Derby Ace made a strong case for the remaining outright semifinals berth in the PBA Fiesta Cup after turning its Wednesday night encounter with Barangay Ginebra into a rout, 101-83, at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Llamados easily destroyed the Kings by firing away 10 three-pointers, with Cliff Brown showing the way on a high 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
In all, the energetic import finished with 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as he completely outplayed Ginebra counterpart Denham Brown.
The unexpected ending to the highly-anticipated showdown between two of the league’s most popular ballclubs netted the Llamados their 12th win in 17 outings, tying them with defending champion San Miguel Beer for second place and a possible shot at the no. 2 spot for an automatic slot in the Final Four.
Chances of Derby Ace joining outright semifinalist Talk `N Text into the next round is even brighter as the Llamados have lowly Barako Bull for their final elimination round assignment on June 27.
On the other hand, the Beermen wind up their classification round assignment with a game against the Alaska Aces, who, at 11-6, still has a mathematical chance of forcing a playoff for the no. 2 slot.
“It just feels good knowing you’ve got a shot at that outright semifinals berth," said Brown later.
James Yap added 21 points and Canaleta 11 as the two nailed one three-point shot after another when the Llamados broke away for good in the third period.
Marc Pingris also had 11 and his completed three-point play in the final 1:58 pushed the Llamados to their biggest lead of the night, 97-76.
The Kings capped the eliminations with an even 9-9 card and now await whether they will advance to the quarterfinals outright or at worst, go through the wildcard phase. The Kings lost their third straight game and five of their last six.
Either Rain or Shine or Coca-Cola could forge a playoff with Ginebra for a berth in the quarterfinals in the event they sweep their remaining two games, although the two are set to clash on Sunday. Both teams carry similar 7-9 cards.
The Kings were never really in the game and played catch-up for the entire night.
Brown was a complete bust for the second straight game and the import out of University of Connecticut who once scored 111 points in a basketball match, was held down to just 15 points, including two in the third period when the Llamados went on a big offensive splurge. - RCJ, GMANews.TV
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
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