MANILA – Mark Caguioa achieved a personal milestone as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings cruised to a 106-92 win over NLEX Road Warriors in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 38-year-old Caguioa finished 16 points to become the 16th member of the league’s 10,000 points club and his squad to surge to solo first place in the standings at 6-1 win-loss slate.
“I really did not anticipate to achieve my 10,000th point tonight,” Caguioa said. “But as the game went on and as I find my shooting touch, my teammates were fielding me the ball. I am glad they were there to help me achieve that.”
Justin Brownlee led the way with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar chipped in 17 markers each for the defending champions Kings.
Holding to a slim 42-41 lead at the half, the Kings slowly pull away in the third period with Caguioa, Tenorio, Aguilar, and Brownlee scoring past the Road Warriors’ defense for an 82-65 lead.
The lead grew further in the final quarter with Jeffrei Chan and Kevin Ferrer converting from outside for its largest lead at 102-78.
The Road Warriors attempted a run but hits from Caguioa and Anton Manuel sealed the win for the Kings.
Larry Fonacier led the way with 21 points while import Aaron Fuller chipped in double-double 20 points and 19 rebounds for the Road Warriors, which slid down to 4-3 win-loss card.
In the first game, Paul Zamar capped off his strong fourth quarter showing with a go-ahead triple as Blackwater Elite scored a come-from-behind 94-91 win over the Meralco Bolts.
Trailing by as much as 10 points early in the fourth quarter, the Elite came up with a huge run from Zamar, Rey Mark Belo and Henry Walker to take a 91-88 lead on a triple by Belo.
After the Bolts tied the score at 91-all on three straight points by Allen Durham, the Elite snatched the advantage for good with Zamar converting a transition triple with seven seconds left in the match.
Zamar finished the match with 13 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter, while Walker had double-double 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Elite (5-1). Durham had 32 points for the Bolts (1-4)./PN
