Jamie Malonzo haunted his former team as Barangay Ginebra pulled away in the fourth quarter to disappoint NorthPort, 122-105, to redeem itself in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Sunday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The sophomore winger led all locals with 26 points, including 10 in the final period that saw him score half of their 10-0 run for the 106-96 lead with under nine minutes left, completely shifting the game in the Kings’ favor.
“I’m just trying to find my spots,” said the 26-year-old, who shot 50-percent from the floor, including three treys.” I’ve been trying to find my spots within the offense and you know, just continue to buy into what we’ve been doing here.”
Justin Brownlee flirted with another triple-double as he finished with a game-high 31 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists as the crowd darlings improved to 8-3, gaining a share of the third spot with Converge in the standings.
The FiberXers, coincidentally, will be Ginebra’s next opponent to close out its elimination round campaign on Wednesday, 5:45 p.m. at the same venue.
“We’re just happy we still have something to fight for at this point,” said head coach Tim Cone as the Barangay revived their Top Two hopes after suffering a shock loss to Don Trollano and NLEX just two nights ago.
Christian Standhardinger stood out as well with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists while Jeremiah Gray added 12 markers in the win.
The Barangay managed to emerge triumphant despite losing key guard Nards Pinto late in the first quarter after landing on Prince Caperal following a lay-up in transition. The seasoned playmaker did not return.
NorthPort, meanwhile, was led by former Gin King Arvin Tolentino with 24 points on six triples in the loss that snapped their three-game winning streak.
Prince Ibeh had 23 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, as Robert Bolick added 22 for the Batang Pier, who wrapped up the eliminations with a 6-6 record and will now await the remaining games for their playoff fate.
The Scores:
Ginebra 122 – Brownlee 31, Malonzo 26, Standhardinger 20, Gray 12, Thompson 8, J.Aguilar 7, Pringle 7, Mariano 6, Tenorio 3, Pinto 2.
NorthPort 105 – Tolentino 24, Ibeh 23, Bolick 22, Navarro 11, Chan 10, Ferrer 8, Balanza 4, Taha 3, Sumang 0.
Quarterscores: 27-34, 63-63, 93-92, 122-105.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
