After dropping their 2017 Governor’s Cup opener to the Meralco Bolts, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel bounced back and stamped their class all over Globalport Batang Pier, 124-108, Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra now sport an even 1-1 slate, while their counterparts dropped their second game in the conference for a 1-2 record.
“Frankly I wasn’t sure I’d be here,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “After our first game, I wasn’t sure if we can figure it out that quickly. But, we had a week of practice after that game and we made a lot of adjustments.”
LA Tenorio powered the Barangay with 29 points spiked by five triples alongside four assists. Justin Brownlee had 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Greg Slaughter produced 19 markers, eight boards, and two blocks.
After gaining ground in the first half that saw them erect a 57-43 lead, the Barangay then never looked back, establishing the game’s widest lead at 25, 107-82, after back-to-back buckets by Brownlee with 7:55 in the final frame.
Globalport still tried to chip away the huge deficit and closed within 17, 109-92, but the Barangay would not be denied as baskets by Joe Devance and Mark Caguioa restored order, 114-94, with 3:49 left.
The Gin Kings then sustained the huge advantage until the final buzzer.
“We’ll have tougher games coming up. We’re just happy to beat Global because they looked dominant in their last game,” added the multi-titled mentor on the win.
Devance supplied 14 markers spiked by two triples for the Barangay, while Scottie Thompson flirted with a double-double as he scored 13 and dished out nine dimes. Japeth Aguilar scored just nine, but grabbed 10 caroms.
Murphey Holloway led the Batang Pier with 36 points on 30 attempts alongside 18 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. Terrence Romeo backed him up with 25 markers on 24 tries, five boards, and nine feeds.
The Barangay shot 54 percent from the floor, with 9-of-18 of those coming from beyond the arc. Their defense also caused the Batang Pier problems, forcing the latter to commit 16 turnovers that led to 22 points.
Ginebra will try to make it two in a row versus the Kia Picanto on Wednesday, August 2, at 4:15 PM, while Globalport will aim to stop their slump versus the Meralco Bolts next Sunday, August 6, at 6:45 PM. Both games will still be at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Ginebra 124 – Tenorio 29, Brownlee 21, Slaughter 19, Devance 14, Thompson 13, Aguilar 9, Mariano 7, Cruz 4, Caguioa 4, Ellis 2, Taha 2, Jamito 0.
Globalport 108 – Holloway 36, Romeo 25, Pringle 18, Anthony 8, Arana 5, Maierhofer 4, Cortez 3, Pennisi 3, Aban 2, Guinto 2, Van Opstal 2, Grey 0, Ababou 0.
Quarterscores: 29-28, 61-51, 93-76, 124-108.
