MANILA – Stanley Pringle stepped up in the endgame as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings ousted Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 81-73, in their 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup quarterfinals at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Struggling on offense all game long, the Filipino-American guard came up with back-to-back layups to push Barangay Ginebra to a 76-71 advantage with over two minutes remaining in the match.
The lead blew for the Kings with Aljon Mariano converting an inside basket followed by a three-pointer from LA Tenorio for an 81-71 upperhand, sealing their place into the best-of-five semifinals.
Pringle finished the game with 10 points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals while Japeth Aguilar led the way with double-double 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings. They will face off with the winner between the Meralco Bolts and San Miguel Beermen quarterfinals series.
Aljon Mariano and Prince Caperal each contributed 11 markers while Earl Scottie Thompson hauled 10 rebounds to go along with seven points and five assists for the No. 1 seed Ginebra.
Mark Borboran top-scored with 13 points while Javee Mocon and Rey Nambatac contributed 12 and 10 markers respectively, as the Painters ended their season at eighth place.
In PBA’s first game, Meralco Bolts forced a do-or-die in their quarterfinals series with defending champions San Miguel Beermen following a 78-71 upset. The Beermen possess a twice-to-beat advantage for finishing at No. 4.
The Bolts surged to a 19-6 start with early hits from Chris Newsome, Kier John Quinto and Clifford Hodge. The lead stayed at 34-18 in the second period with hits from Bacolodnon Reynel Hugnatan, but the Beermen clawed to within 31-40 at the half.
Back-to-back hits by Hugnatan to kick off the third period widened Meralco’s lead to 46-31, but San Miguel Beer had a quick response from Moala Tautuaa and Marcio Lassiter to come to within 51-59.
The Bolts increased the lead to 69-58 early in the fourth quarter with baskets from Aaron Black, but the Beermen clawed to as close as 67-71 before Meralco sealed the win with hits from Hugnatan, Black and Amer.
Hugnatan top-scored with 16 points and seven rebounds while Black added 14 markers for the Bolts. Tautuaa finished the match with double-double 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Beermen.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 81 – J. Aguilar 23, Caperal 11, Mariano 11, Pringle 10, Tenorio 8, Thompson 7, Dillinger 4, Devance 4, Chan 3, Tolentino 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 73 – Borboran 13, Mocon 12, Nambatac 10, Belga 9, Yap 8, Onwubere 6, Wong 6, Ponferrada 5, Rosales 2, Arana 2, Norwood 0, Torres 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 20-22; Q2, 40-37; Q3, 59-55; Q4, 81-73./PN
