Kings sink B Pier, clinch top spot

MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra will be the playoffs top seed.

With a game left to play in the elimination round, the mighty Gin Kings secured top finish as they smothered the Globalport Batang Pier, 108-92, in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

“We’re ready for this game. We got the rebounds, pushed the ball well, and played a good transition game. Even as Globalport kept on coming back, we didn’t panic. The team was really focused on the game,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin on their easy romp over the Batang Pier.

Top draft pick Greg Slaughter churned out an eighth double-double game with 23 points and 13 rebounds and five other Kings scored in double figures as Ginebra nailed an 11th victory that guaranteed the team of a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals.

With Ginebra having clinched elims top pennant, Rain or Shine goes for second ranking as the Elasto Painters tangle with the also-ran Air21 Express also at the Big Dome Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Meralco seeks to formalize quarterfinals entry in taking on Petron Blaze in the other game of this Petron-sponsored Saturday Special.

A Rain or Shine loss to Air21 and a victory by Petron over Meralco in the day’s other game forge a playoff between the E-Painters and the Boosters for the No. 2 spot.

The Kings are safe at first even if they lose their last game against the Talk n Text Tropang Texters in the final play date of the elims on Sunday.

“Though we’ve gained top seeding, we can’t afford to relax against Talk n Text as we need to build momentum for the playoffs,” said Agustin.

Ginebra repeated its 109-104 conquest of Globalport in their previous team, thus, stalling the Batang Pier’s drive for the quarters.

With Jay Washington still on the injured list, the Batang Pier had a tough time matching up with the Kings’ tall frontline and went down with a closing 5-9 win-loss record.

Alaska Milk tries to catch up and force a playoff for the last quarters seat as the Aces battle the Barako Bull Energy Cola tomorrow.

The Kings opened early double-digit spreads and stayed in command till the end even with Japeth Aguilar going into foul-trouble situation as early as the third period.

Nonetheless, Aguilar produced significant numbers with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Largely behind the efforts of their forwards, the Gin Kings came out strong and carried a 58-49 lead over into the final half.

Starters Aguilar and Mac Baracael tossed in 15 and 10 points, respectively, while relievers Chris Ellis and Jayr Reyes combined for 16 points in the first 24 minutes of play.

Ginebra took a first double-digit margin at 30-20 but the Batang Pier kept the Kings from pulling away in the second period with Eric Menk and Sol Mercado delivering the goods for Globalport.

Menk had produced 13 markers and eight rebounds while Mercado had had 12 buckets by the half.