MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings overcame a slow start to pull off a 119-112 win over Phoenix Fuel Masters in the PBA Philippine Cup over the weekend at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Rhon Jay Abarrientos led the charge with 25 points, including five triples and a rare four-point shot, as the Gin Kings notched their second straight win and improved to 4-2 in the standings.
Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt added 24 and 18 points, respectively, while Earl Scottie Thompson delivered a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds. Jamie Malonzo also contributed 15 markers for Ginebra.
The game was tightly contested early on, with Phoenix holding a slim 34-33 edge midway through the second quarter. However, Ginebra found their rhythm behind the outside shooting of Abarrientos and Holt to seize a 59-50 halftime advantage.
The Gin Kings maintained their momentum in the second half, with the lead ballooning to 108-86 after a Von Pessumal triple. Phoenix mounted a final rally to trim the gap to seven, but it wasn’t enough.
“I think we played a fantastic game until the final minutes with our second group; that’s when things got a little sloppy for us,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “Phoenix is really, really a dangerous team, they have a very unique style of play.”
Jason Perkins paced Phoenix with 28 points. RJ Jazul scored 18, while Kenneth Tuffin, Tyler Tio, and Kai Ballungay chipped in 17, 15, and 12 points, respectively, as the Fuel Masters fell to 2-5.
Meanwhile, Converge FiberXers got back on track with an emphatic 111-92 rout of the struggling NorthPort Batang Pier. The Fuel Masters improved to a 5-3 mark, while the Batang Pier dropped to 1-5.
Alec Stockton powered the bounce-back win with a conference-best 33 points, including five triples, Deschon Winston contributed 22 points, Justin Arana posted a strong 18-point, 14-rebound double-double and Justine Baltazar had 10 points and 11 boards.
“Coming from a bad loss against Ginebra, I’m happy that we were able to bounce back. We played the way we want to on both offense and defense,” said interim head coach Franco Atienza./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 119 – Abarrientos 25, J. Aguilar 24, Holt 18, Thompson 17, Malonzo 15, Rosario 8, Pessumal 6, Cu 3, Adamos 2, R. Aguilar 1, David 0, Pinto 0, Mariano 0.
PHOENIX 112– Perkins 28, Jazul 18, Tuffin 17, Tio 15, Ballungay 12, Garcia 6, Verano 6, Alejandro 3, Manganti 3, Ular 2, Soyud 2, Rivero 0, Cullar 0, Camacho 0.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 59-50, 92, 72, 119-112.
