MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and Magnolia Hotshots set up a thrilling 2018 PBA Governor’s Cup semifinal face-off after disposing of their quarterfinals opponents on Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings walloped NLEX Road Warriors 111-75 while the Hotshots had to battle back from a fourth quarter deficit to beat Blackwater Elite 103-99.
Ginebra, the defending champions, had a strong start despite a subpar showing from Justin Brownlee, with Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter anchoring the offense for a 50-36 halftime edge.
The Road Warriors were a threat in the third period, coming to as close as 4 points, but the Kings countered with a run behind Slaughter, Aguilar and Solomon Mercado to widen their lead to 36 points.
Aguilar led the way with double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds, Slaughter added 16 markers, while Brownlee compensated for his poor shooting with a triple-double 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Kings.
The Hotshots, on the other hand, failed to hang on to their advantage in the first quarter and fell behind by as much as 84-91 midway in the fourth quarter after a layup by the Elite’s Henry Walker.
Magnolia went on a huge run behind Rafael Reavis, Romeo Travis and Andy Mark Barroca to take a 95-94 lead. Blackwater regained the edge 96-95 but the Hotshots answered with 5 straight points from Ian Sangalang and Jio Jalalon for a 100-96 lead.
The Elite made their last push 99-100 on a trey by Paul Zamar and had a chance to take the lead down 99-101 on a triple try by Nard John Pinto before the Hotshots sealed the win with two Paul Lee free throws.
Lee finished with double-double 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Travis had triple-double 18 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists for the Hotshots. Walker top-scored with 18 markers for the Elite./PN
