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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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04
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20
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
20
2024
On sheer individual talent, the Barangay Ginebra Kings hurdled the Mahindra Enforcers and their admirable never-say-die game to close in on a Top Four finish in the PBA Governors Cup elimination round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Justin Brownlee, Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson stood out as the Kings thwarted the Enforcers, 93-86, to assure themselves of at least a tie for fourth at the close of the elims.
“It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure. We played probably our most disjointed game this conference. Mahindra kept us off-balanced all night,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“We won the game on our talent, and we’ve got to be better than that,” Cone added.
Brownlee, Aguilar and Thompson came through with big numbers, including key plays at endgame as the Kings salvaged a third straight win and their seventh in nine games in all.
The Enforcers, meanwhile, suffered a fourth loss in their last six games and dropped to fourth spot at 6-4, just half-game ahead of the fifth running Phoenix Fuel Masters at 5-4.
An anxious moment for the Kings and just about everybody at the Big Dome was Slaughter twisting his right knee, falling down on the floor and staying there for long seconds visibly in pain.
The 7-foot-1 behemoth had played only 10:14 minutes in his comeback game from a knee surgery.
“We won’t know if it’s a setback until tomorrow, if there’s a swelling,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“He’s too important a commodity for us to risk. We’ll do everything for him to come back right,” Cone added. “But he looked good. He felt pain at first. In the huddle around him, he said the pain was dissipating. The pain wouldn’t go away if it’s an ACL.”
Slaughter contributed seven points, four rebounds and one assist against three turnovers before his scary fall.
Brownlee piled up 27 points and 17 rebounds, Aguilar got away with 19 markers and four boards while Thompson had 12 points and the same number of rebounds as the Gin Kings stayed right behind the front running TNT KaTropa Texters.
The Kings worked on a 19-point turnaround in the first half, wiping out an early eight-point deficit, 8-16, and racing ahead with an 11-point lead at 43-32.
They then hang on the lead even as James White and the Enforcers stayed in their coattails to the finish.
Brownlee had 11 points and eight rebounds while Thompson had eight markers, six boards, three assists, one steal and one block as Ginebra sat on a 43-34 cushion at halftime.
The Enforcers scored the first seven points in the contest before taking the 16-8 lead and a 22-20 edge at the end of the opening quarter.
The scores:
GINEBRA 93 – Brownlee 27, Aguilar 19, Thompson 12, Caguioa 9, Slaughter 7, Mercado 5, Tenorio 4, Cruz 4, Devance 2, Helterbrand 2, Marcelo 2, Mariano 0.
MAHINDRA 86 – White 23, Taha 20, Aguilar 10, Revilla 10, Ramos 7, Digregorio 5, Galanza 4, Bagatsing 3, Agovida 2, Guinto 2, Ballesteros 0, Jaime 0, Mandani 0.
Quarters: 20-22, 43-34, 63-60, 93-86
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