Barangay Ginebra extended its unbeaten run to four after beating Phoenix Super LPG, 86-71, in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, Wednesday night at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Pampanga.
Stanley Pringle finished with a game-high 20 points to lead the Gin Kings, who gained a share of leadership with TNT — the Tropang Giga got their fourth win also against the Fuel Masters, 110-91, last Monday.
“We got an assist from Talk N Text,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone post-game. “Right now, Phoenix is going through a really murderous time in their schedule. They had to play Talk N Text who plays with tremendous pace — up and down, up and down, up and down. And then you have to turn it around one and a half-day later and play us.”
The Gin Kings started to break away wide late in the third, turning a narrow five-point lead to a 64-54 advantage as it closed the quarter with a 7-2 spurt — punctuated by an LA Tenorio three-pointer.
The Fuel Masters seemed to have lost the fight it had early while the Barangay kept on pounding in the deciding chapter. Japeth Aguilar’s lay-up gave Ginebra its biggest lead of the game at 21, 86-65, with 2:54 left to play.
“So, they were tuckered out,” Cone furthered. “They came out with great energy in the first part of the game and they were scary. But you could see them getting tired and we had an extra day off.”
Prince Caperal continued his solid play for Ginebra, notching a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Aguilar finished with 13 points and five boards, while Scottie Thompson had 11 points, seven caroms, and seven assists.
Jason Perkins led Phoenix with 15 points as main man Matthew Wright, the league’s leading scorer with an average of 30.0 points heading into Wednesday’s match, was only limited to 12 points.
“We played really good defense. I thought we played really well – against Matthew Wright, especially,” said Cone, as the Fil-Canadian sniper made just five of the 17 shots he took from the field.
Wright shot a perfect 13-of-13 from the foul line versus the Tropang Giga last Monday but the entire Fuel Masters only made one free throw in the whole game against the Gin Kings, the fourth all-time fewest made in a match.
Ginebra shoots for 5-0 versus Magnolia in a unique chapter of their Clasico rivalry this Sunday, Oct. 25, at 6:45 p.m., while Phoenix looks to get back on track also against the Hotshots this Friday, Oct. 23, at 6:45 as well.
The Scores:
Ginebra (86) – Pringle 20, Caperal 14, Aguilar 13, Thompson 11, Tenorio 9, Devance 8, Tolentino 5, Mariano 4, Dillinger 2, Salado 0, Chan 0, Dela Cruz 0, R. Aguilar 0, Caguioa 0, Balanza 0.
Phoenix Super LPG (71) – Perkins 15, Wright 12, Chua 11, Intal 9, Heruela 7, Garcia 5, Jazul 5, Rios 3, Marcelo 2, Napoles 2, Gamboa 0, Reyes 0.
Quarterscores: 20-19, 47-36, 64-54, 86-71.
