Gin Kings reassert mastery over Bolts

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra outclassed Meralco in a virtual repeat of their previous match, coming away with a lopsided 89-76 victory in the opener of the PBA Governors Cup semifinal round at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo last night.

The Gin Kings opened a huge lead early at 22-6 and dominated the Bolts all the way to the finish in a swashbuckling performance as Ginebra posted its first back-to-back victories in the season-ending tournament.

Kerby Raymundo and Cedric Bozeman both churned out double-double numbers as the Kings picked up from where they left off in their last game in the elims against the Barako Bull Energy, 102-91. The crowd favorites improved their win-loss carry-over card to 6-4.

Arwind Santos made a crucial follow-up shot in the last seven seconds, and Petron Blaze fended off Rain or Shine’s furious endgame rally, salvaging a 90-88 win in the nightcap.

Marcus Faison debuted as Petron import with 20 points, including crucial free throws at the finish, helping the Boosters notch a sixth win against four losses to tie the Gin Kings at third.

Despite the loss, Rain or Shine remained on top at 8-2.

They’re expected to press their finals drive tomorrow as they tangle with the Petron Blaze Boosters in a big day for the team – the retirement of cage legend Robert Jaworski’s jersey No. 7 in formal rites.

“We’re really determined to get a good start in the semis. It’s very crucial since we’re all bunched closely together behind Rain or Shine,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“We hope to get as many wins as we could, especially Sunday which is a big day for us. We hope it provides extra lift to the players,” Tanquingcen also said.

Meanwhile, B-Meg stakes its hold of solo second place when it clashes with Talk n Text in the league’s first visit at the MOA Arena tonight.

The first official game by any league at the brand-new playing venue, the Llamados-Texters tiff is set at 8 p.m.

Raymundo came through with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Bozeman got away with 13 markers and 16 boards as the Kings repeated their 100-73 conquest of the Bolts in a road game in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on June 2.

The Bolts slid farther behind the six-team field at 4-6 slate, needing to sweep their four remaining games to gain a playoff for the last finals berth via the league’s “4-of-5 incentive rule.”

The Bolts hardly got into the game after falling behind by 16, 6-22, just nine minutes into the game.

Curiously, Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio stayed winless in five games at the Antipolo playing venue, just a few kilometers away from his home.

Allein Maliksi and Mark Caguioa contributed double-digit outputs for the Kings, who led by as many as 25 points twice in a dominant showing against the Meralco side playing a second game in two nights.

“It was a factor that they hardly had a rest from their knockout game with Powerade Wednesday. They’re No. 1 in fastbreaks and points off turnovers. We made a concerted effort to throw them off their strong points,” said Tanquingcen.

The Kings outrebounded the Bolts, 61-41, and cashed in on this effort, beating their exhausted rivals, 20-6, on second chance points.

Bozeman, Raymundo, Maliksi and Mike Cortez got Ginebra to a strong start, and the Kings sustained the pace, building 25-point leads at 71-46 and 79-54.