KINGS TRUMP ACES, BRACE FOR TITANIC CHRISTMAS DAY BATTLE VS. PETRON
Using a strong third quarter blast, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel rolled to their seventh win with a 96-89 win over the Alaska Aces Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena at the 2014 PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup.
Japeth Aguilar steered the Kings in the third canto, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the said period, to go with seven rebounds and three rejections, while LA Tenorio top-scored for the now 7-1 Barangay Ginebra with 24 markers, eight boards, and six assists. Greg Slaughter added 18 points and eight rebounds.
“We were able to adjust early. Lagi naming dinidiscuss ng mga coaches yun,” said Barangay Ginebra head coach Ato Agustin. “We started good, but we went down by halftime. Pero we were able to adjust kasi maganda yung tinatakbo ng defense namin.”
The Kings, led by Tenorio’s 10 points in the first 12 minutes of play, started strong, leading by as much as 16 in the first quarter, but JVee Casio and Gabby Espinas rallied the Aces back and took the lead at halftime, 50-42. Alaska outscored Barangay Ginebra 31-13 in the second period.
But it was a different Barangay Ginebra in the second half as they kept on pounding the ball to Aguilar, who made a living at the free throw line, shooting 11-of-16 from the charity stripe. That spurred a 14-4 run which swung the lead back to their favor at the end of the third period, 68-65.
From that point on, the Kings never again relinquished their lead, as Tenorio, Slaughter, and Chris Ellis had the finishing touches in the victory.
With their fourth straight win in the bag, Agustin said that somehow, the coaching staff is still weary of the team hitting its peak early in the season.
“Yun di ang kinakatakot namin. Pero based on the way we play, alam na namin kung paano mag-a-adjust and kung paano bibigyan ng pahinga yung mga players namin,” he said after the win which put them in good going into their much-awaited game against league-leading Petron Blaze on Christmas Day.
Casio led the Aces with 27 points, while Sonny Thoss had 22 markers and six boards. Gabby Espinas chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds for the Aces, who dropped to 3-6 in the standings. (RL)
The scores:
BARANGAY GINEBRA 96 – Tenorio 24, Aguilar 21, Slaughter 18, Ellis 8, Urbiztondo 6, Ababou 4, Reyes 4, Helterbrand 4, Baracael 3, Caguioa 3, Monfort 1, Mamaril 0.
ALASKA 89 – Casio 27, Thoss 22, Espinas 12, Baguio 7, Abueva 6, Hontiveros 4, Ramos 4, Eman 4, Exciminiano 2, Dela Cruz 1, Belasco 0, Jazul 0, Avenido 0.
Quarterscores: 29-19, 42-50, 68-65, 96-89.
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