MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings secured a 119-106 victory over NorthPort Batang Pier in Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals last night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Japeth Aguilar spearheaded the attack with a conference-high of 31 points, while Jamie Malonzo and Earl Scottie Thompson added 17 and 16 markers, respectively. The Gin Kings is now with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Jeth Troy Rosario and Rhon Jay Abarrientos ended with 11 points apiece, Justin Brownlee contributed 10 points and 11 assists, while Jeremiah Gray tallied six points in his first appearance since tearing his ACL in 2023.
The Gin Kings made their presence felt early in the opening quarter courtesy of inside conversions from Aguilar and Malonzo as they established a 35-22 advantage.
Barangay Ginebra continued their dominant offense in the second frame with connections from Abarrientos, Ahanmisi, Thompson, and Gray as the lead swelled to 68-39 at the half.
The Gin Kings’ lead reached its largest at 35 points at 74-39 early in the third quarter on a basket by Thompson. The Batang Pier managed to cut it to 91-106 but Ginebra responded with inside hits from Aguilar to seal the win.
Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone once again lauded the offensive contributions of his other players as he managed to lessen the minutes of Gilas Pilipinas players Brownlee (34), Aguilar (26), and Thompson (26)
“As much as possible, we didn’t want to overplay Justin and Japeth and Scottie so the fact that (the other players) were able to stay sharp like that and give those guys a break was really important,” Cone said after the game.
Kadeem Jack led the Batang Pier with 27 points, William Navarro added 23 markers, while Joshua Munzon, Arvin Tolentino, and Allyn Bulanadi contributed 17, 12, and 10 points, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
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.
Quarterscores: 35-22, 68-39, 93-67, 119-106.
