MANILA — The TNT KaTropa Texters overwhelmed the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 104-92, Sunday night to emerge as the top seed in the playoffs of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
TNT finished the elimination round with a 10-1 win-loss record. The Texters will play the winner of the Rain or Shine vs. Phoenix sudden-death match Wednesday.
Ginebra ended up as the third seed with an 8-3 mark, the same card as San Miguel Beer. However, SMB got the second seeding, having defeated Ginebra in their elimination round game. The Kings will thus meet the surging sixth-seed Alaska Aces in the quarterfinals, with Ginebra holding the twice-to-beat advantage.
Import Mychal Ammons paced TNT with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Jayson Castro posted 19 points and 10 assists while Asian import Michael Madanly added 18 points and eight boards. Larry Fonacier chipped in 14 markers.
The Texters led by as many as 22 points, 92-70, in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
True to their never-say-die spirit, the Kings—led by prolific import Justin Brownlee—whittled TNT’s lead to 99-90 with 1:15 left in the game. But that proved to be the closest the Kings could come as the Texters coasted to victory.
Brownlee topscored for Ginebra with 34 points, 16 of them in the fourth quarter.
San Miguel Beer 107,
Blackwater 101
The San Miguel Beermen squandered an early 17-point lead but recovered in time to beat the Blackwater Elite, 107-101.
The Beermen thus finished the elimination round with an 8-3 card, taking the second seed, and setting up a quarterfinals match against the seventh-seed NLEX Road Warriors where they hold a twice-to-beat advantage.
Import returnee Elijah Millsap made a splash in his first game for SMB this season, finishing with a team-high 25 points, 14 boards, and four assists before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
Arwind Santos posted 19 points, June Mar Fajardo added 18 markers while Alex Cabagnot chipped in 17. Ronald Tubid nailed five three-pointers to finish with 15 points.
Rookie Art Dela Cruz posted 23 points and 11 boards for the Elite.
Blackwater ended another dismal season with its 10th loss in 11 games, finding itself once again at the tail end of the standings.
Games Wednesday: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters vs. Phoenix Fuel Masters (playoff for 8th seed) and Mahindra Enforcer vs. Meralco Bolts (playoff for 4th seed).
