After defeating the Globalport Batang Pier last Sunday, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel picked up where they left off, showcasing their strength once more as they lorded over the Kia Picanto, 120-99, to earn their second straight win in the 2017 Governor’s Cup, Wednesday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“We kind of displayed our weapons tonight,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “We’re creating a lot of shots, lot of great inside play. It’s a good formula for us — the triangle and ball movement was the key for us.”
Justin Brownlee powered the Barangay with 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. Greg Slaughter continued his stellar play, filling up the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds, and five dimes.
It was already a one-sided affair in favor of the Barangay right in the opening frame. After tasting their first double-digit lead, 17-6, after an LA Tenorio bucket with 4:39 left, Ginebra then rolled all the way through the match.
The team in white even enjoyed a lead as high as 34 points, 98-64, after back-to-back baskets by Mark Caguioa with 9:32 to go in the final frame.
The 6-foot-1 Caguioa came off the bench and fired 16 points in 13 minutes on an impressive 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. Furthermore, his scoring output pushed him to just 227 points away from 10,000 career points.
LA Tenorio chipped in 10 markers for Ginebra, while Scottie Thompson, despite scoring just four, dished out 10 assists.
Point guard Reden Celda led the slumping Picanto with 21 markers on 13 shots. Forward Glenn Khobuntin supplied 16, while import Markeith Cummings finished with 14 markers and seven rebounds.
Ginebra shot 49 percent from the floor, and displayed excellent passing as they dished out an eye-popping 39 assists.
Ginebra will try to make it three in a row as they face the unbeaten NLEX Road Warriors this Saturday, August 5, 5:00 PM in Pangasinan, while Kia will try to end their dry spell versus the Meralco Bolts on Sunday, August 6, 6:45 PM still at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Ginebra 120 – Brownlee 26, Slaughter 18, Caguioa 16, Tenorio 10, Aguilar 9, Ferrer 9, Ellis 8, Taha 8, Cruz 6, Devance 4, Thompson 4, Jamito 2, Helterbrand 0, Marcelo 0, Mariano 0.
Kia 99 – Celda 21, Khobuntin 16, Cummings 14, Revilla 9, Corpuz 7, Paniamogan 7, Ballesteros 7, Camson 6, Nimes 6, Yee 5, Elorde 2, Deutchman 0, Galanza 0, Jaime 0, Salva 0.
Quarterscores: 33-18; 58-43; 92-64; 120-99.
