Ginebra found its touch from beyond the arc early and shot down Phoenix, 119-112, to post back-to-back for the first time in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Friday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Kings knocked down seven of their 16 threes in the second quarter to finish with 35 points in that frame. The team turned a three-point deficit into a 59-47 advantage before entering the break to wrest control of the game for good.
Then came the breakaway in the ensuing period as the crowd darlings poured a total of 68 points in the middle quarters. Eventually, they left the Fuel Masters reeling from their fifth loss of the conference while the Kings improved to 4-2.
Coming off a big 85-66 victory against Converge in Pampanga, Ginebra is now sharing the No.3 spot with San Miguel in the standings following the win.
“We’re getting better. And this is the first time that we’ve been able to put back-to-back games together,” offered head coach Tim Cone.
(C) PBA Images
RJ Abarrientos led the way with 25 points. Japeth Aguilar finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Stephen Holt made 18.
Scottie Thompson finished a double-double of 17 points and 13 assists, with Jamie Malonzo adding 15. Five players finished in double figures, big thanks to the way they shared the ball as the crew racked up 33 assists.
Ginebra shot an impressive 58.8-percent from the floor, including a 57.2-percent accuracy from three-point distance in a sterling shooting display.
They even led by as many as 22, and that proved to be enough cushion to come away with the seven-point victory after allowing the Fuel Masters drop 40 points in the fourth quarter alone behind Kenneth Tuffin and Kai Ballungay,
“We played an absolutely fantastic game against them until the last couple of minutes with the second group; that got a little sloppy,” Cone said. “But aside from that, I thought we played a really good game on both sides of the floor.”
The Kings will look to make it three in a row when they face Blackwater next Friday, May 23, in the same venue. It’s the start of what should be a challenging tailend of their elimination round campaign as they will face a few contenders.
After battling the struggling Bossing, their last four games would be against Meralco, Magnolia, TNT, and Rain or Shine — in that order.
(C) PBA Images
Jason Perkins, meanwhile, made 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists to lead Phoenix, which fell to its second straight loss and dropped to 2-5.
RJ Jazul made 18 points, including a pair of four-pointers. Tuffin had 17 points while Tyler Tio and Ballungay added 15 and 12, respectively.
The Fuel Masters will try to snap out of their funk against the Elasto Painters on May 28, Wednesday, also at the Philsports Arena.
The Scores:
Ginebra 119 – Abarrientos 25, J.Aguilar 24, Holt 18, Thompson 17, Malonzo 15, Rosario 8, Pessumal 6, Cu 3, Adamos 2, R. Aguilar 1, David 0, Pinto 0, Mariano 0.
Phoenix 112– Perkins 28, Jazul 18, Tuffin 17, Tio 15, Ballungay 12, Garcia 6, Verano 6, Alejandro 3, Manganti 3, Ular 2, Soyud 2, Rivero 0, Cullar 0, Camacho 0.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 59-50, 92, 72, 119-112.
#WATCH: Ginebra may have clinched the win over Phoenix, but head coach Tim Cone wasn’t pleased after the Gin Kings allowed 40 points in the fourth quarter 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/eSNyZLDoxa
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) May 16, 2025
