Games Sunday:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — TNT vs Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. — Barangay Ginebra vs NorthPort
Barangay Ginebra showed no signs of stopping as it scored a 119-106 victory over NorthPort in Game 2 of their best-of-seven semifinal series in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Friday at the Philsports Arena.
Proving that their 115-93 Game 1 win last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum was no fluke, the Kings were ruthlessly effective on both ends on the floor against the Batang Pier.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said they came into the game with fire in their eyes as they knew they can’t let NorthPort dictate the tempo of the game.
“Yeah, we were concerned, no doubt about it. We felt we needed to come in here with a real disciplined approach to this game because we felt there was a real good chance that we would step back and they would pick up their intensity,” Cone said.
“But our guys did a real good job of staying disciplined. Staying disciplined with what we do and we got a little loose, I thought, towards the end of the third and the start of the fourth.”
Japeth Aguilar was two points shy of a new career-high as he dropped 31 points and eight rebounds for Ginebra.
For the six-foot-nine big man, he credited his performance on his conditioning while being part of the Gilas Pilipinas squad.
“It’s still a collective effort in our end. For me, I treat playing for the national team as a blessing. Plus, it’s an opportunity for me to stay sharp, stay in shape,” Aguilar said.
“But still, I’m happy for our guys coming back. I see Jeremiah Gray, I see Jamie (Malonzo), they help our team a lot.
Apart from Aguilar, Ginebra had five other players reaching double digits.
Malonzo shot 17 points, Scottie Thompson made 16 points, RJ Abbarientos and Troy Rosario had 11 points each, and resident import Justin Brownlee hit 10 points.
While Brownlee only shot 4-of-12 from the field for the Kings, he made it up with 11 assists for a double-double night.
Malonzo, who was coming back after almost a year of absence, drained a jumper with 11:38 in the second quarter to ignite a 16-0 run that turned a 35-24 lead into a 51-24 advantage.
A layup from Thompson with 9:48 left in the third quarter gave Ginebra its biggest lead of the game, 74-39, to take the fight away from NorthPort.
The Batang Pier outscored the Kings, 39-26, in the fourth quarter but the lead was already out of reach for them to pull off an upset.
Ginebra dominated the rebounding department, 54-37, and dished out 36 assists compared to NorthPort’s 22 dimes.
Kadeem Jack’s double-double game of 27 points and 10 rebounds wasn’t enough as the Batang Pier sank into a 0-2 hole.
GINEBRA (119) — J. Aguilar 31, Malonzo 17, Thompson 16, Rosario 11, Abarrientos 11, Brownlee 10, Ahanmisi 8, Holt 7, Gray 6, Pinto 2, Pessumal 0, Cu 0, Adamos 0, R.Aguilar 0, Mariano 0.
NORTHPORT (106) — Jack 27, Navarro 23, Munzon 14, Tolentino 12, Bulanadi 10, Nelle 6, Yu 5, Miranda 5, Taha 3, Onwubere 1, Flores 0, Cuntapay 0.
QUARTERS: 35-22, 68-39, 93-67, 119-106.