[ad_1]
Barangay Geneva secured the No. 1 seed heading into the PBA Philippines Cup quarter-finals, beating Terrafirma Dyip, 102-80, on Monday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena.
Scottie Thompson posted a near triple-double, coming in with 13 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Japeth Aguilar led the scoring with 21 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks, while Aljon Mariano contributed 17 and 11 for the Gin Kings to secure a two-goal lead in the playoffs.
“We knew we didn’t play well in the last game. I knew they wanted to recover and come back strong. And we knew how important this game was to us,” Geneva coach Tim Cone said when his team lost decisively to San Miguel. last night. “We went out and I thought we played with a real purpose tonight in terms of doing what we wanted to do.”
Cone also shared that when he learned that the San Miguel game was out of reach, he knew his team had to shift their focus to Terrafirma given that they still had a chance to receive the two-time incentive to win.
The Gin Kings opened the game in the second quarter, outscoring their foe, 35-14. They led by up to 24 points in the first half. However, it was not total domination for Guinevere, as Terrafirma showed its resistance after halftime. Reden Celda burned the network at the end of the third period to reduce the deficit to just eight points.
Dyip did his best to get back in the fourth but the Gin Kings had an answer for every race. Mariano’s free throws pushed Geneva’s lead to 21 points, 99-78, with just over two minutes to go.
CJ Pérez and Juami Tiongson each scored 16 points as they combined for 10 rebounds and nine assists. Aldrech Ramos found his shot by going 6-for-6 from the field to finish with 15 points.
Geneva finished the regular season with an 8-3 record as they wait for the smoke to clear in the tight quarter-final race. Terrafirma fell to 1-9, the worst in the league, but will have a chance to play against the NLEX Road Warriors seeking the playoffs.
“The good news is that we are done, so we have a few days off before the playoffs start,” Cone said. “We don’t know who to prepare for, it could be anyone at number eight, so we have to wait. It could be NLEX, it could be Rain or Shine, it really could be anyone right now. We have no control over that, so it’s really about to take care of ourselves and make sure we are ready. “
THE SCORES
BARANGAY GENEVA 102 – Aguilar 21, Mariano 17, Pringle 14, Thompson 13, Chan 9, Caperal 9, Tenorio 8, Dillinger 5, Dela Cruz 4, Tolentino 2, Balanza 0
TERRA FIRMA 80 – Ramos 15, Pérez 16, Tiongson 16, Camson 8, Cell 8, Cahilig 6, Khobuntin 5, Calvo 4, Faundo 2, Gabayni 0, Agovida 0, Batiller 0, Balagasay 0
Quarters: 26-23, 61-37, 77-67, 102-80
EXTRA JARS
The Terrafirma franchise has not beaten Geneva since it entered the PBA. It is now 0-16 against the Gin Kings.
Geneva shot 51 percent from the field and had the advantage in the rebounding department, 59-32.
NEXT GAME
Terrafirma vs NLEX Road Warriors, 10:00 am on November 11
