Texters whip Kings; Beermen take No. 2

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BIÑAN CITY—Mychal Ammons had been silent practically all conference long for TNT KaTropa—until Sunday night, when the stakes were quite high for the Texters.

The bearded import scored 24 points and had 16 rebounds as the Texters clipped Barangay Ginebra, 104-92, at Alonte Sports Arena here, to seize the top ranking in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs.

Coming into the game averaging just 15 points an outing, Ammons was at the firing end of several highlight plays for the Texters, who broke away in the fourth quarter to post yet another impressive win and close out the eliminations with a 10-1 card.

“We just played a little bit better today,” TNT coach Jong Uichico said. “Both teams came out to win [even if it is a no-bearing game].”

The win sealed for the Texters a clash with the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals, which will either be Rain or Shine or Phoenix Petroleum. The Elasto Painters and the Fuel Masters dispute the final playoff berth on Wednesday.

Ginebra, which fell behind 92-70 early in the fourth period, dropped to 8-3 and into No. 3 with the loss, as sister team and defending champion San Miguel Beer took the No. 2 sport after downing Blackwater, 107-101, in the first game.

That means Ginebra and the Beermen are on course for a Final Four showdown, granting they hurdle their respective quarterfinal foes— Alaska and NLEX, respectively.

TNT also lined itself up for a clash with sister squad Meralco in the semifinals, as the Bolts have a shot at No. 4 with its clash with Mahindra, also on Wednesday.

Jason Castro had 19 points and 10 assists for the Texters. His final basket—a triple with just under three minutes remaining—gave the Texters an insurmountable 98-85 lead.

Asian import Michael Madanly hit four triples on the way to 18 points, while Larry Fonacier finished with 14.

The scores:

First Game

SAN MIGUEL 107—Millsap 25, Santos 19, Fajardo 18, Cabagnot 17, Tubid 15, Lassiter 3, De Ocampo 2, Espinas 2, Reyes 2, Ross 2, Semerad 2, Abdeen 0, Arana 0, Heruela 0.

BLACKWATER 101—Dela Cruz 23, King 18, Pinto 13, Miranda 12, Lastimosa 11, Pascual 10, Sumang 8, Gamalinda 2, Sena 2, Tiongson 2, Eguilos 0, Reyes 0.

Quarters: 32-20, 50-44, 78-75, 107-101

Second Game

TNT KATROPA 104—Ammons 24, Castro 19, Madanly 18, Fonacier 14, Reyes 9, De Ocampo 8, Rosario 6, Williams 4, Rosales 3, Rosser 0, Tautuaa 0.

GINEBRA 92—Brownlee 34, Tenorio 21, Aguilar 11, Thompson 8, Marcelo 6, Devance 4, Mercado 4, Caguioa 2, Cruz 2, Helterbrand 0, Mariano 0.

Quarters: 20-18, 43-35, 78-66, 104-92