MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings recovered from a slow start and charged toward a 111-105 win against Meralco Bolts in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday night at the Santa Rosa Multipurpose Complex in Laguna.
Justin Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar led Kings to solo first place (7-1 win-loss) with 31 points each. LA Tenorio added 18 markers for the defending champions.
A game prior, Blackwater Elite survived a fourth-quarter run by Rain or Shine Elasto Painters for a 99-93 escape and tallied their sixth victory in seven matches.
After being down by as much as 8 points midway in the third period, the Kings came up with a huge run behind Brownlee, Tenorio and Scottie Thompson for a 75-72 advantage.
The Kings went on to build their largest lead 102-88 with conversions from Aguilar and Jeff Chan. The Bolts rallied to get within 103-107 but free throws by Tenorio sealed the win for Ginebra.
Allen Durham finished with double-double 36 points and 16 rebounds while Chris Newsome added 25 markers for the Bolts (1-5).
In the first game, the Elite saw its 16-point edge get chopped down to 77-73 midway in the final quarter, then came up with shots from Nard John Pinto, Paul Zamar and Henry Walker for an 84-73 lead.
The Painters made their last push and came to as close as 92-94 but Pinto put the game away for the Elite with a clutch 3-point basket for a 97-92 lead with 15 seconds remaining.
Michael Digregorio and Pinto had 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Walker had triple-double 14 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists for the Elite. Maverick Ahanmisi had 25 markers for the Painters (0-4)./PN
