BOCAUE, Bulacan – Entering their game against TNT KaTropa, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone emphasized his contentment about them being generally healthy coming into the 44th season.
True enough, Ginebra showed how ready they are, at least physically, after dealing KaTropa a 90-79 beating during the opening of the PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Philippine Arena here.
Japeth Aguilar led the charge for Ginebra with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting while Greg Slaughter added 15 markers despite missing a good number of point blank shots inside the paint.
LA Tenorio, who is now just six games away from tying the record for consecutive games played, was contented in orchestrating the backcourt as he had seven assists in 34 minutes of action.
Still, Cone downplayed a bit their accomplishment in front of the 23,711 who witnessed not just the game and the grandiose opening but the annual Leo Awards where San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo established history by becoming the first-ever five-time Most Valuable Player.
“Opening game is always tough and when you play the opener, it is a long day. Your guys are standing a lot so you can oftentimes start lethargic,” said Cone.
Ginebra however had a splendid start as they enjoyed 44-26 lead, on an Aguilar three-pointer midway through the second quarter.
TNT though fought back for a while as Don Trollano led a furious 13-2 run after that Aguilar trifecta to cut Ginebra’s lead to a single digit and eventually enter halftime with Ginebra up by just seven, 49-42.
With about six minutes remaining in the third, TNT came closest, 57-55 on a Roger Pogoy layup, making it a dog fight but only for a brief moment as Ginebra eventually pulled away in the final canto.
“It was good to go out there and get that win against Talk ‘N Text. They started with four smalls and we were very concerned from a coaching staff point of view,” said Cone “Luckily they didn’t shoot the three ball as well as they normally do and we were able to control the tempo on the inside.”
Despite an impressive 21-point, 16-rebound performance from Pogoy, he was dismal from beyond the arc where he went 1-for-9.
Overall, TNT converted nine three-pointers but took 41 attempts while Ginebra went 6-of-19 from the same territory.
Veteran guard Jayson Castro tallied 17 points and 10 assists while Trollano had 15 points for TNT.
Ginebra will next face powerhouse team San Miguel Beer next Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum while TNT will set their sights on Phoenix this coming January 19 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
The scores:
Ginebra 90 – Aguilar J. 21, Slaughter 15, Mercado 11, Thompson 9, Ferrer 9, Mariano 6, Devance 5, Tenorio 5, Teodoro 4, Cruz 3, Caperal 2, Aguilar R. 0.
TNT 79 – Pogoy 20, Castro 17, Trollano 15, Heruela 14, Reyes 6, Cruz 4, Williams 2, Golla 0, Semerad D. 0, Miranda 0, Carey 0.
Quarters: 28-15, 49-42, 63-57, 90-79.
