Ginebra proved to be steadier down the stretch and came away with the 87-77 victory against long-time rivals Magnolia to bounce back in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Maverick Ahanmisi struck the dagger through a trifecta from near the top of the key with 36.3 seconds left to play, helping the Kings thwart the Hotshots after the latter got to within just four points twice inside the game’s final 3:24.
“It’s a huge win. I think our confidence took a little bit of a hit when we played Meralco. We need something to get us back going forward,” said head coach Tim Cone, referring to their 91-73 loss to Meralco last March 15.
Stanley Pringle submitted a season-high 17 points and six assists to lead the crowd darlings in their 100th win in the 35-season Manila Clasico rivalry.
Ahanmisi finished with 16 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Japeth Aguilar came through with 16 points as well, alongside nine rebounds.
Christian Standhardinger supplied 11 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists. Jamie Malonzo also had 11 together with nine boards.
“This was truly an effort game for us, it wasn’t pretty, just a real good effort on defense. We hit the ball hard, we got back well, all those effort things came out tonight especially in the second half,” said the champion mentor.
Ginebra (3-1) will turn its focus on the 3-0 San Miguel next in a heavyweight clash on Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m. still at the Big Dome.
Ian Sangalang, meanwhile, had 17 to lead Magnolia, who absorbed its first loss after opening its conference campaign with a 106-75 beatdown of Converge.
Jio Jalalon had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Paul Lee had 12 points while Mark Barroca and Abu Tratter had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Hotshots, which fell to a 19-5 blitz by the Kings abridging the third and fourth chapters.
Magnolia will try to get back up against NLEX on Saturday, April 6, 6:00 p.m. in the league’s return to Ninoy Aquino Stadium after a long while.
The Scores:
Ginebra 87 – Pringle 17, M. Ahanmisi 16, J.Aguilar 16, Malonzo 11, Standhardinger 11, Onwubere 8, Tenorio 5, Pinto 3, David 0.
Magnolia 77 – Sangalang 17, Jalalon 15, Lee 12, Barroca 11, Tratter 10, Abueva 4, Mendoza 3, Corpuz 3, Laput 2, Escoto 0, Ahanmisi 0, Reavis 0, Eriobu 0.
Quarterscores: 17-18, 37-40, 60-56, 87-77.
