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Miller sparks Kings' win over depleted Painters


Willie Miller and the rest of the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings were already in a playoff mood as early as Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. The two-time league MVP exploded in a big second-half run, which the Kings used as a springboard to repulse the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 99-88. With Miller on target, the Gin Kings ended their elimination round campaign in the PBA Philippine Cup on a winning note. The cerebrail guard scored 11 of his 19 points in the third quarter when Ginebra pulled away for good against a Rain or Shine squad that badly missed the services of the injured Sol Mercado. The Kings outscored the Elasto Painters, 34-25, to stretch a slim four-point lead to its biggest at 74-61 late in the period. The most popular team in the league finished with a 10-4 card overall for the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. The Kings face the No. 6 team in a short best-of-three series. “Magandang panalo ito, para going into the playoffs, maganda ang momentum namin," said Miller, who added eight rebounds and four assists. Its third straight loss was a costly one for Rain or Shine, pulling them down to a 5-8 record. The Elasto Painters will likely end up at No. 8, in which case it would face the top team, Talk `N Text, which will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage. . The Elasto Painters will have the Meralco Bolts for their final assignment on Wednesday. TY Tang scored a conference-high 17 points for Rain or Shine as he took the cudgels for the team in the absence of Mercado, the Elasto Painters’ leading scorer. The firebrand guard sat out the game to rest a nagging left ankle injury. But even without Mercado, the Elasto Painters made a fight out of it. With Jeff Chan and Ryan Arana taking charge, Rain or Shineclosed in at 88-82 in the final two minutes of play. However, Willie Wilson nailed a soft jumper, and Mark Caguioa split his free throws to give the Kings a safe 91-82 cushion down the stretch. Ronald Tubid and Caguioa finished with 16 each for the Kings, while Rudy Hatfield had 13. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV

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