MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings leaned on a fourth quarter assault to turn back Meralco Bolts, 112-107, in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Trailing by double-digits in the opening half and by eight early in the fourth, the Gin Kings clawed its way back before taking the lead at 87-86 on a three-pointer by Jeremiah Gray but the Bolts managed to keep in step to force several deadlocks with last at 97-all.
Two free throws and a three-pointer by Justin Brownlee followed by back-to-back triples by Gray gave Ginebra a 108-102 upperhand before they secured the win on inside shots by Christian Standhardinger and Jamie Malonzo.
Standhardinger finished with conference-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Brownlee chipped in 29 markers as the defending champions Gin Kings improved to 5-2.
Malonzo contributed 16 markers, Gray and Nard John Pinto added 12 points each, while Earl Scottie Thompson had 10 assists to go with seven points and six rebounds for Ginebra.
Gin Kings veteran Lewis Alfred Tenorio, who was nursing a sports hernia injury, missed a game for the first time in his PBA career to end the streak of consecutive games played at 744.
KJ McDaniels tallied double-double 28 points and 12 rebounds, Allein Maliksi added 22 markers, while Chris Newsome and Aaron Black had 15 and 14, respectively, as the Bolts fell to 5-4.
In the first game, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters survived a tough stand by import-less Rain or Shine Elasto Painters before pulling off a 114-106 victory. The Fuel Masters rises to 4-5, while the Painters dropped to 2-7.
The Fuel Masters were scorching in the opening period as they surged to a 29-14 lead behind Jason Perkins and Tyler Tio, which later grew to its largest at 50-27 on a basket by RJ Jazul.
The Painters, however, showed some life in the second half with repeated runs as they trimmed the deficit to 106-110 but a basket by Du’vaughn Maxwell and free throws by Tio and Larry Muyang sealed the win for Phoenix.
RR Garcia and rookie Encho Serrano showed the way with 17 points each, Perkins chipped in 16 markers, while Import Du’vaughn Maxwell tallied double-double 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Fuel Masters./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 112 – Standhardinger 31, Brownlee 29, Malonzo 16, Pinto 12, Gray 12, Thompson 7, Pringle 5, Dillinger 0.
MERALCO 107 – McDaniels 28, Maliksi 22, Newsome 15, Black 14, Quinto 10, Hodge 10, Banchero 5, Almazan 2, Caram 0, Jose 0.
Quarterscores: 32-37, 54-61, 76-80, 112-107.
