Barangay Ginebra started like a house on fire and never cooled down the rest of the way to rip TNT to shreds, 97-78, and fan its Top 4 hopes in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday, June 8.
At A Glance
- Barangay Ginebra started like a house on fire and never cooled down the rest of the way to rip TNT to shreds, 97-78, and fan its Top 4 hopes in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday, June 8.
The Kings, fighting to stay in the hunt for a win-once bonus, opened the contest with a blistering 13-0 run, setting the tone to the lopsided affair – very far from the nip-and-tuck match many had expected considering the Finals history of the two squads this season.
Japeth Aguilar and Jamie Malonzo combined for 15 of Ginebra’s 30 first quarter points – even completely outscoring the entire Tropang 5G who could only muster 11 points in the first 10 minutes.
The Kings led by as many as 32, 59-27, late in the first half with RJ Abarrientos sustaining the hot start off the bench to finish with a game-high 23 points.
Aguilar had a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds while Stephen Holt and Jamie Malonzo added 12 apiece. Troy Rosario added 11 while Scottie Thompson didn’t need to have his usual scoring load with only five points though he orchestrated the Kings’ assault with 10 assists.
Ginebra improved to a 7-3 record in tie with Magnolia at the third to fourth spots and behind San Miguel (7-2) and league-leading NLEX (8-2) which already assured itself of the incentive.
Calvin Oftana paced TNT with 18 points though it was not enough to give Jordan Heading a winning debut for the Tropang 5G.
Heading had 10 points in his first game as part of TNT but the team struggled heavily against the defense of Ginebra. It also did not help that Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser was tossed out of the contest after a flagrant penalty 2 infraction after elbowing Rosario to the face in the first quarter.