ANTIPOLO – Ginebra busted one of the longest active winning streaks by dealing NLEX a 104-74 beatdown for its second victory in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup before a good crowd at the Ynares Center here on Sunday night.
The Kings jumped to a 22-7 start, but it wasn’t until the third quarter that they broke the game wide open. The win gets back on track after their loss to San Miguel Beer at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai a week ago.
But more importantly, they’re hoping that this can be the beginning of a good run ahead after starting the conference against all three MVP Group ball clubs and their SMC sister teams, which led to a rocky and rare 1-3 start.
(C) PBA Images
“Tonight we put a good one together, and if we continue to do that, maybe we can go on a little bit of a run,” said head coach Tim Cone.
Japeth Aguilar starred with 25 points and five rebounds, scoring 13 in the aforementioned period. He helped restore order after their foes got to within just three, 48-45, after staring at a 33-15 deficit during the chapter prior.
The former Finals MVP shot 11-of-16 from the floor and also had an assist plus a block on his way to bagging home Player of the Game honors.
“It started with our defense. One good thing throughout the game was that our defense was there. We believed offense would just come,” said Aguilar.
Stephen Holt came through with 20 points behind 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, on top of three rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Scottie Thompson finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists, while Troy Rosario and Jeremiah Gray added nine apiece.
12 players scored at least two in the rout that snapped the Road Warriors’ winning run at three.
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From being joint leaders, NLEX has fallen to 4-2 following the 30-point defeat, leaving Magnolia, Rain or Shine, and TNT all tied at the no. 1 spot.
Xyrus Torres led NLEX with 17 points, while Jonnel Policarpio made 13 points and five rebounds. Domdom Fajardo added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Robert Bolick saw himself held to just four points on seven shots, mainly by Holt.
The Scores:
Ginebra 104 – J. Aguilar 25, Holt 20, Thompson 12, Gray 9, Rosario 9, Cu 7, Abarrientos 4, Estil 4, Torres 4, R. Aguilar 4, Pinto 4, David 2.
NLEX 74 – Torres 17, Policarpio 13, Fajardo 10, Capulong 9, Bahio 8, Alas 7, Bolick 4, Mocon 4, Ramirez 2, Valdez 0, Rodger 0, Nieto 0, Herndon 0, Marcelo 0, Amer 0.
Quarterscores: 26-11, 40-33, 72-59, 104-74.
