MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings maintained their untarnished slate in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup following an 86-71 triumph over Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Stanley Pringle spearheaded the attack with 20 points including four three-point conversions while Prince Caperal added 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the Kings improved to a 4-0 win-loss slate.
Japeth Aguilar contributed 13 markers and five rebounds while Earl Scottie Thompson flirted with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Ginebra.
Holding to a slim 20-19 edge after the first 12 minutes, the Kings created distance from the Fuel Masters in the second period behind Pringle and Caperal to build a 47-36 lead at the half.
The Fuel Masters tried to claw their way back in the third period as they came to as close as 49-52, but the Kings got outside conversions from Caperal and LA Tenorio followed by inside shots from Aguilar to make it a 64-54 spread.
Barangay Ginebra went for the kill in the fourth quarter with three-point baskets from Tenorio and Caperal and perimeter hits from Aguilar and Negrense Joe Devance for its biggest lead of 86-65.
Jason Perkins tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, Matthew Wright struggled offensively with just 12 points on five-of-17 shooting as the Fuel Masters suffered their second straight defeat to drop to 2-2.
In the first PBA game, the NLEX Road Warriors finally tasted victory following a 102-88 domination over the NorthPort Batang Pier. The Road Warriors hiked its record to a 1-3 slate while the Batang Pier slumped to 0-4.
It was a tightly contested match with the Road Warriors clinging to a 52-47 lead midway in the third period before pulling away to 77-68 advantage behind baskets from Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena and JR Quinahan.
The Batang Pier managed to cut the deficit to 76-77, but the Road Warriors responded with a huge rally anchored on Ravena and Kevin Alas for their largest lead at 100-80 with over two minutes left in the game.
Ravena finished the match with 25 points and Quinahan added 17 markers for the Road Warriors. Kevin Ferrer, meanwhile, spearheaded the offense for the Batang Pier with 18 points.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 86 – Pringle 20, Caperal 14, J. Aguilar 13, Thompson 11, Tenorio 9, Devance 8, Tolentino 5, Mariano 4, Dillinger 2, Chan 0, Balanza 0, R. Aguilar 0, Salado 0.
PHOENIX 71 – Perkins 15, Wright 12, Chua 11, Intal 9, Heruela 7, Garcia 5, Jazul 5, Rios 3, Marcelo 2, Napoles 2, Reyes 0, Gamboa 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 20-19; Q2, 47-36; Q3, 64-54; Q4, 86-71./PN
