Kings sweep way to Final Four

MANILA, Philippines — After two playoff busts against Magnolia, Barangay Ginebra finally hurdled the big road block that was its Manila Clasico rival, scoring a semis-clinching 106-80 blowout last night in Game Two of their quarterfinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Denied of progression in the last Philippine Cup and the preceding Governors’ Cup by the Hotshots, the Gin Kings got their vengeance as they swept their erstwhile playoffs tormentor in the race-to-two affair, 2-0, to grab the first Final Four seat in the mid-season tournament.

The defending champions now await their opponent in the best-of-five semis, which will be determined in sudden death today between No. 1 TNT KaTropa and No. 8 Alaska.

Ginebra coach Tim Cone, whose charges set the tone for the emphatic triumph with a swashbuckling third-quarter performance, said given their history of taking a 1-0 lead only to get swept by Magnolia, they were determined to close it out this time.

“It’s great determination on our part tonight. We were really determined because we haven’t come out and played well in Game Twos in the last couple of conferences against this team. It was really on us to come out and change the narrative and make it different,” said Cone.

“Even though we fell behind (2-9) in the first minute or three, I saw the intensity of the players and I was confident we’re going to put a good game. I didn’t expect it to be this good but I was confident to play a good game tonight and we did,” he added. 

Third-seeded Blackwater forced No. 6 Rain or Shine to a rubbermatch after hacking out a 100-96 victory later in the night.

Greg Smith banged in nine of his 31 in the last 5:21 while Bobby Ray Parks backed him up with 28 as the Elite rebounded from their 80-83 opening setback and set the stage for the KO match tomorrow.

“The players played really, really, really well. They refused to lose tonight and didn’t want to go on vacation. That’s the commitment we all have – to make it to the next phase,” said Blackwater coach Aries Dimaunahan.

Javee Mocon rifled in 25 in ROS’ failed closeout.

Notes: With daily practices forthcoming and more pool members freed up from their PBA duties soon, coach Yeng Guiao expects Gilas Pilpinas to hit at least 70 percent form in the next two weeks. The nationals’ twice-a-week training will stretch to Monday to Friday sessions next week, giving them more time and opportunities to familiarize with his system and one another. “We expect to develop better chemistry and also better conditioning for Andray (Blatche),” said Guiao. “Before we leave for Spain on Aug. 4, we should be able to (hit) more or less 70-80 percent so that by August, we’ll only have to go after the remaining 20-30 percent.”

The scores: 

First Game

Ginebra 106 – Brownlee 30, J. Aguilar 18, Tenorio 13, Caguioa 12, Pringle 11, Thompson 9, Devance 4, Slaughter 4, Teodoro 3, Mariano 2, Caperal 0, R. Aguilar 0.

Magnolia 80 – Barroca 17, Christmas 15, Sangalang 12, Jalalon 8, Reavis 8, Lee 5, Herndon 5, Dela Rosa 3, Abundo 3, Simon 2, Gamalinda 0, Ramos 0, Melton 0, Pascual 0.

Quarterscores: 24-23, 47-39, 87-60, 106-80

Second Game

Blackwater 100 – Smith 31, Parks 28, Belo 14, Digregorio 13, Sena 4, Maliksi 3, Javier 3, Desiderio 2, Cortez 2, Sumang 0, Al-Hussaini 0.

Rain or Shine 96 – Mocon 25, Borboran 13, Belga 13, Alejandro 12, Montgomery 11, Rosales 10, Nambatac 9, Ponferada 2, Onwubere 1, Norwood 0.

Quarterscores: 24-15, 38-35, 68-64, 100-96