MANILA, 23 November — Import Askia Jones was on his off night. But Shell Turbochargers found a hero in Rob Wainwright.
Scoring a career-high 30 points, Wainwright powered Turbochargers to a convincing 106-87 victory over the Gin Kings in their knockout match for the lone semifinals berth in the Governor’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena.
Wainwright’s brilliant offensive game, coupled with Shell’s tight defense, enabled the Turbochargers to advance to the semis against defending champions San Miguel Beer.
"A lot of people thought we chose Ginebra as our quarterfinal opponent, but they were all wrong. Ginebra is a tough team. They have the quickness that creates a lot of problems for us," said Shell coach Perry Ronquillo. "But we came out prepared tonight. We spent the whole week shooting and we created a lot of mismatches by using the triangle."
Jones was unusually quiet on Wednesday night, finishing with only 20 points against Ginebra’s double-teaming defense.
Shell’s leech-like defense also held Ginebra’s gunner Mark Caguioa scoreless for the entire evening.
Even the Gin Kings hardworking import Bubba Wells, was also held down to just one point in the third period when the Turbochargers made the decisive breakaway.
Gerry Esplana capped a telling 9-1 run in the latter part of the third canto as Shell posted a 74-54 advantage with still a full quarter to go.
Ginebra’s last stand came in the last four minutes of the final quarter when Elmer Lago struck for eight points, including two triples that shoved the Gin Kings to within 83-97.
But that proved to be their last stand as the Turbochargers used the time to their advantage and squelched the Gin Kings’ hopes of beating them twice in a row.
The scores:
Shell 106 — Wainwright 30, Jones 20, Hrabak 18, Esplana 12, Marzan 10, Dela Cruz 7, Telan 6, Jackson 3, Cheng 0.
Ginebra 87 — Wells 21, Limpot 19, Helterbrand 16, David 10, Lago 10, Meneses 5, Magtulis 4, Calpito 2, Basco 0, Piodo 0, Caguioa 0.
Quarterscores: 24-20; 51-41; 74-54; 106-87.
