Ginebra ousts TNT from playoff with rout

Greg Slaughter put up his best scoring output since returning from injury. Dennis Acosta

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Following Phoenix's win over Blackwater earlier Sunday, Ginebra already sealed the top seed in the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals even if it falls to TNT.

The Barangay, however, still went for the exclamation point.

Ginebra finished the elimination round of the season-ending conference with the best record after a 112-93 blowout against TNT right in the final game of the said round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Barangay recovered from an early spurt from the KaTropa and slowly pulled away from there as they finish the preliminaries at 9-2, a full game above a three-way tie involving the Fuel Masters, the Alaska Aces, and the Magnolia Hotshots.

Justin Brownlee put up a triple-double of 31 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists with three steals and three blocks for Ginebra, which will face NLEX in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night at the said venue.

Greg Slaughter added 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Marqus Blakely made 23 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks for TNT, which was knocked out of playoff contention with the loss, giving Meralco a free pass to the quarterfinals as the seventh seed, earning a quarterfinal showdown with Phoenix on Wednesday night in the process.

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