Gin Kings blow away Texters by 27 points
Game today (Sta. Rosa, Laguna) 7 p.m. – Meralco vs Star
Barangay Ginebra dished out a dominant performance and pulled off a ghastly 27-point rout of TNT KaTropa, 121-94, in the opener of their PBA Governors Cup best-of-five semifinal playoff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night that more than made up for its harrowing 29-point blowout loss to the Texters nine days ago.
The Kings opened a doubledigit spread right in the opening quarter with the kind of energy and intensity lacking in their previous encounter and stayed in full control throughout the match to draw first blood in the race-tothree-games series.
As old star Mark Caguioa joined the fray and helped stretch their lead to 27 at 102-75 early in the fourth, the Ginebra crowd erupted in their familiar chants of “GI-NE-BRA! GI-NE-BRA!”
And the Kings coasted safely to another big triumph after their shattering 92-121 loss to the Texters on Sept. 23. Last Wednesday, Ginebra crushed San Miguel Beer and its grand slam hopes, 104-84.
Ginebra seeks a pivotal 2-0 lead in their next game set at 7 p.m. tomorrow over in Batangas City.
Meanwhile, playoff top seed Meralco hopes to ride the momentum of its blazing finish the first time out as the Bolts seek a commanding 2-0 lead versus the Star Hotshots in Game Two of their semis duel at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Sta. Rosa, Laguna at 7 tonight.
The Bolts overcame a sluggish start and banked on a fiery windup to drub the Hotshots, 7266, in the series opener Sunday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
“They beat us up in the elims. We got back at them today. That means Game Two will be pretty exciting. That usually follows,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone of their 26-point demolition of the Texters.
“One thing in playing like this and beat them the way we did is that we filled their bag of motivation going to Game Two,” Cone added.
Justin Brownlee and his teammates outclassed a lethargic TNT side coming from their two-game grind in the quarterfinals versus the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
With the game practically all over early in the fourth, the two teams just played their reserves in the closing minutes.
“They kind of worn out playing two tough games in the quarters while we played just one. They’re tired. But they will get their legs back and come back,” said Cone.
The Kings drew offensive firepower from all over the floor, with seven players scoring in double figures.
Brownlee topscored with 21 points with Joe Devance and Greg Slaughter adding 19 and 16, respectively.
Caguioa saw action in only 12 minutes and finished with 13 on 5-of-6 clip to the delight of the Ginebra fans.