Barangay Ginebra picked up its second straight win after beating Phoenix, 119-112, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.   

Japeth Aguilar continued to turn back the hands of time with another stellar performance in leading the Kings to a 4-2 win-loss record tied with San Miguel Beer inside the top four.

Aguilar, who exploded for 23 points in a blowout victory over Converge in Pampanga, dropped 24 markers on a 9-of-12 field goal shooting with seven rebounds and four assists.

Ginebra had a shooting clinic, 58.8 percent from the field and moved the ball well with 33 assists.

RJ Abarrientos came off the bench and contributed 25 points, Stephen Holt had 18 markers, Scottie Thompson submitted a double-double of 17 points and 13 assists while Jamie Malonzo got 15 for the Kings, who got the win despite allowing the Fuel Masters to score 40 points in the final period.

“I thought we played an absolutely fantastic game against them until the last three or four minutes with the second group, and that got a little bit sloppy,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said.

“But aside from that, I thought we played a really game on both sides of the floor. They shot the ball really well tonight despite that we’re able to establish 20-point leads or 16 or 18-point leads. That’s a credit to the guys for their unselfishness.”

The Kings took control of the game in the second quarter after trailing by three to end the opening period.

Ginebra established a 22-point advantage, 108-86, midway into the final canto.

Phoenix dropped back-to-back games to slide down to a 2-5 mark.

Jason Perkins scored 28, RJ Jazul had 18 while Ken Tuffin finished with 17 for the Fuel Masters. Tyler Tio and Kai Ballungay had 15 and 12 points, respectively.

The scores:

GINEBRA (119) --- Abarrientos 25, J.Aguilar 24, Holt 18, Thompson 17, Malonzo 15, Rosario 8, Pessumal 6, Cu 3, Adamos 2, R. Aguilar 1, David 0, Pinto 0, Mariano 0

PHOENIX (112) --- Perkins 28, Jazul 18, Tuffin 17, Tio 15, Ballungay 12, Garcia 6, Verano 6, Alejandro 3, Manganti 3, Ular 2, Soyud 2, Rivero 0, Cullar 0, Camacho 0

Quarters: 24-27, 59-50, 92, 72, 119-112