MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra dictated the tempo early and managed to stay composed to ward off TNT and Bol Bol, 93-86, sealing the second seed in the playoffs at the close of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup elimination round on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gin Kings jumped off to a 15-point lead in the first half.
But the Tropang 5G just refused to roll and die, as they managed to creep in at five points, before RJ Abarrientos buried what proved to be the dagger triple with 48 seconds to go to seal the Gin Kings’ victory.
Ginebra secured the second seed with its 9-3 record, just behind top seed NLEX’s 10-2 card.
The boys of coach Tim Cone will face seventh seed Phoenix in the opening round of the playoffs.
TNT dropped to eighth seed with its 6-6 card, a similar slate by Phoenix, though the latter took the seventh seed by virtue of their 100-97 overtime win against the Tropang 5G.
Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Abarrientos finished with 17.
Bol led TNT with 33 points and 10 rebounds, while Calvin Oftana had 11.
