Kings rout Beermen, post 2-0 lead

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5:15 p.m. — NLEX vs Phoenix

7:30 p.m. — Magnolia vs TNT

Just like that, Barangay Ginebra, which struggled to advance to the playoffs, moved within a win of securing a semifinals berth.

The Kings made life miserable for San Miguel Beer with precision shooting and unselfish plays as they carved out a 126-99 Game 2 win to take full control of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinals series on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Jordan Murphy came an assist short of a triple-double, pouring 33 points on 8-of-12 field goal shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead Ginebra to a commanding 2-0 series advantage.

The Kings shot an efficient 55.1 percent from the field and made a killing from the outside with a 16-of-33 three-point shooting while sharing the ball well with 32 assists compared to just 14 by the Beermen.

“Everyone is as surprised as I am about this. We didn’t even dream we’d get out with even a 1-1, much less a 2-0. We’re definitely on a roll. Our offense is clicking, and guys are locked in defensively,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said.

“We’re just trying to keep the pressure on San Miguel. Keep attacking and keep going at them. So far, it’s working. I can’t get any complaints at this point. But again, two games don’t make a series, as we all know,” Cone added.

The Kings go for the jugular on Tuesday at the City of Dasmarinas Arena in Cavite.

Murphy had plenty of help on offense. RJ Abarrientos finished with 22 points, Stephen Holt had 19 points while Scottie Thompson neared a triple-double with 12 points, 11 assists and seven boards.

Ginebra unleashed a 33-20 third-quarter storm to turn a slim seven-point advantage at the half into a 102-82 lead heading into the payoff period.

From there, the Kings never lifted their foot from the gas pedal and even opened a 33-point lead after Nard Pinto drilled Ginebra’s last trey of the ballgame for a 126-93 count with 1:02 remaining.

CJ Perez got 18 points, Jerrick Ahanmisi posted 17 points while big man June Mar Fajardo bounced back from a three-point outing in Game 1 with 16 points and nine rebounds but weren’t enough to save San Miguel. George King had a quiet 13-point outing for the Beermen, who shot 48.6 percent from the field.