Hoping to start better compared to the last conference, Barangay Ginebra began its PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup in dominant fashion following a 110-93 rout of Macau on Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
It could be recalled that the Kings lost three of their first four games of the recent Philippine Cup and the crew simply didn’t want that to happen, thus the conscious effort on their part to ace their very first test of the midseason joust.
They did accomplish that, taking control of the game early before breaking away wide in the second chapter behind a 39-point explosion, which left the Black Knights searching for answers that, unfortunately for them, never came.
And the crowd darlings were able to do so even after losing key forward Jayson David to a jarring, non-contact knee injury during the second period.
(C) PBA Images
“Ginebra fans remember last conference we got off to a really slow start,” said head coach Tim Cone, whose wards went 2-4 at one point in that tilt. “Pretty much everybody counted us out, but we battled back, got to the semis.”
“But that was a hard road that we had to deal with. We talked a lot about getting out of the gate quickly this time,” added the champion mentor.
Justin Brownlee starred in the win with 31 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks in his first game back in the PBA after nearly a year, or since Game 7 of the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals last March 28.
RJ Abarrientos finished with 25 points, on top of six rebounds and seven assists as he eventually took home Player of the Game honors by game’s end.
Stephen Ho;t came through with 13 points and six rebounds. Troy Rosario flirted with a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Norbert Torres chipped in 10 in the win that made it a sweet return for Isaac Go.
But even Go himself, who last played about 533 days ago, couldn’t celebrate whatsoever after they lost David, who had to be stretchered to the dugout.
“Bittersweet lang because of what happened to Jayson,” he lamented. “But I’m just happy to be out there. Medyo gigil, but it will only get better.”
Ginebra will play its second game next Friday, March 27, at the Big Dome, still, against NLEX in an outing that could also mark Scottie Thompson’s return. The former PBA MVP is still recovering from an elbow injury.
(C) PBA Images
Damian Chongqui, on the other hand, had 28 points, with Jenning Leung adding 21 to lead Macau, but that wasn’t enough as they fell to 0-3 in the standings.
Phoenix Shackleford made 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists as the three tried to carry the load, with Tony Mitchell only mustering 14.
The Scores:
Ginebra 110 – Brownlee 31, Abarrientos 25, Holt 13, Rosario 11, Torres 10, Pinto 7, J.Aguilar 6, Cu 3, Abis 2, Gray 2, Go 0, David 0, Estil 0, R.Aguilar 0.
Macau 93 – Chongqui 28, Leung 21, Shackelford 18, Mitchell 14, Chao 5, Lu 4, Cao 3, Li 0.
Quarterscores: 24-21, 63-43, 84-68, 110-93.
