Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings assured themselves of at least figuring in a best-of-three quarterfinal pairing after demolishing the pace-setting Meralco Bolts, 103-90, Wednesday night in the final elimination round game for both teams in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Meralco was assured of a top 2 finish, with a twice-to-beat advantage, even before the match. The Bolts finished the elimination round with an 8-3 win-loss card.
Ginebra is heading into the quarterfinal with a 7-4 win-loss mark, the same as Rain or Shine. The Kings could clinch the second seed if NLEX beats Alaska and Tropang TNT defeats San Miguel Beer in Friday’s games. If this fails to materialize, Ginebra could land from third to sixth place depending on the quotients from teams that would end up with the same 7-4 record.
Wednesday night’s win was crucial for Ginebra as it avoided going down to as low as seventh seed that came with a twice-to-win disadvantage.
Greg Slaughter led the Kings with 21 points and four rebounds. He also sparkled in defense, limiting Meralco’s hulking import Arinze Onuaku to just 10 points.
LA Tenorio added 20 markers and four rebounds, while Mark Caguioa had 16.
Japeth Aguilar posted 14 points and five rebounds, while import Othyus Jeffers got a near triple-double of 11 markers, 15 boards, and nine assists.
The Kings led by as much as 22 points, 67-45, midway in the third quarter and simply cruised to victory.
Rookie Chris Newsome paced Meralco with 23 points, five boards, and five rebounds, while Jared Dillinger finished with 17 markers.
Star 84, Mahindra 73
Seldom used Mark Cruz came off the bench to bang in a career-high 18 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter, to tow the Star Hotshots to an 84-73 win over the Mahindra Enforcers.
The Hotshots thus grabbed the last quarterfinal ticket as they finished the elimination round with a 5-6 win-loss record.
The Enforcers bowed out of the tournament after absorbing their seventh loss in 11 games.
Import Ricardo Ratliffe led Star with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while Ian Sangalang and Allein Maliksi added 12 and 11 markers, respectively.
Mark Barroca also stood out, playing the role of court general despite a busted right eyebrow that required five stitches after a hard blow from Mahindra’s Karl Dehesa early in the first quarter.
From a 57-all deadlock, the Cruz-led Hotshots dropped a 14-1 bomb to seize a 71-58 lead, with 4:55 remaining.
After Mahindra scored back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Star lead to single digit, Cruz once again rose to the occasion, firing two straight three-pointers to seal the win for Star.
Import Augustus Gilchrist paced the Enforcers with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Aldrech Ramos and Karl Dehesa also finished with 13 markers apiece.
Games Friday: Alaska Aces (6-4) vs. NLEX Road Warriors (5-5) and Tropang TNT (6-4) vs. San Miguel Beermen (7-3).
