Ginebra debunked the notion that fatigue could be a cause of concern coming into the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Members of the Kings’ core were coming off a grueling trip overseas as part of their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 buildup, but there was hardly any trace of tiredness as they blew past NorthPort, 115-93, to take Game 1 Wednesday night.
Buoyed by the partisan crowd at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, the crew broke away in the third canto by overpowering the Batang Pier, 32-14, to turn a narrow 56-51 halftime lead to an 88-65 advantage entering the fourth, never to let up.
“I thought Olsen Racela and Coach Kirk Collier did such a fantastic job with the guys over the last two weeks preparing them,” said head coach Tim Cone as he lauded his deputies for keeping the remaining players sharp during the break.
“So I felt like [when] I walked into practice, and, like RJ [Abarrientos], Stephen [Holt], everybody was just raring to go,” the champion mentor added.
Five players finished in double figures in the win — four of whom were with the Nationals — led by Justin Brownlee with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Troy Rosario delivered 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, and three assists on his way to earning Player of the Game honors.
RJ Abarrientos did a little bit of everything with 15 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Jamie Malonzo supplied 14 points as the young wards spearheaded the Barangay’s bench mob, which scored a total of 56 points.
Japeth Aguilar contributed 11 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks in the victory that saw the team shoot 54.2-percent from the floor — an impressive shooting night that happened big thanks to their 36 assists as a collective.
Definitely, they want to sustain their form as Ginebra shoots for a 2-0 lead in Game 2 on Friday, February 28, 5;00 PM at the Philsports Arena.
But it’s not lost on Cone that it remains a series, refusing to get carried away by the rout as they only won one game in the best-of-7 affair.
Kadeem Jack, meanwhile, carried much of the offense for NorthPort as the Best Import candidate finishing with 33 points and 12 rebounds.
Joshua Munzon was the only other player of Coach Bonnie Tan to score in double figures with 10.
Main man Arvin Tolentino got held to only eight markers on a poor 2-of-11 shooting as he was targeted by the defense.
The Scores:
Ginebra 115 – Brownlee 19, Rosario 16, Abarrientos 15, Malonzo 14, J.Aguilar 11, Holt 7, Mariano 7, Thompson 6, Ahanmisi 5, R. Aguilar 3, Pessumal 2, Pinto 1, Adamos 0.
NorthPort 93 – Jack 33, Munzon 10, Tolentino 8, Navarro 8, Nelle 7, Onwubere 7, Taha 6, Bulanadi 4, Yu 3, Cuntapay 3, Miranda 2, Flores 2.
Quarterscores: 31-22, 56-51, 88-65, 115-93.
