Bishop impressive in debut as Ginebra adds to Converge woes
At A Glance
- Tony Bishop felt exactly at home with Ginebra, joining hands with Christian Standhardinger to add to Converge woes, 100-86, in the 2023 PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 17.
It seemed like the Bishop was really meant to be a King.

Tony Bishop felt exactly at home with Ginebra, joining hands with Christian Standhardinger to add to Converge woes, 100-86, in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 17.
Bishop and Standhardinger took turns in leading the way as the Kings shrugged off some first quarter jitters before unleashing a back-breaking 14-2 run in the third frame to open their title-defense in a winning fashion.
The returning PBA import proved Ginebra made the right choice in picking him in lieu of resident import Justin Brownlee, dropping 34 points and 12 rebounds in his Kings debut while Standhardinger provided ample support with 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists.
While the Kings looked a little rusty in the opening frame, the two played like a well-oiled machine scoring the team’s first 25 points with Standhardinger being accounted for 18 while Bishop had seven.
The second quarter then saw the two teams scoring 17 points apiece as the Kings finally got things going in the offensive end, turning a once 10 point deficit into a two-point advantage at the half, 52-50.
It was then in the third frame when the rest of the Kings finally woke up from deep slumber with another debuting King in Maverick Ahanmisi, Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar all conniving in the pivotal run that established Ginebra a double-digit spread.
Justin Arana paced the FiberXers with a season-high 20 points along with eight rebounds while Tom Vodanovich was limited to just 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jerrick Balanza added 13 points before exiting the game late in the third frame.
All their efforts, however, went futile in the end as Ginebra remains the only team Converge has yet to beat ever since joining the league last season.