Christian Standhardinger showed the way as Ginebra snapped its two-game losing skid in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup following a 105-86 rout of the struggling Blackwater, Friday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The two-time BPC finished with 33 points, six rebounds, and five assists, seemingly motivated to prove his worth anew after being benched during the fourth quarter of their eventual defeat to Terrafirma last Sunday.
Standhardinger scored 19 in the first half, including 12 in the opening period alone to lead the Kings in seizing control of the game before pulling away for good in the following chapter en route to their fourth win of the conference.
The Fil-German bruiser, though, said that there was no personal motive whatsoever on his part in putting up such a performance.
“That’s done. I think we need to focus on NorthPort and really focus on trying to beat them,” he said, referring to their match versus NorthPort on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. “They have been playing a tremendous conference.”
Standhardinger is just glad with the victory as it also served as a fitting welcome for Scottie Thompson, who played his first game of the all-Filipino tournament after being sidelined for months due to a nagging back injury.
The one-time PBA MVP logged 27 minutes and 36 seconds, and registered four points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
“I had great opportunities today being set up by my teammates. They found me right where I needed, in good spots, and it helped that Scottie is coming back. We have a good two-man game that helps me to get going,” he said.
Maverick Ahanmisi finished with 14 points. Ralph Cu produced the same amount of points for his season-high as he shot four triples, all of which he made in the third alone where they led by as many as 30 points.
Jamie Malonzo chimed in 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists as Ginebra hiked its win-loss record to 4-3 following the rout.
“Tonight was a good jumping-off point for us,” offered Kings head coach Tim Cone. “It’s been a tough week after coming off two losses and losing three of our last four. But none of us were feeling good about that.
“I felt guys put whatever anger, whatever they had, their energy, into the game itself and got themselves prepared and played a really good game,” the multi-titled head coach continued.
James Kwekuteye, meanwhile, finished with 20 points on four triples to lead Blackwater, who absorbed its fourth loss in a row after a 3-0 start.
Justin Chua supplied a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Troy Rosario added 12 points and seven boards in the defeat.
The Bossing will face another perennial contender in Magnolia on April 17, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium as well.
The Scores:
Ginebra 105 – Standhardinger 33, Cu 14, Ahanmisi 14, Malonzo 11, J.Aguilar 9, Pinto 6, Pringle 6, Thompson 4, Onwubere 4, David 2, Gumaru 2, Pessumal 0, Tenorio 0.
Blackwater 86 – Kwekuteye 20, Chua 17, Rosario 12, Escoto 8, Suerte 6, Guinto 4, Ilagan 3, Tungcab 3, Hill 2, David 1, Casio 0, Jopia 0.
Quarterscores: 29-21, 59-40, 87-61, 105-86.
