Ginebra broke out of its two-game funk, dimming even more the playoff hopes of Northport, 100-93, in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Sunday.
The Barangay turned a 26-20 deficit in the first quarter to a 47-42 halftime after a strong second frame.
Then the floodgates just opened for the crowd darling, going on a 33-18 third period to establish an 80-60 separation with a salvo left.
“We’re still trying to put our teeth out, trying to get the effort that we need. After you come off a championship there’s always these flaws in your team and you have to handle that,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, fresh off an assistant coach stint with the Miami Heat’s Summer League squad.
“Sometimes, you need a kick on the rear end to get yourself going and the past two games gave us that kick on the rear end,” he added, referring to their loss to Meralco and TNT.
Robert Bolick tried to power the Batang Pier’s comeback late in the match but it was not enough.
Ginebra raised its win-loss card to 7-3 to take solo third — just half a game above Magnolia at 6-3.
Scottie Thompson did it all for the Barangay with 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go with 15 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and three blocks.
Nards Pinto came alive off the bench with 18 points on four treys with six rebounds and three assists, while Jeff Chan had 11 points.
Japeth Aguilar also made 14 points and eight rebounds, while LA Tenorio got 13 points.
Ginebra will close its elimination round on Thursday against Phoenix at 7:15 pm, while Northport will see action on Friday against NLEX, 3 pm.
The Batang Pier were led by Bolick in his second game back, dropping 29 points founded on eight conversions from deep.
Jamie Malonzo added 19 points, while Arwind Santos and Kevin Ferrer just missed double-doubles with 14-9 and 13-8 in points and rebounds, respectively.
Northport slipped to 3-7, tied with Phoenix for 10th, making the road to the playoffs much harder.
The Scores:
Ginebra 100 – Thompson 23, Pinto 18, J.Aguilar 14, Tenorio 13, Chan 11, Standhardinger 9, Pringle 8, Mariano 4, Dillinger 0
Northport 93 – Bolick 29, Malonzo 19, Santos 14, Ferrer 13, Balanza 6, Taha 6, Sumang 4, Calma 2, Dela Cruz 0, Ayaay 0
Quarterscores: 20-26, 47-42, 80-60, 100-93
—
The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
