Kings upstage Elite in double overtime

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra went through a tough 58-minute grind versus a never-say-die Blackwater side, needing clutch treys by LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson at the finish to eke out a 102-94 win and an outright quarterfinal berth in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the AUF Arena in Angeles City last night.

Big men Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar carried the fight for the Gin Kings almost throughout before Tenorio and Thompson took over in the end, defying a whale of a fight put up by the Elite in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special.

The Kings eventually won the first double-overtime game in PBA Season 41 as Tenorio and Thompson fired back-to-back treys to make it 100-94.

With the win, Ginebra booked an automatic playoff entry with two games left in the elims.

A sweep of those matches can well give the Kings a Top Six finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in stage one of the two-phase quarterfinal round.

“Before the game, I told the guys that we’re going to bleed for this one. And we bled a lot more than I thought we’re going to,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

“These are the kind of games that our guys need to play, battle for and reach deep. These are character games that could help us,” Cone added.

The Elite played their best game in the tourney, barely blowing chances to win in regulation and in the first overtime.

In the second OT, they’re visibly worn out to avoid another loss.

At 1-7, Blackwater is now a full game behind joint ninth placers Mahindra (2-6) and Star (2-6).

Tenorio’s and Thompson’s heroics in the end preserved Greg Slaughter’s career-best 35 points.

In a rare game before his provincemates, Aguilar put in solid numbers with 25 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, Rain or Shine and TNT continue to jockey for position atop the chart while Star and Mahindra try to stretch the gap between them  and the last two teams in a crucial Sunday twinbill at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Hotshots and the Enforcers break their tie at eighth place in their 3 p.m. tiff while the Elasto Painters and the Tropang Texters look to improve their spots in the Top Five in their 5:15 p.m. tussle.

Jason Ballesteros muffed two free throws with 4.6 ticks to go, then Jervy Cruz missed an outside jumper in the final second as the game went into overtime at 84-all.

Another extra five minutes became necessary as Blackwater bungled another chance to win it in first OT. Gaining possession with 20 seconds left, the Elite played the clock before going to Arthur dela Cruz who misfired a trey.

Behind a tenacious zone defense, Blackwater pushed Ginebra to the limit even with James Sena getting injured then JP Erram fouling out with 3:12 left in regulation.

Before fouling out, Erram was leading the team with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Blackwater enjoyed a 46-42 lead at the turn, overcoming the Kings’ 32-22 advantage on inside points with their 18-10 margin on points off errors and offensive rebounds plus  a 4-0 edge on fastbreak.

The Elite pushed the ball on every opportunity on offense, drawing balanced numbers from Dela Cruz, Erram, Carlo Lastimosa, Bam Gamalinda and Ralphy Reyes who had at least six points apiece in the first 24 minutes of play.

Ballesteros made it 48-42 at the start of the second half on a short jumper before the Kings worked on a 12-to-nothing run to surge ahead at 54-48.