PBA: Ginebra routs Rain or Shine, eliminates Petron

PBA: Ginebra routs Rain or Shine, eliminates Petron
July 12, 2012 10:23pm

(Updated 11:02pm) Mark Caguioa was nearly automatic from every spot on the court Thursday night, scoring 29 points on an 11-of-22 shooting clip to lead the Barangay Ginebra Kings past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 95-86 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, eliminating the Petron Blaze Boosters in the process, in the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup.

The Elasto Painters raced out to a 21-15 lead after three free throws from Paul Lee, but with 2:50 remaining in the first period, the referees had to stop the game as Rico Villanueva and Gabe Norwood figured into a scuffle.

After the technical free throws, Rain or Shine went on to close the quarter with a 5-2 run to go up by 10, 28-18.

In the second period, Ginebra went on an 8-1 run to close the gap to 29-26. JR Quiñahan then teamed up with Ronjay Buenafe and Ryan Arana to keep Rain or Shine ahead, before a Mark Caguioa three and a JJ Helterbrand jumper finally tied the game for the Kings, 37-all, with four and a half minutes to go.

The two teams then went back and forth, wrestling with the lead, before a Paul Lee triple made it 45-43 for Rain or Shine. JJ Helterbrand would hit a tough jumper on the other end though with one second remaining to tie the game at the half, 45-all.

Tied at 53-all early in the third, the Kings went on to have a 17-7 run, with Caguioa scoring 11 in the quarter. A Helterbrand trey gave Ginebra its largest lead at 10, 70-60, before Paul Lee and Jamelle Cornley combined for five to end the quarter with the Kings up, 70-65.

In the fourth, the Elasto Painters continued to struggle with their outside shots, as Jervy Cruz tried to muscle his way inside, banging in four straight to bring Rain or Shine closer, 79-73.

Kerby Raymundo answered with his own shot in the paint, before Paul Lee hit a three to make it a five-point game, 81-76. Ginebra had two straight layups courtesy of Bozeman and Helterbrand to put Ginebra ahead by nine, 85-76, before Cruz and Lee responded with four straight to cut the lead yet again to five, 85-80.

Ginebra would score four more, this time through Raymundo and Rudy Hatfield, putting the Kings up again by nine, 89-80.

With two and a half minutes remaining left in the game, Gabe Norwood scored on a baseline three to cut the lead to six, 91-85, but Caguioa would score on back-to-back jumpers to ice the win for Ginebra, 95-86.

"Thankful for the opportunity na nanalo kami," said Ginebra head coach Siot Tangquincen. "Whole conference off the bench si Mark. We need a spark off the bench eh,"

Aside from Caguioa's 29, import Cedric Bozeman added 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Kerby Raymundo and Jayjay Helterbrand combined for 26 markers.

Starting forward Rudy Hatfield added eight points, 12 caroms, two assists and a steal for Ginebra, who have remained undefeated in the semifinals.

Paul Lee top-scored for Rain or Shine with 19 points, while import Jamelle Cornley was held to a mere 13.

The Elasto Painters lost despite a 29-of-39 clip from the foul line, far outpacing BGK's 13-of-20 effort.

The win put Ginebra at 8-4 in the standings, while Rain or Shine saw their lead at the top of the card reduced to a half-game, after falling to 9-3. Petron's 6-6 record saw the defending champions mathematically eliminated though they will still play out the rest of the semifinals. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Ginebra 95 - Caguioa 29, Bozeman 19, Raymundo 15, Helterbrand 11, Hatfield 8, W. Wilson 5, Villanueva 4, Maliksi 2, Cortez 2, Wilson 0, Ababou 0, Maierhofer 0.

Rain or Shine 86 - Lee 19, Chan 14, Cornley 13, Norwood 11, Ibanes 9, Cruz 6, Quinahan 5, Arana 4, Belga 3, Buenafe 2.

Quarter scoring: 18-28, 45-45, 70-65, 95-86

Source: Gmanetwork.com