Ginebra sustained its solid start into the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup following a 94-72 beatdown of a struggling Phoenix to register its second win in as many games, Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Kings unloaded an overwhelming 18-0 barrage abridging the third and fourth quarters toward an 83-65 advantage with less than seven minutes to go, and the game would never be in question as they went on to stay perfect.
“That’s basically our philosophy. We’re a defensive team first,” said Coach Tim Cone as his wards held the Fuel Masters to only seven points in the fourth.
Scottie Thompson led the Barangay with 17 points and six rebounds. Japeth Aguilar finished with 16 points and hauled down six boards as well.
Troy Rosario tallied 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field in an impressive second outing with his new team, while RJ Abarrientos supplied a 12-5-6 stat line as the locals gave Justin Brownlee the luxury of rest.
JB made 10 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in 32 minutes and that should give him fresher legs for their much-anticipated clash versus the 4-1 Hong Kong Eastern this Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“It’s gonna be a really, really interesting battle. Hard thing is we’re coming off our third game in five days so that’s gonna give them a little bit of an edge, they’ve had a little bit of rest although they played more games than us,” Cone said.
Donovan Smith, meanwhile, led Phoenix with 20 points and 15 rebounds in the loss — already the team’s fourth in as many outings.
Kenneth Tuffin made 15 points while Jason Perkins added 10 in the defeat that saw them allow Ginebra to dish out 30 assists while they only had 12.
The Fuel Masters are set to play on Sunday as well against Leo Austria in San Miguel, with the hope, of course, to pull off a massive upset for win no. 1.
The Scores:
Ginebra 94 – Thompson 17, J.Aguilar 16, Rosario 14, Abarrientos 12, Brownlee 10, Cu 8, Holt 5, Ahanmisi 5, Pinto 5, Mariano 2, Adamos 0, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0.
Phoenix 72 – Smith 20, Tuffin 15, Perkins 10, Tio 7, Ballungay 7, Rivero 4, Manganti 4, Verano 3, Salado 2, Alejandro 0, Jazul 0, Camacho 0, Garcia 0, Soyud 0, Ular 0.
Quarterscores: 23-28, 47-48, 71-65, 94-72.
