GINEBRA IN 3-WAY TIE FOR NO. 1
Greg Slaughter stood his ground against June Mar Fajardo while Zaccheus Mason was virtually unstoppable in the second half.
Mason erupted for 26 of his 30 points in the last two quarters as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel established a huge 21-point lead before weathering a late charge by San Miguel Beer for a crucial 105-98 win in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig Wednesday night.
Mason and his teammates came back strong from a loss to Rain or Shine the last time out and forged a three-way tie for the lead with Talk n Text and San Mig Coffee at 5-2 entering the homestretch of the elimination round.
“We made up for the fall in the last game by stepping up in this game,” said Ginebra coach Jeff Cariaso.
“It’s part of the learning curve where we are now. I really challenged the guys to focus our minds on the task at hand after losing to Rain or Shine,” Cariaso also said.
The Kings responded well to Cariaso’s call, coming out strong and completing a wire-to-wire win though they had to fend off a SMB uprising at endgame.
Mason capped his solid performance with 9-of-10 charities in the last three minutes as the Kings eventually dealt the Beermen a fourth loss against the same number of wins.
From 65-86 down, the Beermen crept to within four at 95-99.
But the Beermen couldn’t beat time and the Kings in the end.
San Miguel actually had a chance to come closer but after Chris Ellis missed a pair of free throws, LA Tenorio grabbed the offensive rebound and then knocked in his own charities with time down to 29.8 seconds.
Mason and Slaughter combined for 49 points and 29 rebounds with Tenorio adding 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals and Japeth Aguilar chipping in 15 markers and three boards.
SMB import Reggie Williams led all scorers with 37 points but could only get eight rebounds.
Fajardo and Sol Mercado came up with double-double numbers but the rest of their teammates had measly contributions.
Overall, the Beermen continued to struggle minus injured ace playmaker Chris Ross.
Playing a few minutes, Marcio Lassiter was obviously not in competitive form coming from a four-game layoff. (SB)The scores:
The scores:
GINEBRA 105 – Mason 30, Slaughter 19, Tenorio 16, Aguilar 15, Baracael 7, Ellis 6, Caguioa 6, Helterbrand 4, Mamaril 2, Monfort 0.
SAN MIGUEL BEER 98 – Williams 37, Fajardo 23, Mercado 14, Santos 8, Tubid 7, Lutz 6, Maierhofer 2, Kramer 1, Duncil 0, Lassiter 0, Chua 0.
Quarterscores: 25-16, 49-41, 84-65, 105-98
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