Ginebra moved halfway through in finishing NorthPort after another dominant victory, 119-106, to seize Game 2 of their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series, Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Kings no longer needed to wait until the third quarter like in their first game two nights ago, racing to a hot start before breaking away toward a 68-39 halftime lead–never to let up en route to the 2-0 lead in the race-to-four series.
Game 3 is on Sunday, March 2, 7:30 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum and the crowd darlings surely want to take it to move a win away from a sweep.
“We felt we needed to come with a real disciplined approach to this game because there’s a really good chance that we would step back and they’d pick up their intensity. But our guys did a real good job,” said head coach Tim Cone.
Japeth Aguilar equalled his season-high in scoring with 31 points on 61.1-percent shooting and eight rebounds to lead the Barangay.
Jamie Malonzo supplied 17 points off the bench as the athletic winger is slowly showing that he’s getting back to his old form after being out for months.
Scottie Thompson made 16 points while Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos added 11 each as the locals did much of the damage to let Justin Brownlee relax a bit, although the three-time Best Import still chipped in 10 points and 11 assists.
The win also served as a warm welcome for Jeremiah Gray, who finally returned to action after being out for 19 months due to a knee injury. He played for nine minutes and tallied six points, two rebounds, and a steal.
“It was especially nice to see Miah tonight get out and get some minutes, hit a three-point shot and get a couple of free throws, and just really be out there,” said Cone, who brought in Gray at the 6:55-mark of the second period.
Kadeem Jack, on the other hand, had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Batang Pier, who actually won the fourth quarter, 39-26, but could only make the final margin respectable after being down by as many as 35 points.
“I thought towards the end of the third we got a little loose. I didn’t plan on bringing Justin and Japeth back in but it’s the playoffs – you can’t mess around, you got to make sure your guys are out there to get that win,” said Cone.
William Navarro supplied a double-double of his own with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Joshua Munzon made 14 points while Allyn Bulanadi supplied 10 off the bench as they tried to pick up the slack with Arvin Tolentino limited again.
Hounded by his former team’s defense, the BPC candidate had 12 points — four more than his output in Game 1 — on 5-of-17 shooting from the floor.
The Scores:
Ginebra 119 – J.Aguilar 31, Malonzo 17, Thompson 16, Rosario 11, Abarrientos 11, Brownlee 10, Ahanmisi 8, Holt 7, Gray 6, Pinto 2, Pessumal 0, Cu 0, Adamos 0, R.Aguilar 0, Mariano 0.
NorthPort 106 – Jack 27, Navarro 23, Munzon 14, Tolentino 12, Bulanadi 10, Nelle 6, Yu 5, Miranda 5, Taha 3, Onwubere 1, Flores 0, Cuntapay 0.
Quarterscores: 35-22, 68-39, 93-67, 119-106.
#WATCH: Coach Tim Cone is proud to see Jamie Malonzo getting back in rhythm and Jeremiah Gray finally hitting the court in Game 2 of the #PBA2025 Commissioner’s Cup semis 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/rtnoPOYCI9
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) February 28, 2025
