Beermen ousted by sister-team Barangay Ginebra in quarterfinal round
Defending champion Barangay Ginebra ended the grand-slam bid of sister-team San Miguel Beer with a masterful 104-84 rout of the Beermen last night in the quarterfinal round of the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The third-seeded Gin Kings, who only needed one win to advance, created some distance in the second quarter when they held San Miguel down to just nine points. They kept the Beermen at bay in the ensuing quarters to pull off the victory and advance to the semifinal round.
At the moment, only Ginebra and rival Star Hotshots are in the semifinals.
The seventh-seeded Rain or Shine forced a rubbermatch with second-seeded TNT with a 106-102 victory in the first game yesterday.
Last Tuesday, Blackwater, the eighth seed, also survived the top ranked Meralco, 92-91, to stay alive.
Both teams meet today in a knockout match for the right to face the Hotshots in the semis.
Star Hotshots ousted NLEX with an 89-77 win also last Tuesday to make the semis.
Leading the Gin Kings’ victory over the Beermen was import Justin Brownlee, who finished with 37 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.
His counterpart Terrence Watson had 30 points but his efforts weren’t enough as the Beermen, champions in the All-Filipino and Commissioner’s Cup this season, struggled to get the usual numbers from their locals.
The winner between TNT and Rain or Shine will face the Gin Kings in the semifinal round.