Kings trip Bolts, gain semis; Beermen also in

MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra summoned all its offensive forces, from its smallest men to its biggest, as it rammed into Meralco’s power station at the height of a blazing run in the second half to fashion out a clinical 104-90 victory and secure a berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Final Four last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Justin Brownlee scored 36 points in a game-long brilliant performance while LA Tenorio delivered big plays coming off the bench midway through the final canto as the Kings booked a sixth straight semifinals passage with a sweep of their best-of-three quarters face-off with the Bolts.

Greg Slaughter came through with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Japeth Aguilar contributed 10 markers and four boards before being helped to their bench early in the fourth as the Kings stamped their class once again on the Bolts whom they beat in the last two Governors Cup Finals.

The Kings take a shot at another finals versus the winner of the Rain or Shine-GlobalPort quarters matchup.

“I was very worried in the beginning of the game as we didn’t have our crowd yet, and I was afraid we won’t have the energy. (The Bolts) tried to get a good start, and they did. We took a punch but got our own,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

“I remembered calling a timeout then we gave up only nine points the rest of the way (in the first quarter). That started our turnaround. We got the lead at the half, then came out getting our own punch,” Cone added.

Grand slam-chasing San Miguel Beer made another crucial step towards a possible second straight championship as it disposed of TNT KaTropa, 106-102, to also advance to the semis later in the night.

With their admirable championship poise, the Beermen outfought the Texters at the finish of a grind-out game and thus set a best-of-five semifinal duel with the Alaska Milk Aces.

“It will be a tough series. With their import that is really fitted with them, they’re playing inspired game. They’re very dangerous,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

The scores:

First Game

Ginebra 104 – Brownlee 36, Slaughter 14, Tenorio 11, Aguilar 10, Mercado 9, Devance 8, Chan 8, Thompson 4, Ferrer 2, Caguioa 2, Manuel 0, Caperal 0, Mariano 0.

Meralco 90 – Onuaku 21, Newsome 17, Amer 11, Hugnatan 10, De Ocampo 6, Dillinger 6, Hodge 6, Lanete 3, Baracael 2, Canaleta 2, Ballesteros 0, Salva 0, Sedurifa 0, Bono 0.

Quarterscores: 24-28, 56-51, 79-65, 104-90

Second Game

San Miguel 106 – Balkman 25, Cabagnot 21, Fajardo 19, Lassiter 13, Ross 11, Nabong 9, Santos 8, Rosser 0, Heruela 0. 

TNT 102 – Romeo 28, Smith 21, Semerad 19, Rosario 11, Castro 7, Pogoy 6, Williams 6, Trollano 3, Taha 1, Carey 0, Reyes 0.

Quarterscores: 27-32, 55-56, 80-77, 106-102