Barangay Ginebra bagged a spot in the top six in the quarterfinals after turning back Globalport, 116-98 in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday at Cuneta Astrodome.
The Gin Kings are assured of a best-of-three playoffs series with a 6-5 record while the Batang Pier, who settled for eighth place, will have to battle through a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the next round
Ginebra wasted no time establishing its strength building a 58-45 lead at the end of the first half after Justin Brownlee’s buzzer-beating layup to cap off the Gin Kings’ 13-5 run in the second quarter.
The Gin Kings suffocated GlobalPort on defense, forcing the Batang Pier to turn the ball over 23 times, 16 of which coming from Ginebra steals.
“I thought we scored well, we hit shots, but I thought we created a lot of offense off our defense and that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone as his team won their fifth straight game.
And part of Ginebra’s success was Scottie Thompson limiting Stanley Pringle to force shots from deep.
Pringle, who finished with 14 points, only had one field goal worth two points with 10 of his 11 shot attempts all coming from beyond the three-point arc.
Brownlee’s 36 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists led the Gin Kings while Joe Devance added 16 points.
Apart from locking down Pringle, Thompson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Malcolm White had 19 points and nine boards for the Batang Pier.
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