GINEBRA EMBRACES TRIANGLE, RIPS GLOBALPORT
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel began life playing the triangle offense under coach Jeff Cariaso with a breeze against GlobalPort.
Greg Slaughter worked comfortably with their new scheme and so did import Zaccheus Mason and gunner Mark Caguioa as the Kings clobbered the Batang Pier, 89-71, in Day Two of the PBA PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday night.
Turning a year older Monday, Slaughter showed a mature game, piling up 19 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Kings to a triumphant start in the tourney after an early exit in the recent Commissioner’s Cup.
Mason complemented Slaughter well at the frontcourt while Caguioa did his thing working from the perimeter as Ginebra handily beat the Globalport squad that narrowly missed a 0-9 showing in the second conference.
Cariaso was thankful to his players who welcomed him with a winning debut as a PBA head coach.
“What impressed me so far is the guys are willing to run the offense. It’s not easy to run, not easy to get disciplined when you feel nothing’s happening. But I’m happy with how the guys play it,” said Cariaso, making special mention of Slaughter.
“Greg is your perfect triangle center. He’s real strong and real big. Obviously there’s a mismatch today and he opened it up for everybody,” Cariaso pointed out.
Slaughter was a big force on both ends, allowing the Kings to dominate the boards and get numerous opportunities for second-chance points.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Kings were comfortably ahead, 76-63, while leading the rebounding battle, 54-30.
The Kings ran into lapses but Cariaso said it’s part of their learning process.
“Turnovers are part of it because they’re not used to the passes. When you’re in doubt, that’s when the turnovers happen. When you’re not used to progression, that’s when it happens,” said Cariaso.
The Batang Pier pounced on some Ginebra lapses with Leroy Hickerson leading their attack as GlobalPort closed in at 39-41 at the half.
Hickerson scored 16 of his 30 points in the second quarter.
Slaughter, however, asserted himself and poured in 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter as the Kings regained control, 68-56, going into the fourth quarter.
The Kings practically went through the motions in the payoff period, and Cariaso even had the chance to field in rookie free agent acquisition Jens Knuttel in the closing minute.
Proving to be an instant fan favorite, the former FEU second-string guard got the crowd up on their feet with a good assist to Chris Ellis. (SB)
The scores:
GINEBRA 89 – Mason 21, Slaughter 19, Caguioa 15, Ellis 10, Aguilar 8, Baracael 7, Monfort 3, Reyes 2, Helterbrand 2, Mamaril 2, Knuttel 0, Tenorio 0, Urbiztondo 0.
GLOBALPORT 71 – Hickerson 30, Cabagnot 21, Washington 6, Macapagal 5, Salvador 4, Garcia 3, Menk 2, Matias 0, Taha 0, Ponferrada 0, Salva 0.
Quarterscores: 18-14, 41-39, 68-56, 89-71
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