Kings, Aces thump rivals, near Final 4

MANILA, Philippines - Quarterfinals top seed Barangay Ginebra simply re-asserted its mastery over Rain or Shine, fashioning out a 100-91 win to move in the threshold of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Final Four at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

With a steady shooting and a good defense on Hassan Adams, the Kings foiled the Elasto Painters anew, making it 4-0 in their head-to-head duels in the season and 8-1 dating back to the 2009-2010 campaign.

Nate Brumfield, Mark Caguioa and Ronald Tubid poured in at least 18 points each as Ginebra repeated its 95-90 conquest of RoS in the elimination round and, thus, moved a win shy of a best-of-five semifinal showdown with Smart Gilas. 

Limiting Adams to a personal tournament-low of 12 points was also a key factor as the Kings pressed their bid in the short best-of-three series.

 “We tried to limit him the best way we can. Nothing technical; just best effort, and it helped that he had a bad night,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“Ronald Tubid shooting well made the game easier for us. We got the first win but it’s just one win. Game Two is like the start of the series because Rain or Shine didn’t have enough time to prepare for tonight’s game,” Uichico also said.

Well rested, the Kings made good use of this advantage, stepping on the gas early before standing their ground on the Elasto Painters’ repeated comeback bids.

Behind a 16-4 closing run, Ginebra took the half at 50-34.

The Kings then sustained the momentum in their return from the halftime huddle, ripping the game wide open at 58-38 on an 8-4 opening tear in the third quarter capped by a Mike Cortez triple.

Ginebra took control early as the Kings dominated the boards, 29-22, and hit 46.5 percent of their shots compared to the Elasto Painters’ 35.7-percent shooting in the opening half.

The Kings converted 50 percent of their three-point tries with Tubid accounting for four of the team’s six conversions.

Tubid ended up with 18 points with 12 fueling their second-quarter breakaway.

Brumfield led all scorers with 24 points that went with five rebounds, four assists and one steal against one error in 37 minutes of play.

Mark Caguioa had significant contribution on an off-the-bench role, piling up 20 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

With Adams shackled down by the Ginebra defense, Larry Rodriguez and Gabe Norwood tried to carry the fight for the Elasto Painters, combining for 38 points.

LA Tenorio went 3-of-3 from the three-point area in the last two minutes and Sonny Thoss made the winning tip-in with four-tenths of a second left as Alaska Milk nipped Air21, 91-89, in Game One of their own best-of-three quarters showdown.

“Obviously, it’s not over till it’s over, but I would rather be 1-0 up than 0-1 down,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.