B-MEG GAINS SHARE OF 2ND WITH CRUCIAL WIN OVER KINGS

(From PBA)

Cliff proving himself to be the better Brown than Denham was a key factor as B-MEG Derby Ace stayed on a hot streak and in strong contention for an outright entry in the PBA Fiesta Conference Final Four.

The Derby Ace import outplayed his Barangay Ginebra counterpart as the Llamados whipped the Kings, 101-83, Wednesday to catch up with the San Miguel Beermen at second place with three play dates left in the double-round elimination phase.

Cliff came through with 24 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, and got the needed support from his teammates as they notched a fifth straight win and drew level with the Beermen at 12-5.

Before a good Wednesday crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, Purefoods showed up Ginebra, foiling the Kings’ third shot at an outright seat in the quarterfinal round.

The Kings closed out with a 9-9 record, within reach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (7-9) and the Coca-Cola Tigers (7-9).

“It took a while for us to get going but I think we’ve got in at the right moment,” said Cliff Brown.

“The best thing about our situation is the reality that we’re in control of our fate,” said coach Ryan Gregorio for his part.

“We’ve primed ourselves to figure prominently in the elimination round. We’ll not relax and be complacent in our last game against Barako,” added Gregorio, promising his team would go flat-out against the Coffee Masters Sunday for a shot either at an outright semis berth or a playoff for an automatic semis entry.

San Miguel and Alaska Milk (11-6) are the other teams still in pursuit of the No. 2 spot. The two teams clash in a pivotal tiff Saturday in Dumaguete.

Derby Ace outscored Ginebra in all quarters as the Llamados steadily pulled away in duplicating their 95-82 spanking of the Kings in their previous match on May 9.

James Yap and Nino Canaleta bombed away big treys as the Llamados stepped up their attack in the final canto.

Yap went 4-of-8 from the three-point area and finished with 21 points and six rebounds while Canaleta sank all of his three three-point tries and ended up with 11 points, two rebounds and one assist.

Denham Brown was good for only 15 points with the entire Ginebra team struggling with a 36.6-percent field goal shooting.

The Kings figure in a playoff for the No. 5 spot should either the Tigers and the Elasto Painters sweep their last two games. (SB)

The scores:

B-Meg Derby Ace 101 - Brown 24, Yap J. 21, Canaleta 11, Pingris 11, Artadi 7, Simon 6, Adducul 6, Yap R. 5, Reavis 4, Allado 4, Maierhofer 2.

Ginebra 83 - Brown 15, Hatfield 15, Caguioa 12, Villanueva 11, Salvacion 6, Helterbrand 6, Wilson 5, Cortez 5, Miller 4, Tubid 2, De Ocampo 2.

Quarters: 26-23, 47-37, 72-57, 101-83