Kings’ 37-point blowout of Coca-Cola Tigers biggest since at least the last 15 years

Barangay Ginebra made short work of the Coca-Cola-Tigers Wednesday night in rolling to its seventh consecutive win – a 122-85 blowout at the Araneta Coliseum that pulled the Kings on the threshold of advancing outright to semifinals of the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference.

Ronald Tubid turned in 20 points including 4-of-5 3-pointers and import David Noel added 18 and as many rebounds which came with five assists and four shotblocks as the defending champions decided the game after the opening half to improve to a 8-5 (win-loss) record with one playdate left in the classification round of the eliminations.

“Sobra lang ang ganda ng shooting namin and we caught Coke on their off night,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico afterwards, referring to their 55.3% clip from the floor for the game.

“We know if we get to nine wins it eases the problem. The opportunity is there so we might as well take advantage of it,” added Uichico, whose team actually shot 60% in the fourth period where they led by as much as 42 points.

The defending champion Kings could secure their place in the Final Four if they could closeout their campaign in the classification round with another victory against the Alaska Aces on Friday. Top seed San Miguel Beer has already secured its place in the semis with its 11-2 mark.

“Hopefully, we could show the same kind of energy (vs Alaska),” Uichico said.

With Tubid and Billy Mamaril hitting their shots early, the Kings opened up a 16-6 advantage.

The Tigers, who fell to 5-8, pulled within 13-20 on a dunk by James Penny before the Kings went on another 23-7 run to stretched the margin to 43-21 late in the second quarter.

The Tigers never recovered after that.

The 37-point margin was the most lopsided win by the Kings since at least the last 15 years and was the biggest winning margin by any team since the Beermen’s 119-79 win over Welcoat on May 23, 2007 in the Fiesta tourney two seasons ago.

For the Tigers, it marked their third worst defeat in franchise history, having previously lost by 47 and 41 points, respectively, to Sta. Lucia and Purefoods in the 2006-07 Philippine Cup.

Ronjay Buenafe scored 21 points. Asi Taulava and Nic Belasco added 12 apiece for the Tigers, who shot just 38 percent from the field (35-of-92). (DBC)

The scores:

Ginebra 122 - Tubid 20, Noel 18, Lanete 13, Baguio 13, Helterbrand 13, Artadi 12, Intal 11, Mamaril 6, Salvacion 5, Menk 5, Kramer 4, Reavis 2, Se 0.

Coke 85 - Buenafe 21, Taulava 12, Belasco 12, Telan 11, Penny 10, Calimag 7, Singson 5, Cabagnot 2, Avenido 2, Santos 2, Macapagal 1, Rizada 0, Dimaunahan 0.

Quarterscores: 23-13, 52-28, 89-58, 122-85


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