BARANGAY Ginebra dealt the KO punch on "Manila Clasico" rival Magnolia Chicken Timplados, 99-84, to grab the first finals ticket in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Wednesday at the MOA Arena.
Justin Brownlee produced a monster outing of 24 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals and five blocks while Japeth Aguilar delivered a conference-best 19 markers and eight boards to lead Ginebra to the smashing closeout.
With their 3-1 semis win against the Hotshots, the Gin Kings advanced to the finals for the fourth time in the last five conferences. This run includes two of their Governors' Cup feats with Brownlee plus their triumph in the Philippine Cup bubble in Clark.
The crowd darlings now await the outcome of the other semis duel between Bay Area and defending champion San Miguel to determine their opponents in the best-of-seven championship series. The Dragons hold a 2-1 upperhand in this duel.
Game 1 of the finals starts on Christmas Day also at the MOA.
"I'm so thankful we don't have to play a Game 5 against this team," said Cone after finishing off the tough Hotshots.
"We talked about it: Just say no to Game 5. We had to put all our eggs in one basket in this game and we did. These guys didn't leave anything, they didn't look beyond this game."
The Gin Kings made their first big move in the latter stages of the opening period, detonating an 11-0 bomb to create separation from the must-win Hotshots.
Brownlee and Co. kept their foot on the pedal and even led by as many as 24 at 71-41 before cruising to the clincher.
"One thing about this team is great leadership. We have guys like LA (Tenorio) taking responsibility not only for himself but making sure everybody's locked in," said Cone.
LA Tenorio shot 18 spiked by four triples while Thompson chipped in 14 to with five rebounds and five assists.
Calvin Abueva (14), Rakocevic (13) and Jio Jalalon (12) showed the way while Paul Lee, returned from a flu-shortened stint last time with nine in 26 minutes for the Hotshots.
The Scores:
Ginebra 99 - Brownlee 24, J.,Aguilar 19, Tenorio 18, Thompson 14, Malonzo 10, Pringle 5, Gray 3, Pinto 3, Mariano 2, Standhardinger 1, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0.
Magnolia 84 - Abueva 14, Rakocevic 13, Jalalon 12, Lee 9, Reavis 8, Barroca 7, Ahanmisi 6, Sangalang 6, Dionisio 4, Wong 3, Corpuz 2, Dela Rosa 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarters: 29-18, 53-41, 82-68, 99-84.
