MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings dominated Meralco Bolts, 96-79, in Game 1 of their 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Stanley Pringle led the Kings with 19 points and seven rebounds, Earl Scottie Thompson added 13 markers, nine rebounds and eight assists while rookie Arvin Tolentino also contributed 13 marks.
LA Tenorio and Aljon Mariano also ended up with 11 points each, Prince Caperal contributed 10 markers while Japeth Aguilar had nine marks and eight boards for the victors.
Holding to a 21-17 lead after the first 12 minutes, the Kings created separation from the Bolts in the second quarter via conversions from Pringle, Thompson and Aguilar for a 48-36 halftime edge.
The Kings widened the gap to 56-39 on a triple by Tolentino, but the Bolts managed to come to within 10 at 50-60 before Barangay Ginebra pulled away at 71-54 on shots from Tenorio and Thompson.
Conversions from Tenorio, Caperal and Pringle in the start the final quarter gave Barangay Ginebra its largest lead at 90-65. Meralco trimmed the deficit, but could only come to as close as 16.
Allein Maliksi ended up with 25 points, on a perfect five-of-five shooting from the three-point line, while Chris Newsome struggled with just 13 markers for the Bolts.
In PBA’s first game, Jayson Castro carried the scoring cudgels for TNT Tropang Giga in the endgame as they cruised to a 95-92 win over Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.
With the score tied at 81-all, Castro drained two free throws while Bobby Ray Parks Jr. converted a layup to establish an 85-81 edge. The Fuel Masters managed to cut the deficit to 85-87, but a triple by Castro and a layup gave TNT a 92-88 edge.
The Fuel Masters made their last push via a triple from RJ Jazul to cut the deficit to 91-92, but a split free throw from Simon Enciso and two more freebies from Castro sealed the win for the Tropang Giga.
Castro finished the match with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists while Parks added 17 markers for the Tropang Giga. Jazul contributed 21 points for the Fuel Masters.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 96 – Pringle 19, Thompson 13, Tolentino 13, Tenorio 11, Mariano 11, Caperal 10, J. Aguilar 9, Dillinger 4, Devance 2, Dela Cruz 2, Balanza 2, Chan 0, Salado 0, R. Aguilar 0.
MERALCO 79 – Maliksi 25, Newsome 13, Hugnatan 9, Black 8, Pinto 6, Hodge 4, Jamito 4, Almazan 3, Amer 2, Quinto 2, Faundo 2, Salva 2, Jackson 0, Caram 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 21-17; Q2, 48-36; Q3, 71-54; Q4, 96-79./PN
