MANILA, Philippines－The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings wrapped up the elimination rounds with an imposing 94-80 victory against the Mahindra Floodbuster, handing them the top seed in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, June 2 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings maintained the lead all throughout, capitalizing on Mahindra’s costly turnovers, which totaled at 22 in the game.
The Floodbuster dominated the boards with a clear 56-46 edge, but weren’t able to convert offensively as they only shot 36% from the field.
Justin Brownlee chipped in 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go with 10 boards and 5 assists, while Japeth Aguilar put up 14 points and 9 rebounds for Ginebra, which displayed efficient ball movement with 27 assists in the match.
Mark Caguioa provided some spark off the bench as he finished with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting as well as 4 rebounds.
Keith Wright meanwhile anchored Mahindra as he capped the night off with a 21-point, 22-rebound performance.
Glenn Khobuntin dished out 16 markers, 9 rebounds, and two assists for the Floodbuster, who will exit the conference with a 3-8 win-loss card.
Jason Deutchman also had good numbers with 13 points and 5 boards in over 20 minutes of action.
The twice-to-beat Gin Kings will face either the Alaska Aces or the GlobalPort Batang Pier in the quarterfinal round starting next week. The two teams will participate in a playoff for the no. 8 seed on Sunday, June 4.
Earlier in the day, the San Miguel Beermen also punched in a twice-to-beat quarterfinal advantage, but will have to settle for the second seed following Ginebra’s victory.
－Rappler.com
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