Gin Kings dump Fuel Masters for quarters berth

MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra punched a ticket to the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals after rolling past the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 112-96, Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

It was a wire-to-wire win for the Gin Kings, who absorbed their biggest loss in franchise history just a few days ago at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen.

RJ Abarrientos spearheaded the charge for Ginebra with a career-high 24 points, to go with five assists and five rebounds.

Japeth Aguilar added 21 points and eight rebounds, while Scottie Thompson had 20 markers, six boards and six dimes.

The Gin Kings broke the game wide open right from the first quarter as they took a 36-24 lead after 1.

The torrid shooting of Ginebra continued throughout the game, as the lead grew to as high as 21 points, 87-66, with a pair of freebies by Abarrientos.

While the Fuel Masters were able to inch closer in the fourth quarter, timely shots by the victors just kept them at bay.

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said that he is “really pleased” with the bounceback of his squad from the 82-131 drubbing they received from the Beermen on Sunday.

“I don’t think I had to fire them up very much because of the game we came off of against San Miguel. We were all disappointed with that game, we’re all basically ashamed of that game,” head coach Tim Cone told reporters.

“So, for us to come back, I think we were really motivated to come back and play a better game tonight. But those are just some of the experiences we try to go through as a team. You go through some really tough times that make you a little tougher,” he added.

Ginebra import Justin Brownlee only had 13 points in 33 minutes of play, to go with four assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block.

Mav Ahanmisi added 12.

Jason Perkins and Sean Manganti paced the Fuel Masters with 18 points each. Import Brandone Francis added 17 markers.

The Gin Kings are now holding a 6-3 win-loss record. The Fuel Masters, meanwhile, are eliminated from quarterfinal contention as they dropped to 1-8.