Tenorio and  Mariano lead Ginkings

“They were phenomenal,” Coach Tim  said. “Those two guys, they succeeded for the first time being in the postseason.”

Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel engineered the first upset of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup after beating the Alaska Aces in a quarterfinal knockout game Tuesday, 108-97, at the Big Dome.

Behind 31 points from LA Tenorio and a career-high 20 from Aljon Mariano, the Gin Kings ran over the Aces in the second half, opening the game up and even leading by as much as 14 points in the fourth, 89-75.

 Tenorio in particular was brilliant in Ginebra's big third-quarter surge, scoring 13 points as the Gin Kings outscored the Aces by 15 points that took the win out of Alaska's sails.

As for Alaska, who now lost three straight playoff games to Ginebra dating back to the last PBA conference, only Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel had productive games albeit it came in a losing effort.

Abueva finished with a big 29-point, 13-rebound effort for the Aces while Manuel scored 23 off the bench.

The Manila Clasico semifinals featuring Ginebra and the Star Hotshots opens on Thursday with Game 1.

The scores:

GINEBRA 108 - Tenorio 31, Mariano 20, Ferrer 15, Thompson 10, Mercado 9, Ellis 9, Marcelo 7, Cruz 5, Aguilar 2, Helterbrand 0, Caguioa 0.

ALASKA 97 - Abueva 29, Manuel 23, Casio 10, Racal 8, Pascual 6, Galliguez 6, Exciminiano 5, Thoss 4, Cruz 3, Dela Cruz 3, Hontiveros 0, Jazul 0, Magat 0, Mendoza 0.

Quarterscores: 21-25, 51-53, 82-71, 108-97