Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos against TNT. Photo from PBA Images.

MANILA (UPDATED) — Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tallied a dominant victory to inch closer to a Top 4 spot in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.

The Gin Kings bolstered their hopes of a twice-to-beat advantage in the All-Filipino Quarterfinals after they overwhelmed the TNT Tropang 5G, 97-78, in their Sunday evening clash at a packed Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

This was the seventh win of Barangay Ginebra in 10 games, allowing them to move up to No.3 in the team standings. They currently hold the upper hand over fellow 7-3 squad Magnolia Hotshots as BGSM defeated them in their Manila Clasico faceoff a week ago. 

RJ Abarrientos was stellar for the Tim Cone-coached squad, scattering 23 points, four assists, and four rebounds, while Japeth Aguilar received Player of the Game honors due to his 20-point, 14-rebound game in their wire-to-wire win. 

However, Cone downplayed their dominant victory over their modern-day rivals, saying that it was a matter of things falling for his team. 

"We didn't make too big of a deal out of this game," he pointed out. 

"It's an elimination game, they played last Friday, and we had a week to prepare. It was a big game in terms of standings and Top 4, but there were some circumstances that allowed us to win like this tonight," he added. 

Still, the Gin Kings came to play vs. TNT, as Stephen Holt, Jamie Malonzo, and Troy Rosario all finished in double digits with 12, 12, and 11, respectively.

On the other hand, this was a hit to the twice-to-beat advantage hopes of TNT as they fell to 6-4, tied with the Converge FiberXers for the Nos. 5 and 6 spots.

This defeat also spoiled the TNT debut of Jordan Heading who was recently dealt to his newest squad in exchange for the rights of Mickey Williams.

Heading finished with 10 markers, three boards, and three dimes, only following Calvin Oftana's 18 points, four steals, three rebounds, and a pair of blocks.

Unfortunately, these didn't help Tropang 5G's cause as not only did they absorb a 13-to-nothing start from the Gin Kings, but they also trailed the whole contest, at one point, even by 32.

Ginebra's defense also limited TNT to shooting only 28-of-73 from the field (38.4%) as a team, and Aguilar and company relied on their height advantage to outrebound their opponents, 48-32.

The Scores:

Ginebra 97 – Abbarientos 23, J.Aguilar 20, Holt 12, Malonzo 12, Rosario 11, Pinto 6, Thompson 5, R.Aguilar 4, David 2, Gray 2, Adamos 0, Ahanmisi 0, Cu 0.

TNT 78 – Oftana 18, Heading 10, Aurin 9, Pogoy 8, Williams 8, Khobuntin 7, Enciso 5, Nieto 4, Vosotros 3, Erram 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Varilla 2, Heruala 0.

Quarterscores: 30-11, 54-27, 74-50, 97-78.

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