Ginebra shuts down Meralco

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ILOILO—Barangay Ginebra held Meralco to two points in the first 6:30 of the third, and to just 10 in the period, to break away from the Bolts and pull out an 83-72 victory that got the Gin Kings back on the winning track in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at University of San Agustin gym here.

The Kings were dragged into another low-scoring contest but came out on top this time, rising back to .500 with a 4-4 card to stay mathematically in the hunt for a top two finish while virtually sealing Meralco’s doom in the season-opening conference.’

It was the sixth straight loss in a 2-7 card for the Bolts, who fell in danger of bringing up the tail here for the second season in a row.
Meralco had a 23-14 lead at the end of the first and clung to a 40-39 edge at halftime before the Kings shut down the Bolts in the third to ease out front and never look back.

Joe Devance scored 19 points, LA Tenorio chipped in with 18 and Japeth Aguilar completed a double-double with 17 and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who could sweep their remaining three games and hope that they fall into a tie for No. 2 and forge a playoff.

As things stand, San Miguel Beer, the two-time defending champion, more or less sealed No. 1—and the first twice-to-beat privilege—after a 106-101 overtime win over Rain or Shine on Friday, leaving the Elasto Painters and GlobalPort tied for second with 5-3 records.

For the Kings to have a shot at a twice-to-beat privilege, they must win over Blackwater, Phoenix Petroleum and NLEX and hope that the Batang Pier, the Elasto Painters as well as Alaska and TNT KaTropa don’t win more than seven games to forge a tie.

SCORES

GINEBRA 83 – MERALCO 72
GINEBRA 83—Devance 19, Tenorio 18, Aguilar 17, Mercado 9, Thompson 7, Caguioa 4, Ferrer 4, Ellis 3, Marcelo 2, Cruz 0, Mariano 0, Taha 0.
MERALCO 72—Hugnatan 18, Newsome 14, Amer 11, Caram 6, Yeo 6, Bono 5, Hodge 5, Faundo 4, Daquioag 3, Grey 0, Nabong 0.
Quarters: 14-23, 39-40, 56-50, 83-72