Standhardinger, Ginebra dominate Magnolia to reach PBA semis

Barangay Ginebra big man Christian Standhardinger, middle, battles for the ball against Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang, right, and Jed Mendoza.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–Barangay Ginebra got to work early and played with the same fiery intensity the rest of the way on Saturday night to beat Magnolia, 99-77, and take the shorter route to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

The crowd darlings lived up to their mighty No. 2 seeding at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila, decisively beating their corporate siblings behind the big night of Christian Standhardinger, who finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.

“We have a lot of respect for Magnolia. They handled us quite a bit in the past few years, so we just knew we had to play a great game … I just felt that guys came out aggressively … and we just had good energy throughout the game, never letting it settle in. We just kept pushing and pushing,” said head coach Tim Cone, who will now advance to the Final Four and await the winner of the Meralco-NLEX series that could be settled at the same venue on Sunday.

READ: Ginebra, Magnolia clash in PBA quarterfinals

Maverick Ahanmisi had 16 points while Scottie Thompson, Ralph Cu, and Japeth Aguilar chipped in at least 11 points each in a collective effort that somehow balmed the continued absence of Jamie Malonzo due to a knee injury.

Thompson, a former league Most Valuable Player, had a career-best seven steals.

Barangay Ginebra’s latest victory also gave the fancied club their 8th semifinal appearance in the last 10 conferences.

Mark Barroca was the lone bright spot for the Magnolia, finishing with 19 points and eight assists. Aris Dionisio tossed in 10 more as the Hotshots hardly stood a chance with Jio Jalalon out (knee injury) and lackluster outings from its old reliables Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang, and Calvin Abueva.