MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings showed endgame poise to defeat the NorthPort Batang Pier, 95-88, in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila.
From an 85-all score late in the game, the Gin Kings went on a 7-0 scoring run behind a three-pointer from Ralph Cu and inside conversions from Jamie Malonzo and Christian Standhardinger for a 92-85 lead.
The Batang Pier cut the deficit to 88-92 with a three-pointer from William Navarro, but a split free throw by Earl Scottie Thompson and a basket by Standhardinger sealed the win for the Gin Kings.
Standhardinger led the way with 25 points and 17 rebounds, while Cu had a near triple-double of 24 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds as the Gin Kings improved to a 5-3 win-loss slate.
Malonzo contributed 14 points. Maverick Ahanmisi chipped in 13 markers, and Thompson had a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds to go with five assists for the Gin Kings.
Arvin Tolentino tallied 19 points, Joshua Munzon and Navarro added 12 points apiece, and Allyn Bulanadi ended with 11 markers as the Batang Pier dropped to 4-3 after sustaining back-to-back losses.
Meanwhile, TNT Tropang Giga clawed back from a double-digit deficit to score a 104-101 win over NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
Down by as much as 11 points after three quarters, the Tropang Giga rode on the exploits of Calvin Oftana to tie the score at 95-all before taking a 100-99 lead on a triple by Jayson Castro.
The Road Warriors regained the lead at 101-100 on a conversion by Robert Bolick, but a three-pointer by Roger Pogoy and a split free throw by Glenn Khobuntin completed TNT’s comeback win.
Oftana led the way for TNT with 37 points, including three three-point conversions, Pogoy added 21 markers, and Castro and Khobuntin ended with 16 and 11, respectively, as they improved to 4-3./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 95 – Standhardinger 25, Cu 24, Malonzo 14, Ahanmisi 13, Thompson 10, J. Aguilar 4, David 3, Pringle 2, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0, Onwubere 0.
NORTHPORT 88 – Tolentino 19, Munzon 12, Navarro 12, Bulanadi 11, Yu 8, Amores 7, Zamar 6, Calma 4, Lucero 4, Cuntapay 3, Flores 2, Rosales 0, Paraiso 0.
Quarterscores: 30-21, 43-53, 73-70, 95-88.
