Barangay Ginebra San Miguel overcame a slow first quarter, finding their bearings the rest of the way in an 83-72 win over the Meralco Bolts, Saturday evening at the San Agustin Gym in Iloilo City.
The win sends Ginebra back in the mix for a top four finish as they are just a half-a-game behind Alaska and TNT in the standings. On the other hand, Meralco crashed to the bottom of the standings with a 2-7 slate.
“We’re still trying to climb back in to contention,” head coach Tim Cone said about the situation they are in. “These games are our playoffs. When we don’t win these games, we won’t have a chance in the playoffs.”
Three players scored in double-figures for Ginebra led by Joe Devance’s efficient 8-of-13 outing for a game-high 19 points. Japeth Aguilar picked up a double-double as well with 17 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in the final frame. LA Tenorio added 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
But it was second-year player Scottie Thompson who became the glue in Ginebra’s comeback. The former Perpetualite had seven points, seven assists, and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
“The thing I liked about today is that we battled. We had some bad moments and we kept battling, kept our heads up,” Cone shared. “That’s the bad thing that happened to us. When we were in bad situations, we started to sink.”
Ginebra had a slow start, going behind by as much as 10 points in the opening frame and were still behind during halftime.
But unlike in their losses, the Gin Kings’ were able to overcome this time around. Behind the troika of Aguilar, Devance and Tenorio, Ginebra was able to impose their game the rest of the way.
Five straight points by Japeth Aguilar with 1:59 remaining gave Ginebra its biggest lead of the game, 79-65 with 1:59 remaining.
It was another defensive masterpiece by Ginebra, limiting Meralco to just a 26 percent shooting clip (19-of-72). Moreover, they were able to win the rebounding battle, 45-35.
For the second straight game, 38-year-old Reynel Hugnatan paced Meralco. The converted stretched big man had 18 points. He was just 3-for-14 from the field but more than made up for it on the stripe, going 10-for-12.
Chris Newsome almost picked up a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds while fellow sophomore Baser Amer added 11 markers.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (4-4, T-6th) looks to sustain the momentum gained from this game when they face the Blackwater Elite (4-4, T-6th) on Friday, January 20 at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City in the second game of the game day. Prior to it, the Meralco Bolts (2-7, 12th) take on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-3, 3rd).
The Scores:
Ginebra (83) – Devance 19, Tenorio 18, Aguilar 17, Mercado 9, Thompson 7, Caguioa 4, Ferrer 4, Ellis 3, Marcelo 2, Cruz 0, Mariano 0, Taha 0.
Meralco (72) – Hugnatan 18, Newsome 14, Amer 11, Caram 6, Yeo 6, Bono 5, Hodge 5, Faundo 4, Daquioag 3, Grey 0, Nabong 0.
Quarterscores: 14-23, 39-40, 56-50, 83-72
