MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings turned things around in the second half and walloped Meralco Bolts, 110-96, in the 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Maverick Ahanmisi spearheaded the offense with 25 points, Christian Standhardinger had a near triple-double of 21 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, while Earl Scottie Thompson marked his return with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Jamie Malonzo contributed 17 markers, with seven coming in the final quarter, while Tony Bishop had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds as the defending champions Gin Kings halted a two-game slide for a 5-3 win-loss slate.
Holding to a slim 53-50 lead at the half, the Gin Kings started the third quarter strong behind conversions from Ahanmisi, Bishop, and Thompson as they established an 80-65 lead.
The Bolts countered with a run to cut the deficit to seven points, but the Gin Kings got seven straight points from Malonzo and back-to-back layups from Thompson as the lead grew to its biggest at 104-85.
Zachary Lofton was held to 23 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists, Clifford Hodge and Aaron Black added 17 and 14 markers, respectively, while Allein Maliksi and Kier John Quinto ended with 10 each as the Bolts dropped to 6-2.
In the first game, NLEX Road Warriors relied on a massive fourth quarter run to defeat Blackwater Bossing, 104-97, and kept their playoffs hopes alive. The Road Warriors halted their four-game losing skid for a 3-6 record, while the Bossing dropped to 1-8.
From an 87-all score midway through the final quarter, the Road Warriors got five points from import Stokley Chaffee Jr., two free throws from Robert Bolick Jr. and a triple from Anthony Semerad for a 97-89 lead.
The Bossing countered with their own run to cut the deficit to 97-100 with 50 seconds left in the game, but two free throws and a layup by Bolick secured the win for the Road Warriors.
Bolick had a near triple-double of 30 points, 15 assists, and eight rebounds, Chaffee added a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Negrense Jhan Nermal, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, and Enoch Valdez contributed 16, 12, and 11, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 110 – Ahanmisi 25, Thompson 21, Standhardinger 21, Malonzo 17, Bishop 12, Pringle 7, J. Aguilar 7, Tenorio 0, Onwubere 0.
MERALCO 96 – Lofton 23, Hodge 17, Black 14, Maliksi 10, Quinto 10, Newsome 9, Almazan 6, Pascual 4, Banchero 3, Bates 0, Torres 0.
Quarterscores: 24-25, 53-50, 84-75, 110-96.
