MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings recovered from a flat start and toppled NorthPort Batang Pier, 112-100, in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Stanley Pringle top-scored with 17 points, including five triples while Aljon Mariano chipped in 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the Kings tied TNT Tropang Giga at the No. 1 spot with a 6-2 win-loss slate.
The Tropang Giga failed to seize the solo first place in the standings after suffering a 102-92 defeat at the hands of Magnolia Hotshots in the third game on Wednesday behind the 27-point output of Paul Lee.
Ginebra trailed by double figures at the onset of the match before turning things around in the second period on triples by Pringle and inside hits from Mariano and Japeth Aguilar for a 57-48 halftime lead.
The Kings went on to build their largest lead at 96-77 following a triple by rookie Jerrick Balanza, but the Batang Pier went on a huge rally to cut the deficit to 96-104. Baskets by Aguilar, Mariano and LA Tenorio, however, restored the double-digit spread for Ginebra.
Meanwhile, Ilonggo Jericho Cruz torched his former team with his fourth quarter offensive outburst as the NLEX Road Warriors cruised to a 94-74 victory over Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Holding to a 64-59 lead, Cruz drained back-to-back triples to make it a 70-59 advantage. The Painters clawed to within 64-70, but two layups by Cruz and a triple by Negrense Paul Varilla made it a 77-66 count.
The RoS was still in striking distance at 71-81, but NLEX answered with consecutive triples from Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena, JR Quiñahan and Anthony Semerad for their largest lead, 94-74, on a two-pointer by Cruz.
Cruz finished the match with 17 points while Kevin Alas added 18 as the Road Warriors moved up to 3-5. Rey Nambatac tallied 15 points to lead the Painters (4-2).
Meralco Bolts, on the other hand, pulled off a close 89-85 triumph over the slumping Blackwater Elite. Chris Newsome ended up with 19 points as the Bolts rose to 4-3. The Elite dropped to 2-5.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 112 – Pringle 17, Mariano 15, Tenorio 13, J. Aguilar 13, Devance 12, Caperal 11, Thompson 11, Chan 10, Dillinger 5, Balanza 5, Tolentino 0, Caguioa 0.
NORTHPORT 100 – Ferrer 23, Standhardinger 23, Lanete 19, Subido 15, Taha 9, Nabong 5, Cruz 4, Manganti 2, Elorde 0, Revilla 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 23-29; Q2, 57-48; Q3, 84-75; Q4, 112-100./PN
