Ginebra man-handles Magnolia to book semifinals ticket

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel ended the hopes of the Magnolia Hotshots Chicken Timplados of a PBA Philippine Cup playoff glory after eliminating them during the quarterfinals, 99-77, on May 11, 2024, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

There was nothing that the Chicken Timplados could do after the Gin Kings went straight to business from the get-go, scoring a wire-to-wire victory to claim the first semifinal spot in the Philippine Cup.

Christian Standhardinger was a man on a mission for the Gin Kings after putting up a dominant performance of 36 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.

Ginebra quickly fed the waxing-hot Standhardinger after the versatile big man made his first two shots, bullying every Magnolia defender thrown at him in the shaded lane.

Things got worse for Magnolia after Jio Jalalon went down heading into the second half and wouldn’t return for the rest of the game.

Without Jalalon, Magnolia’s pace looked stagnant and they relied heavily on Mark Barroca and Paul Lee.

It was then all Ginebra after the first three quarters as the prestigious franchise ballooned their lead to 22 points courtesy of their balanced offensive attack.

Magnolia tried to revive their hopes of a come-from-behind effort but Barroca was the only bright spot for the banged-up team and needed more scoring support from his teammates.

Backstopping Standhardinger during Ginebra’s huge win was Maverick Ahanmisi who put up 16 points built from three three-pointers and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Scottie Thompson almost clinched a rare quadruple-double after stuffing the stat sheets with 11 points, 10 assists, seven steals, and six rebounds.

“I felt like the guys came out aggressively and did a great job defensively and we had a really good energy throughout the game and kept on pushing,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone after the win.