PBA: Ginebra extends streak, seals QF berth with win over Titan Ultra

Barangay Ginebra simply had an answer for every Titan Ultra run, eking out a 119-107 win to punch a quarterfinals berth in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

Resident import Justin Brownlee played through four fouls and torched the Giant Risers with 35 points laced with nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal as the Gin Kings, with a 7-2 card, became the third team to enter the playoffs. 

Ginebra, which captured its fifth straight win after a shaky 2-2 start, now joins top-seeded Rain or Shine (8-1) and NLEX (7-2) as the early quarterfinalists.

The loss, however, sent Titan to a 2-7 record. 

Ginebra also secured its 50th consecutive conference playoff appearance.

"Basketball is a game of habits and we're just trying to keep our habits going. You know, we're going into a stretch of three really hard games," Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said.

"But this is where we wanna get to, we want to get this kind of record and this was something we talked about. We had to sure to show up for the last four games because again, we've seen how many times teams have upset favorite teams."

"We didn't want to be one of those teams that were upset."

Although Cone and the Gin Kings are already gearing up for a tough three-game stretch against fellow top-five teams Meralco, Rain or Shine, and TNT, Ginebra still made sure to take care of business against the Giant Risers.

Titan Ultra proved to be a tough opponent with import Michael Gilmore hitting two consecutive triples to pull the Giant Risers within four early in the third period, 62-58.

Ginebra, though, had a counter for every Titan attack.

A corner three by Stephen Holt gave Ginebra an 83–76 cushion, before RJ Abarrientos knocked down an off-balance triple to extend the lead to 86–73 heading into the fourth quarter.

Joshua Munzon cut the deficit to 11, but Nards Pinto and Scottie Thompson each buried a triple to bring Ginebra ahead by 15, 96-81. 

Fran Yu and Aris Dionisio sparked another Titan Ultra rally to cut the deficit to 103–94, but Brownlee, Thompson, and Holt answered with timely baskets to push Ginebra back ahead, 109–96, en route to the win.

Abarrientos led the local support with 25 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal while Thompson and Troy Rosario each chipped in 12 markers as Ginebra battled through the absence of Japeth Aguilar. 

Titan Ultra, which now sustained its fourth loss in a row, leaned on Joshua Munzon and Gilmore after they poured in 20 and 15 points, respectively. The American-Belgian import also hauled 10 rebounds, but had six turnovers and comitted five fouls in almost 40 minutes of action. 

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News