The Barangay Ginebra Kings banked on the efforts of their big men to claim their first win in the PBA Philippine Cup after squeaking past Alaska, 93-92, Sunday in Dubai.
The crowd darlings impressed early on, feeding Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar for slam dunks that electrified the Filipinos inside the Al Wasl Sports Club.
Ginebra raced to a 16-4 start, while triples by LA Tenorio made it 21-13 later on. Baskets by Vic Manuel and Calvin Abueva pulled the Aces within 1 point, 23-24, early in the second period, but the rest of the quarter belonged to Ginebra as Slaughter, Aguilar, and Tenorio conspired to help the team outscore the Aces 32-16 for a 56-37 halftime cushion.
Ginebra led by as much as 15 in the fourth, 85-70, before Abueva and Eric Menk combined for 7 in a run which brought the Ginebra lead down to 83-85.
An Abueva triple later on pulled Alaska within 88-89. Slaughter scored inside while Manuel answered with back to back baskets to push Alaska ahead, 92-91.
But in the ensuing play, Slaughter was fouled with 4.1 seconds left and hit two clutch charities to give Ginebra the win.
Slaughter had 27 points on only 9 shots and also grabbed 19 rebounds. Aguilar added 23 points and 12 boards to help hand Tim Cone his first victory under Ginebra. Tenorio added 14 points and dished out 7 assists.
Abueva led the Aces with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks while Manuel and Dondon Hontiveros combined for 29 markers.
The Aces previously defeated the Mahindra Enforcers the night before, 98-94. The Aces led by as much as 15 before the Enforcers rallied back but fell short in the end.
Manuel led the Aces Saturday with 17 points and 9 boards. Two more scored in double-digits while four others scored at least 7 in a balanced effort by the Aces.
LA Revilla had 19 points and 6 dimes for the Enforcers even as Bradywn Guinto grabbed 19 rebounds. Manny Pacquiao played although missed all of his 4 field goal attempts in 7 minutes of action.
The Scores:
Saturday
Alaska (98) – Manuel 17, Abueva 15, Casio 12, Baguio 8, Thoss 7, Dela Rosa 7, Menk 7, Dela Cruz 6, Jazul 5, Banchero 4, Magat 4.
Mahindra (94) – Revilla 19, Yee 17, Ramos 12, Canaleta 12, Bagatsing 8, Guinto 6, Pinto 5, Paredes 5, Hubalde 4, Laure 4, Webb 2.
Quarterscores: 31-22, 53-40, 70-66, 98-94.
Sunday
Ginebra (93) – Slaughter 27, Aguilar 23, Tenorio 14, Caguioa 11, Thompson 8, Devance 2, Brondial 2, Ellis 1, Marcelo 1.
Alaska (92) – Abueva 23, Hontiveros 15, Manuel 14, Jazul 9, Menk 6, Baclao 6, Thoss 4, Baguio 4, Exciminiano 4, Casio 3, Dela Rosa 2, Dela Cruz 2.
Quarterscores: 24-21, 56-37, 75-66, 93-92.
