MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings kicked TNT KaTropa out of contention with a 112-93 victory at the close of the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Justin Brownlee led the way with triple-double 31 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, while Greg Slaughter added 25 markers for the defending champions, which locked in on the top seed in the playoffs with a 9-2 win-loss slate.
After falling behind early in the game, the Kings went on a scoring spree in the second period on triples by Kevin Ferrer and Jeffrei Chan, and inside baskets from Slaughter and Brownlee for a 54-45 halftime lead.
The KaTropa rallied to within 4 early in the third period on back-to-back treys by Roger Pogoy and Jeth Troy Rosario, but Slaughter and Brownlee conspired in another scoring run to put the Kings up 82-67.
TNT made their last push in the fourth period to come to as close as 9 points but Ginebra put the game away for good, with Slaughter pouncing on his undersized opponents for their largest lead at 22 points.
On the other hand, Phoenix Fuel Masters secured the No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals after a come-from-behind 97-91 victory over Blackwater Elite, which skidded all the way to the fifth place in the playoffs.
Calvin Abueva, Matthew Wright and Eugene Phelps took turns on the offensive end in the second half to overhaul a first-half deficit and reach their highest seed in the franchise’s history.
Abueva bucked an early foul trouble to finish with game-high 25 points while Wright and Phelps added 23 and 16 markers, respectively, for the Fuel Masters, which will have a twice-to-beat advantage over the No. 7 Meralco Bolts in the quarterfinals.
Other quarterfinal pairings include: Kings vs. No. 8 NLEX Road Warriors, No. 3 Alaska Aces vs. No. 6 San Miguel Beermen, and No. 4 Magnolia Hotshots vs. No. 5 Elite. The Kings, the Aces and the Hotshots all have a twice-to-beat advantage./PN
