Barangay Ginebra defeated Magnolia 99-77 to advance to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals by preventing Magnolia from establishing any kind of pattern or flow.

The ‘Manila Clasico’ quarterfinal matchup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday was dulled by a landslide victory led by Christian Standhardinger, who scored 17 of his 36 points in the first half of play.

The seasoned Fil-German wearing a Barangay Ginebra uniform had produced his best work until date.

The first team to reach the semifinals was the No. 2 seeded Kings, who had a twice-to-beat to beat advantage. They will face the winner of the best-of-three quarterfinal matchup between Meralco and NLEX, which the Bolts led, 1-0.

Coach Tim Cone acknowledged that, after the Hotshots finished second to San Miguel in the last Commissioner’s Cup, he was a little taken aback by how quickly the Kings defeated them.

The Kings led by as many as 26 points at one point in the game because of the contributions of Ralph Cu and Scottie Thompson with 11 apiece, Maverick Ahanmisi with 16 and Japeth Aguilar with 12.

Magnolia ended a campaign that had seen the Hotshots contend for the No. 2 place with a disappointing setback.

With the exception of a brief period in the first quarter, the Hotshots struggled to stay in the game, and their issues were exacerbated when guard Jio Jalalon had to leave early because of a sore knee.

Despite suffering a wrist injury, veteran Mark Barroca led Magnolia in scoring with 19 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. Aris Dionisio was the only other player in double digits with 10 points.

Paul Lee was limited to six points, while big man Ian Sangalang, who averaged 18.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, was only able to muster eight points and two rebounds.

The Scores

Ginebra 99 – Standhardinger 26, Ahanmisi 16, J.Aguilar 12, Thompson 11, Cu 11, Pringle 6, Gumaru 3, Pinto 2, David 2, Onwubere 0, R.Aguilar 0, Pessumal 0, Tenorio 0, Murrell 0.

Magnolia 77 – Barroca 19, Dionisio 10, Sangalang 8, Tratter 8, Abueva 8, Mendoza 7, Lee 6, Laput 4, Balanza 3, Dela Rosa 2, Ahanmis 2, Reavis 0, Jalalon 0, Eriobu 0.

Quarter scores: 28-17; 52-36; 80-58; 99-77.

Meanwhile, Jamie Malonzo, after having surgery on his left calf on Friday morning, national coach Tim Cone stated that the 6-foot-7 forward will not be eligible for the Philippine squad in the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July.

“No he won’t be able to play”, Coach Tim cone confirmed on Saturday. 

In the last moments of Ginebra’s match against Terrafirma at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Malonzo suffered a left calf injury.

In an attempt to return to Ginebra for its PBA Philippine Cup campaign and Gilas for the OQT in Latvia, he attempted to temporarily rest the injury. Regretfully, subsequent medical advice suggested that he have calf surgery.

The forward Fil-Am is currently relaxing at home.

Malonzo will return to the Kings for the 49th season of the league, according to Cone, and he will join Gilas for the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in November.