Ginebra found itself opening its PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup campaign in the very same venue it lost to TNT weeks ago.
But the Kings showed how much they have moved on from that Commissioner’s Cup Finals defeat by dealing Terrafirma a 101-80 beating for a dominant start to their conference, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“I think our guys are really good at moving forward and moving on. We don’t look back. We’re motivated because it’s the All-Filipino,” said Coach Tim Cone.
(C) PBA Images
Japeth Aguilar starred in the triumph with 30 points and seven rebounds as the veteran big man led by example in setting the tone for the crowd darlings — not just in the game but, perhaps, for how the rest of the tourney would go for them.
RJ Abarrientos supplied 14 points and seven assists. Scottie Thompson flirted with a triple-double as he tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, and seven dimes.
It was a memorable night for the 2022 PBA MVP, too, as he netted his 500th career steal for his third career achievement this season. He accomplished the feat at the 11:48-mark of the third when he stole the ball from Aljun Melecio.
Stephen Holt chipped in 10 markers in the triumph that also helped Ginebra warm up for its heavyweight clash against San Miguel this Friday.
“It’s the first game for us. Hopefully, we can tidy things up and we’ll be better in our second game–we need to be going up against San Miguel who is always the All-Filipino favorite,” said Cone. “We have our work cut out for us.”
The win, however, was clouded by an apparent knee injury sustained by Jeremiah Gray late in the second quarter, never to return.
Just coming off his second ACL injury, the 28-year-old was having a good game with five points and six rebounds before going down in pain.
(C) PBA Images
Rookies CJ Catapusan and Mark Nonoy, on the other hand, led Terrafirma with 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the loss that dropped their card to 1-3.
The Scores:
Ginebra 101 – J.Aguilar 30, Abarrientos 14, Thompson 11, Holt 10, Ahanmisi 9, Pinto 8, Gray 6, Rosario 5, R. Aguilar 4, Mariano 2, Adamos 2, Cu 0, Pessumal 0.
Terrafirma 80 – Catapusan 14, Nonoy 13, Sangalang 12, Ramos 11, Pringle 9, Ferrer 7, Zaldivar 7, Melecio 4, Paraiso 2, Hernandez 1, Hanapi 0, Olivario 0
Quarterscores: 30-17, 51-35, 75-52, 101-80.
