BARANGAY Ginebra gifted NorthPort the top seed while torpedoing Meralco's bid as the Gin Kings drubbed a gritty all-Filipino Bolts, 91-87, in a key tiff in the penultimate playdate of the PBA Commissioner's Cup eliminations at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
The Gin Kings made a crucial separation in the third period and banked on clutch charities by RJ Abarrientos to fend off the Bolts' siege at endgame for a closing 8-4 win-loss card, catching up with the Converge FiberXers.
Meanwhile, the Bolts dropped to 7-4 and in the process cleared the way for the Batang Pier to seal claim of the No. 1 spot at 9-3.
Also, TNT hung on at solo second with an 8-3 card. The Tropang Giga try to secure the other twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals versus the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the final game of the elims Friday over at the PhilSports Arena.
The Bolts played without import Akil Mitchell due to back spasm and saw a three-game streak come to a halt. They slipped to fifth spot with one final game to play against the Magnolia Hotshots also on Friday.
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Abarrientos went four-of-four from the foul line inside the final minute to win it for the Gin Kings.
He finished with 17 points to top score in the game with Justin Brownlee, Troy Rosario and Stephen Holt adding 15, 13 and 13, respectively, as second and third stringers played the bulk in the final canto.
The Bolts tried to forge an overtime but Kurt Reyson missed from the extended arc at the buzzer.
CJ Cansino (15 points), Raymond Almazan (13) and Aaron Black (11) led the fight for the losing side.(SB)
The scores:
Ginebra 91 - Abarrientos 17, Brownlee 15, Rosario 13, Holt 13, Malonzo 9, Pessumal 7, Ahanmisi 6, J. Aguilar 4, R. Aguilar 2, Pinto 2, Thompson 2, Tenorio 1, Cu 0, Mariano 0.
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Meralco 87 - Cansino 15, Almazan 13, Black 11, Hodge 9, Newsome 9, Quinto 8, Rios 5, Torres 5, Pasaol 4, Banchero 4, Bates 4, Reyson 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 44-42, 68-59, 91-87
