- San Miguel Beermen and Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, owners of twice-to-beat bonuses in the quarterfinals, try to clinch the first two PBA Philippine Cup semifinals berths in one try on Friday.
June 20, Friday – Ninoy Aquino Stadium
- 5pm – Meralco Bolts vs San Miguel Beermen
- 7:30pm – Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings vs Converge FiberXers
Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings coach TIm Cone during a PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals game against Converge FiberXers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone is embracing the task of facing sister team San Miguel Beer in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals after arranging that matchup with the quarterfinal conquest of Converge on Friday.
The Gin Kings and the Beermen are set for a best-of-seven showdown starting Wednesday and Cone described it as something his team would have to face regardless of their quest to win the prestigious conference.
“If you’re gonna win an all-Filipino, you have to go through San Miguel at some point,” Cone said after the 88-80 win at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings’ Japeth Aguilar during a PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals game against Converge FiberXers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Barangay Ginebra set up a semifinals date with sibling rival San Miguel Beer after taking down Converge, 88-80, in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Japeth Aguilar once again outworked the younger duo of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar to finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Gin Kings made sure they would need just one game to finish off the FiberXers and secure a place in the Final Four of the centerpiece conference.
RJ Abarrientos topscored with 21 points while Jamie Malonzo, Stephen Holt and Troy Rosario also contributed to the victory that sent Ginebra to a best-of-seven affair with San Miguel.
LIVE SCORES: Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings vs Converge FiberXers
- Barangay Ginebra makes short work of quarters opponent Converge, 88-80, to arrange semifinal showdown with San Miguel Beer in the PBA Philippine Cup.
- Alec Stockton with a four pointer from top of key! Converge just down 80-86, 33 seconds.
- Ginebra holding on to an 86-76 lead with under a minute to play.
- Converge showing some fight here, pulling within 74-83 with under five minutes to play.
- Start of the fourth and Ginebra still on a roll. Japeth Aguilar left alone for an emphatic jam! The Gin Kings lead 75-59.
- END OF THIRD: Ginebra 73, Converge 59.
- 14-2 run for Ginebra after another bucket from Pinto. 73-59 lead.
- After several extra passes including a no-look from RJ Abarrientos, John Pinto connects from the left corner! Ginebra now leads 71-59. 38.9 seconds in the third.
- Ginebra pushes its lead to 66-57 as Converge’s offense stalls with under four minutes in the third.
- RJ Abarrientos scores! Ginebra 61, Converge 57.
- Scottie Thompson grinds past the defense and goes hard to the basket for 2! Ginebra 55, Converge 51.
- Justin Baltazar doing it all! He picks Stephen Holt then connects with Justin Arana, who finishes with the 2. Ginebra 53, Converge 51.
- Third quarter underway. Strong start for Converge as it cuts into Ginebra’s lead 51-47 after Justin Baltazar’s basket.
- HALFTIME: Ginebra 49, Converge 41.
- The Gin Kings protecting their advantage, holding on to a 44-39 lead just before halftime.
- Ginebra back in the lead, 36-35.
- END OF FIRST: Converge 26, Ginebra 21
- Jack Corpuz from downlow! He gives Converge the lead, 19-18, with under 3 minutes in the first quarter.
- Jamie Malonzo and Justine Baltaza trade 3s! Ginebra 16, Converge 15.
- Ginebra lead down to just a point, 13-12, after a fastbreak basket from Converge.
- Converge FiberXers within 8-11 after a 3 from Alec Stockton.
- Barangay Ginebra opens the game with a 8-2 lead over Converge.
San Miguel Beermen’s Don Trollano during a PBA Philippine Cup game against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Don Trollano admitted feeling a sense of redemption after playing a big part in San Miguel Beer dethroning Meralco in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
Trollano’s 19 points were among the reasons why the Beermen eliminated the Bolts, 108-97, on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, atoning for their heartbreaking loss in last year’s Finals of the PBA All-Filipino tournament.
Meralco defeated San Miguel for the title after Chris Newsome drained the winning shot from the baseline off Trollano.
San Miguel Beermen’s Rodney Brondial during a PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals game against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
San Miguel Beer became the first team to secure a place in the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup after dethroning Meralco with a 108-97 victory in Friday’s quarters matchup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
June Mar Fajardo had his usual numbers, but it was Don Trollano and Rodney Brondial who were instrumental in the Beermen taking care of business against the Bolts, who beat them last year to claim the 2024 edition of the all-Filipino crown.
Trollano dropped 19 points off the bench while Brondial had 13 points and 12 rebounds as San Miguel will face either Barangay Ginebra or Converge in a best-of-seven semifinals, which starts Wednesday.
LIVE SCORES: Meralco Bolts vs San Miguel Beermen
- San Miguel Beer becomes the first team to reach the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals after dethroning last year’s champion Meralco, 108-97.
- San Miguel trying to pull away from Meralco again, pushing the lead to 91-77 with 8:26 to play.
- END OF THIRD: San Miguel 81, Meralco 75.
- After trailing by double digits for most of the game, Meralco now down by just 2, 75-77, with a minute left in the third quarter.
- AT THE HALF: San Miguel 58, Meralco 44.
- The Beermen still in total control of the Bolts with a 42-28 advantage with seven minutes before halftime.
- END OF FIRST: San Miguel 35, Meralco 20.
- A fastbreak bucket from Chris Banchero trims San Miguel down to 8-17 midway through the opening period.
- San Miguel opens with a dominant 14-3 lead over Meralco Bolts.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone during the PBA Philippine Cup.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Ginebra coach Tim Cone is not taking Converge lightly in their upcoming PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals matchup.
Despite being armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, Cone said the Gin Kings still have a lot to worry about against the FiberXers.
What concerns Cone most is the twin towers of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar.
“They have two really solid bigs that are really hard to handle and match up to,” said Cone after their win over Rain or Shine on Saturday in Antipolo. “We know them a little bit because we played them already and we played them out of town.”
San Miguel Beer guard CJ Perez.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—The last time San Miguel Beer crossed paths with Meralco in a playoff series, the Bolts emerged victorious in six games en route to the PBA Philippine Cup title last year.
That was last year. In this year’s iteration of the all-Filipino, the Beermen and the Bolts face off again but this time, in the quarterfinals.
CJ Perez is hoping that history does not repeat itself.
“I think it’s a different ballgame now. The past is in the past,” said Perez after the Beermen’s dominant 126-91 win over Northport to end the elimination round.
San Miguel Beer guard CJ Perez goes for a shot against NorthPort in the PBA Philippine Cup.–PBA IMAGES
ANTIPOLO—San Miguel Beer has obviously shrugged off the disappointment of missing the playoffs in the last conference, and the Beermen are back to their fearsome self as evidenced by a 126-91 destruction of NorthPort for top seeding going into the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
And that rare time that the Beermen missed playing past the eliminations certainly lit a fuse in the team.
“San Miguel isn’t used to missing the playoffs,” CJ Perez, who scored 19 points, said. “And when it happened [last conference], we were totally disappointed, especially management.”
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