No repeat took place as Barangay Ginebra exacted revenge on Blackwater, 112-98, in their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup rematch on Tuesday night.
The Kings took control late in the first but it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that they would pull away for good, denying the Bossing from sweeping their group stage series after the latter won the first encounter, 95-88, last August 31.
“I thought the guys really did a good job of responding, they did raise their intensity level,” offered head coach Tim Cone as the win was also their third in a row, climbing to no. 2 in Group B at 4-2 behind the 5-1 Rain or Shine.
“We had a few moments where we weren’t playing well, and we lost our focus a little bit, but generally and our energizer bunny over at my left kept us in the right frame of mind all the way through,” the champion mentor added.
That energizer he referred to was Scottie Thompson, who sat beside him during the postgame presser for earning Best Player of the Game.
The 2022 MVP did deserve the honor as he finished with a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists for his best game of the tilt thus far.
“Slowly getting back. ‘Yun lang ‘yung gusto ko this conference, ‘yung maging healthy. ‘Yung performance ko, I know darating ‘yun. But the key for me right now is to be healthy throughout the conference,” the 31-year-old said.
Justin Brownlee flirted with a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. RJ Abarrientos made 15 points, including a four-pointer, while Stephen Holt and Japeth Aguilar added 14 points apiece in the triumph.
But more than the balanced effort, it was their defense, particularly on import George King, that spelled the difference in the sequel.
It could be recalled that King had 33 points and 19 rebounds in their first game, which also happened to be his debut, and he appeared to be on the way to another big night when he already had 19 points in the first half.
But Holt, reprising his role as an import stopper for Ginebra, helped stop the American forward from continuing his ways. He was held to just two points in the second half, and that spelled doom for Coach Jeff Cariaso and Co.
King finished with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, although he had 11 rebounds and eight rebounds that stopped their three-game romp.
Worse, Blackwater fell outside the group’s Top Four, sliding to no. 5 with a 3-4 card behind the Elasto Painters, Ginebra, San Miguel (3-2), and NLEX (3-3).
Both squads are set to compete again this week. The Kings will Rain or Shine on Friday in a marquee matchup, as the Bossing take on the struggling Phoenix on Sunday. Both games will be played at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Ginebra 112 – Thompson 21, Brownlee 20, Abarrientos 15, Holt 14, J.Aguilar 14, Ahanmisi 8, Go 7, Tenorio 6, Mariano 4, Pinto 3, R.Aguilar 0.
Blackwater 98 – King 21, Rosario 18, Barefield 15, David 13, Chua 12, Ilagan 6, Escoto 5, Kwekuteye 3, Mitchell 3, Suerte 2, Corteza 0, Montalbo 0, Ponferrada 0.
Quarterscores: 36-22, 67-58, 91-82, 112-98.
