HOTSHOTS SHOW POISE IN STOPPING KINGS
STAR coach Tim Cone finally found what he was looking for in his team and even more pleasant was the result.
Refusing to be daunted by a big Barangay Ginebra fight back the defending champion had a ready counter to come out an 89-82 winner in the PBA Governors Cup before some 17,000 fans Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Joe Devance notched 26 points while Marqus Blakely added 19 points and as many rebounds as they spearheaded a balanced fourth quarter attack that offset the Kings’ uprising from as many as 19 points down.
“Best part about tonight, their comeback didn’t discourage our guys,” said Cone, whose team won its opening assignment but dropped four straight before winning over Kia May 30.
“We haven’t been responding well, but this game we did. The guys showed good character tonight and that’s what we’ve been looking for, character. That’s good for us and hopefully this will carry us forward.”
The Hotshots sure do need some momentum as their 3-4 record kept them at eighth-running spot, on the fringe of those qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Worse off was Ginebra after it dropped to 3-5 and got relegated to ninth, notwithstanding the 35-point, 11-rebound effort by Orlando Johnson and the 18 points and nine boards by Japeth Aguilar.
The two were at the forefront of the Kings’ massive 21-2 attack from a 21-40 count and they were still within 63-64 after three quarters, only to fade in winning time.
In the deciding canto, Ginebra made just five of 17 shots from the field, flubbed seven free throws and committed seven turnovers.
Star was all too willing to pounce, unleashing a 14-1 surge that staked it to a 78-64 spread.
Johnson scored seven points and Jiwan Kim, who missed his first three tries from the field, strung up five straight points to pull the Kings within 79-83.
But Ginebra was kept at bay by Alex Mallari, Blakely and Devance making the insurance charities inside the final 73 seconds. (NC)
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