MANILA — This time around, the Barangay Ginebra Kings made sure there would be no game extension as they kept the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at bay en route to an 88-80 victory in Game 1 of their 2018 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals series on Monday night at Mall of Asia Arena.

On Friday, the Kings advanced to the best-of-3 quarterfinals as the fourth seed after outlasting the Painters in triple overtime. Leading by just a point, 70-69, midway in the fourth quarter, the Kings unleashed a 12-0 run to put the game away.

LA Tenorio led the Kings with 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, on top of four rebounds and three assists. Joe Devance added 15 points, four rebounds and five assists in only his third game for Ginebra after recovering from a foot injury.

Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar added 14 points apiece. Thompson had a near triple-double, having collected 15 rebounds and seven assists. Aguilar, on the other hand, registered nine rebounds, four assists, and four blocks for the Kings. Sol Mercado chipped in 13 markers.

Another victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night will allow the Kings to advance to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the San Miguel Beer vs. TNT KaTropa match.

Beau Belga led Rain or Shine with 17 points and five rebounds, while Ed Daquioag knocked in 16 points both off the bench.

NLEX 105, Alaska 99

Sensational rookie Kiefer Ravena delivered the goods for NLEX at crunch time once again as the Road Warriors defeated the Alaska Aces, 105-99, in Game 1 of their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals series on Monday night.

A perfect Ravena assist pass allowed Michael Miranda to score the go-ahead basket for NLEX, 98-96, with 22.7 seconds left. Ravena then scored on a layup off a jump ball to make it, 100-96, with 18.8 seconds left.

After Alaska’s Simon Enciso drilled a three-pointer to cut NLEX’s lead to 100-99, Ravena put the game away with a pair of free throws.

Ravena, the second overall pick in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft, finished with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, eight assists, one rebound, and one steal.

Game 2 is set on Wednesday with third-seeded Alaska looking to force a deciding Game 3.

Larry Fonacier also played a huge role in the Road Warriors’ victory, scoring 18 points, including four three-pointers, on top of nine rebounds. His four-point play with 2:40 left tied the score at 96 before Ravena’s heroics iced the game.

Kevin Alas added 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds off the bench, while JR Quinahan finished with a double-double 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Road Warriors led by 50-40 at halftime. But the Aces came charging back in the third quarter to make it anybody’s ballgame.

The loss spoiled the return of Chris Banchero from sickbay as he led the Aces with 20 points, five boards, four steals, and one assist in 32 minutes.

Calvin Abueva added 18 points, 13 boards, three assists, and two blocks for the Aces that all went down the drain with the loss.

Games on Tuesday, March 6, 2018: (Quarterfinals) San Miguel Beer (twice-to-beat advantage) vs. TNT KaTropa Texters and Magnolia Hotshots (twice-to-beat advantage) vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier.