night, but he usually leads us in rebounds and other things.”
Japeth Aguilar added a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, Jamie Malonzo contributed 15 markers and 10 boards, while Rhon Jay Abarrientos contributed 11 markers for the Gin Kings.
Leading by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, the Gin Kings suddenly found themselves trailing at 61-63 before Holt unloaded five straight points, followed by connections from Aguilar and Jayson David for a 74-67 edge.
The Gin Kings pulled away further in the final quarter with outside conversions from David and Holt as they stretched the lead to its largest at 92-69 on another David triple.
Adrian Nocum and Leonard Santillan paced the Painters with 13 points apiece, while Anton Asistio and Michael Malonzo had 11 and 10 markers, respectively. They fell to a 6-5 record.
In the quarterfinals round, the No. 4 seed Gin Kings will have a twice-to-beat edge over No. 5 Converge FiberXers, while the No. 7 Painters will have a twice-to-win disadvantage over No. 2 NLEX Road Warriors.
San Miguel Beermen, who finished as the top-seed, will also have a twice-to-beat edge over No. 8 and reigning champions Meralco Bolts in a rematch of last season’s All-Filipino Conference finals.
No. 3 ranked Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots is also armed with a twice-to-beat edge over No. 6 TNT Tropang 5G, who is hoping to complete a grand slam this season./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 98 – Holt 27, J. Aguilar 18, Malonzo 15, Abarrientos 11, Thompson 8, Rosario 8, David 8, Adamos 2, Pessumal 1, Pinto 0, Cu 0, Ahanmisi 0, Gray 0, Mariano 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 80– Nocum 13, Santillan 13, Asistio 11, Malonzo 10, Mamuyac 9, Caracut 7, Clarito 6, Ildefonso 5, Datu 2, Norwood 2, Borboran 2, Escandor 0.
Quarterscores: 32-21, 45-43, 74-67, 98-80
