Barangay Ginebra stopped the bleeding and shut down rival Meralco, 110-96, to boost its bid for a playoff spot in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Dec. 22.

Christian Standhardinger, Jamie Malonzo and import Tony Bishop finished what Maverick Ahanmisi and Scottie Thompson had started, pulling away from a tight contest in the second half to arrest a two-game losing streak and improve to a 5-3 record in the standings.

The Kings get a share of the fourth spot with San Miguel Beermen, keeping themselves in the hunt for the twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs. Ginebra also got a fitting warm-up ahead of its Governors’ Cup Finals rematch with TNT on Christmas Day.

Ahanmisi led the balanced attack for the Kings with 25 points while Thompson finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists all while putting the clamps down on Bolts import Zach Lofton right on his first game back from a knee injury.

The do-it-all guard made Lofton bleed for his 23 points – a far cry from his average of 42 points in the first two games with the Bolts – shooting a measly 7-of-20 from the field and a 2-of-10 clip from deep.

Standhardinger came three assists shy of recording a triple-double, scattering 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while Bishop had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds in his first game against his former team.

It was actually a tight contest in the first two quarters, largely due to a 14-point explosion from Lofton in the second frame. The Kings however tightened up their defensive screws with big stops fueling a 13-2 spurt that allowed them to create a double-digit separation, 67-54.

Meralco managed to come within single digits but Ginebra went on another run that restored a sizable margin it managed to protect until the final horn.

Cliff Hodge and Aaron Black tried to pick up the slack from Lofton scoring struggles, finishing with 17 and 14, respectively, but not enough to keep their four-game winning streak alive.