JAY R. GOTERA
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings scored a huge victory Sunday night, demolishing the San Miguel Beermen, 110-84, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The win catapulted Ginebra from a four-team logjam in the middle of the pack to solo second place with its 6-4 win-loss record, just behind pacesetter Meralco (7-2).
SMB fell into a tie with Alaska at second to third place in the team standings, both with a 5-3 mark.
The Kings thus kept their hopes alive of bagging one of the top 2 spots which guarantee a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Import Othyus Jeffers led Ginebra with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
In one of the rare meetings between the two giants of Philippine basketball, Ginebra’s 7-foot center Greg Slaughter emerged the winner over 6’10” SMB main man June Mar Fajardo, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds to the two-time MVP’s 14 points and 10 boards.
But it was Chris Ellis who actually provided the extra spark for Ginebra as he banged in 15 points on top of seven boards.
Japeth Aguilar added 14 points while LA Tenorio and Sol Mercado chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.
Ellis ignited a 14-3 run in the second quarter with a booming triple and a layup, giving the Kings a 30-19 lead at halftime. That was the start of a Ginebra breakaway as the Kings coasted to victory.
Another key to Ginebra’s victory was the Kings’ crippling defense of SMB’s prolific scorer, import Tyler Wilkerson, who finished with a subpar game of 20 points and 16 boards.
Ginebra won despite the absence of Joe Devance, who had to leave for the United States to join his family following the death of his father.
SMB lost despite playing with an intact lineup as it welcomed back Fajardo and Arwind Santos, who also had to skip his team’s last game due to the death of his mother. Santos finished with just 6 points in the game.
Marcio Lassiter posted 12 points while Alex Cabagnot and Gabby Espinas added 11 and 10, respectively, for SMB.
Meralco 94, Mahindra 86
The Meralco Bolts exploded a 13-0 bomb in the endgame to come away with a 94-86 come-from-behind victory over the Mahindra Enforcers.
Cliff Hodge exploded for 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bolts to their third straight win and a league-best 7-2 record.
Import Arinze Onuaku added 16 points and 17 rebounds while Chris Newsome had 15 and seven. Reynel Hugnatan added 13 markers.
Mahindra absorbed its fifth loss in nine games, tying idle Star at eighth to ninth place in the standings.
Import Augustus Gilchrist led the Enforcers with 20 points and 13 boards. Karl Dehesa scored 15, Aldrech Ramos had 12, while Mark Yee and LA Revilla added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Games Tuesday: NLEX Road Warriors (5-4) vs. San Miguel Beermen (5-3) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (2-7) vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-4).
