Rallying behind Japeth Aguilar, Ginebra took down Titan Ultra by way of a 119-107 decision to notch its fifth straight win in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Sunday night.
Their star big man is still recovering from a bad fall against Blackwater the last time out, so the Kings leaned on their usual suspects to take control early and finish strong, chalking up their seventh win in nine games.
As a result, the crowd darlings have now joined NLEX at the no. 2 spot of the team standings. Both contenders now carry identical win-loss records.
But more importantly, they assured themselves a spot in the quarterfinals, the latest to do so after current leaders Rain or Shine and the Road Warriors.
(C) PBA Images
“Now, we control our destiny heading into these last three games,” said Coach Tim Cone as they will face Meralco (May 1), the Elasto Painters (May 3), and Bol Bol’s TNT (May 10) to conclude their elimination round campaign.
All starters finished in double figures, with Justin Brownlee bannering the attack with 35 points alongside nine rebounds, four assists, a steal, and two blocks.
RJ Abarrientos delivered 25 points, all of which he produced in the first three quarters, including nine in the third. He and Brownlee led the charge to stretch their lead to its biggest at 16, 83-67, with 3:02 on the clock.
Scottie Thompson flirted with a triple-double as the former league MVP tallied 12 points, nine rebounds, and the same number of assists. He also chalked up three steals, doing all that against just one turnover in 36 minutes of play.
Troy Rosario notched a double-double for the second straight outing with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Stephen Holt chipped in 10 markers.
“I think ginagawa lang namin ang kailangang gawin sa sistema namin. At kailangan naming tapusin ito sa last three games,” said Abarrientos.
(C) PBA Images
Joshua Munzon had 20 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Giant Risers, who have now lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 2-7.
Bryan Sajonia had 17 points. Import Michael Gilmore made 15 points and 10 rebounds while Fran Yu and Ato Ular added 13 and 12, respectively.
The Scores:
Ginebra 119 – Brownlee 35, Abarrientos 25, Thompson 12, Rosario 12, Holt 10, Pinto 7, Go 6, Torres 5, Gray 3, Estil 2, Abis 2, Cu 0, R. Aguilar 0.
Titan Ultra 107 – Munzon 20, Sajonia 17, Gilmore 15, Yu 13, Ular 12, Dionisio 9, Balanza 8, Flores 4, Javillonar 4, Caralipio 3, Omega 2, Melecio 0, Pessumal 0, Ambohot 0, Sangco 0, Cuntapay 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 56-48, 86-73, 119-107.
