Jayson David immediately repaid the trust of Barangay Ginebra as the young winger starred in their 131-106 blowout of NorthPort to get back on track in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena.
Reactivated in place of LA Tenorio a day prior to the game, the Lyceum product showed that he deserves the call-up, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds to help the Kings bounce back after getting blasted by San Miguel last week.
He shot 8-for-9 from the floor, including a 4-of-4 clip from three — the first of which he made to contribute to their barrage of treys in the opening frame alone toward a commanding 40-24 lead, setting up the one-sided affair.
David also collected three assists and two steals as the former PBA 3×3 standout indeed made the most of his return to the 5-on-5 roster.
(C) PBA Images
“He played today like he plays in practice. It wasn’t actually anything special, sorry to say, it wasn’t anything special–he does that in practice every day,” offered head coach Tim Cone, proud of how his ward delivered.
Top-scoring for Ginebra was RJ Abarrientos, who came through with 27 points and eight assists in the victory — their second in three outings.
Stephen Holt delivered 17 points, while Japeth Aguilar and Troy Rosario finished with identical numbers of 15 points and six rebounds in the win.
“We did come with really good focus, and that’s something that we always want to do,” Cone said. “Obviously, we didn’t do that against San Miguel, and it’s been a tough struggle for us because of less preparation time coming off the Finals.”
So dominant were the crowd darlings that they led by as many as 34, as the Batang Pier found no answer without main man Arvin Tolentino.
(C) PBA Images
Without the Commissioner’s Cup BPC, William Navarro led the way with 19 points and 17 rebounds, with Sidney Onwubere supplying 17.
Avan Nava maximized the 20 minutes he played and had 14 points while Jio Jalalon and Joshua Munzon added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Struggling all throughout, NorthPort allowed the Kings to shoot 56.6-percent from the floor, including 17 triples. The latter already had 10 by halftime and that torrid shooting was why they entered the break with a 70-43 lead.
Ginebra will now turn its attention to Robert Bolick and the surging NLEX next Wednesday, May 7, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
Ginebra 131 – Abarrientos 27, David 25, Holt 17, J. Aguilar 15, Rosario 15, Malonzo 14, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 6, Pinto 2, Thompson 2, Mariano 1, Adamos 0, Pessumal 0, R. Aguilar 0.
NorthPort 106 – Navarro 19, Onwubere 17, Nava 14, Jalalon 11, Munzon 10, Flores 10, Taha 8, Bulanadi 8, Cuntapay 3, Miranda 2, Kwekuteye 2, Nelle 2, Yu 0.
Quarterscores: 40-24, 70-43, 95-72, 131-106.
