By JONAS TERRADO
Orlando Johnson bounced back from a rough debut and carried San Miguel Beer to a 110-102 victory over struggling Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Governors’ Cup held Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Johnson showcased why he played for four NBA teams, posting 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Beermen climbed to 4-3 after dropping their previous encounter against TNT Tropang Giga.
Against TNT, Johnson had a rough debut after replacing Brandon Brown by scoring 12 points, the lowest in his PBA career, on 3-of-22 shooting which contributed to SMB’s 96-81 defeat.
“I’m happy to see him play to the expectation we’re looking from him,” said SMB coach Leo Austria. “Nag-take charge siya. First game, kasasabi ko nga lang kanina, we’re so excited for him, it seems na we found the right guy to have a good chemistry. But unfortunately we’re not able to have a good game against TNT.”
In the first game, Meralco rode on the hot hands of Allein Maliksi in the fourth quarter to take down Rain or Shine, 93-88.
Maliksi scored 12 of his 19 points in the final period as the Bolts were able to separate themselves from the Elasto Painters after a seesaw battle throughout to post their fifth win in six outings.
The victory allowed Meralco to redeem itself after being handed its first loss by NorthPort, 109-98, last Thursday despite leading by 19 in the first quarter.
Coach Norman Black, who won for the 701st time in his illustrious career, stressed that it was the defense that keyed the Bolts’ triumph.
“We talked about it at halftime, that we’re just gonna focus on our defense,” Black said. “We’re not gonna worry about the offense anymore, we’ll find ways to score, but we’re gonna defend the other side. And that was really the focus in the second half. I think that’s the reason why we got the win”
Import Tony Bishop had 26 points, 14 rebounds and four assists while Raymond Almazan put up 17 points and seven rebounds for the Bolts.
The Bolts stayed in second spot trailing the unbeaten Magnolia Pambansang Manok who have a 6-0 record and slightly ahead of the 5-2 Alaska Aces.
CJ Perez was also key for SMB with 23 points and five steals, the last came after intercepting a pass while Ginebra was trying to cut a 106-100 deficit with over a minute to go.
His steal enabled Johnson to score an easy dunk to virtually seal the deal for the Beermen, who are now tied for fifth place with the idle Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.
Justin Brownlee scored 40 points on the day he surpassed Byron “Snake” Jones and Billy Ray Robinson to move into ninth place on the all-time scoring list among imports, but Ginebra absorbed its fourth straight defeat to go 3-4.
It was the first time the Gin Kings lost four in a row since coach Tim Cone took over in the 2015-16 season.
Johnson scored 10 in the third as SMB hiked its lead from 48-46 at the half to 86-73.
Brownlee tried to lead a Gin Kings uprising but the Beermen always had an answer during the payoff period.
The scores:
First Game
MERALCO 93 — Bishop 26, Maliksi 19, Almazan 17, Newsome 8, Banchero 6, Belo 6, Black 5, Caram 4, Quinto 2, Hodge 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 88 — Walker 24, Nambatac 12, Belga 12, Borboran 10, Nieto 10, Caracut 8, Mocon 7, Asistio 3, Ponferada 2, Jackson 0, Santillan 0, Norwood 0.
Quarters: 20-23, 45-51, 64-65, 93-88.
Second Game
SAN MIGUEL 110 — Johnson 31, Perez 23, Fajardo 13, Lassiter 13, Romeo 9, Manuel 8, Tautuaa 7, Ross 6, Brondial 0.
GINEBRA 102 — Brownlee 40, Tolentino 14, Aguilar 14, Tenorio 13, Standhardinger 8, Thompson 7, Pinto 6, Caperal 0.
Quarters: 20-24, 48-46, 86-73, 110-102.
