Ginebra trips San Miguel; Air21 scores

Greg Slaughter of Ginebra (dark) vs June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines–Barangay Ginebra made it a three-way tie for No. 1 Wednesday night, breaking away early and then holding off San Miguel Beer for a 105-98 victory in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations at PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

The Gin Kings broke out of the gates hard and never looked back, using a 21-point lead as a buffer against a spirited rally by the Beermen to rise to 5-2 and tie idle Talk ‘N Text and San Mig Coffee at the top.

San Miguel dropped to an even 4-4 record and practically kissed its aspirations of a twice-to-beat privilege goodbye.

Ginebra got the contributions coming from practically all fronts, and the sidelight of the game pitting behemoths Greg Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo for the first time in the league was as good as advertised.

The 7-foot Slaughter finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, while San Miguel’s 6-foot-10 cornerstone Fajardo scored 23 that went with 14 boards before fouling out in the waning seconds.

There are now five teams which have won five games each, with Air21, after a 106-102 nipping of Globalport, climbing to 5-3, tied with idle Rain or Shine for fourth spot.

The Elasto Painters close out against San Mig Coffee and Air21 will be the Beermen’s last foe. For San Miguel to have a chance, the Mixers must beat Rain or Shine and the Beermen must turn back the Express for all three of them to finish with 5-4 records.

Ties will be broken via the quotient system.

“I really challenged the guys to stay focused,” Ginebra coach Jeffrey Cariaso said. “We made up for falling in our last game against Rain or Shine.”

Asi Taulava played as big as his massive frame in the stretch to lead Air21 in the first game.

After leaving the game with 3:06 left in the second period with a bloodied left eyebrow, Taulava returned briefly in the third and proved to be the big difference in the final two minutes.

THE SCORES

First Game

AIR21 106—Sutton 28, Taulava 17, Villanueva J. 15, Yeo 13, Ramos 8, Atkins 6, Borboran 5, Poligrates 4, Cardona 4, Villanueva E. 2, Burtscher 2, Camson 2, Menor 0.

GLOBALPORT 102—Lowhorn 35, Cabagnot 19, Washington 19, Buenafe 16, Romeo 7, Macapagal 4, Menk 2, Yee 0, Lingganay 0, Hayes 0, Salvador 0, Garcia 0, Acuna 0.

Quarters: 29-20, 55-47, 78-75, 106-102

Second Game

BRGY. GINEBRA 105—Mason 30, Slaughter 19, Tenorio 16, Aguilar 15, Baracael 7, Ellis 6, Caguioa 6, Helterbrand 4, Mamaril 2, Monfort 0.

SAN MIGUEL BEER 98—Williams 37, Fajardo 23, Mercado 14, Santos 8, Tubid 7, Lutz 6, Maierhofer 2, Kramer 1, Duncil 0, Lassiter 0, Chua 0.

Quarters: 25-16, 49-41, 84-65, 105-98