Gin Kings oust FiberXers to set up semis clash vs Beermen

MANILA, Philippines — It will be Barangay Ginebra against San Miguel in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

The Gin Kings kept the Converge FiberXers at bay, 88-80, to punch their ticket to the semifinals Friday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

RJ Abarrientos sparked Ginebra with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals off the bench. Japeth Aguilar added 19 markers, 13 dimes, three swats and two dimes.

The game was tight through the first two quarters, with Converge leading by four, 35-31, at the midway point of the second quarter.

But Ginebra unleashed an 18-4 run capped by an and-one play by Mav Ahanmisi to take control, 49-39.

Converge then sliced the deficit to two, 51-53, with a 12-4 counter blitz by the FiberXers.

But the Gin Kings found their rhythm and broke the game wide open for good, taking a game-high 16-point lead, 77-61, at the 9:07 mark of the fourth quarter.

The FiberXers, however, did go down swinging, moving to within six points, 80-86, with about 33 seconds left.

But finishing touches by Abarrientos sealed the deal.

Jamie Malonzo followed suit for Ginebra with 14 points. Stephen Holt and Troy Rosario added 13 and 10 markers, respectively.

Justin Arana powered Converge with 15 markers, seven boards, two assists, two steals and a block. Justine Baltazar chipped in 13 points, while Alec Stockton had 12 points on a horrendous 3-of-15 shooting, including 0-of-10 from the two-point territory.

“Obviously, it's, we always say if you're going to win an All-Filipino (conference), you have to go through San Miguel at some point. Whether it be in the quarters or the semis or the finals, you have to go through them to have a chance to win a championship,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone told reporters after the game.

“So that's the runway we've been given, so that's the runway we've got to go through,” he added.

The Ginebra-San Miguel semis matchup will tip off next week.