LA Tenorio was without a doubt the difference as Ginebra tore apart Meralco, 90-71, to equalize their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinal series at two games apiece, Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasig.
The veteran floor general was inserted as a starter by Coach Tim Cone and wasted no time making an impact, helping facilitate the Kings’ scorching 16-2 start into the game that set the tone for the one-sided affair.
He finished with seven points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals against only one turnover in 22 minutes. His presence enabled the others to deliver after their usual balanced attack got shackled in the last two games.
“LA knows our execution like the back of his hand,” said Cone. “He knows how to get people in their spots, he knows where their strengths are.
“That was something we were looking for today because we’ve been struggling with our offense, struggling with our execution. We knew that LA could do that,” the champion bench tactician furthered.
One of those who benefitted hugely was Scottie Thompson, who finally got his touch back as the 2022 MVP fired 15 points on a 6-of-7 clip from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, alongside five rebounds.
It’s a very welcome development for the team after seeing their star guard struggle on offense in the first three games of the best-of-7 affair that saw him average 6.3 points on a measly 21.8-percent field goal shooting.
Japeth Aguilar top-scored for Ginebra with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and nine rebounds in the dominant 29-point victory.
Christian Standhardinger, on the other hand, flirted with a triple-double as he tallied 15 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Stanley Pringle added 14 points as a starter, as Cone went with a veteran-laden first five this time.
Now the Barangay will look to take the 3-2 lead in the race-to-4 series in the pivotal Game 5 on Sunday, May 26, still at the MoA Arena.
Chris Banchero and Allein Maliksi, on the other hand, had 14 points apiece to lead the Bolts, who couldn’t sustain their form from Game 4 last Wednesday.
The Scores:
Ginebra 90 – J.Aguilar 21, Thompson 15, Standhardinger 15, Pringle 14, Ahanmisi 7, Tenorio 7, Pinto 4, Cu 3, Gumaru 3, Murrell 1, Pessumal 0R. Aguilar 0, David 0.
Meralco 71 – Banchero 14, Maliksi 14, Newsome 10, Caram 8, Hodge 6, Mendoza 5, Torres 4, Quinto 3, Bates 3, Almazan 2, Pascual 2, Jose 0, Rios 0, Dario 0, Pasaol 0.
Quarterscores: 31-15, 47-32, 73-49, 90-71.
