By REYNALD MAGALLON
Japeth Aguilar provided a game-long brilliance and Ginebra averted collapse against a hard-fighting Rain or Shine team, 90-85, to join early leaders in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
The Gin Kings used a huge third quarter onslaught to create the much-needed separation which proved to be enough to weather the Elastopainters comeback efforts in the final frame.
Ginebra joined San Miguel atop the standings with a 2-0 record while Rain or Shine absorbed its second-straight defeat for a 1-2 win-loss slate.
Meanwhile, Magnolia fended off a huge second half uprising from NorthPort to come away with an 80-77 victory and barge into the win column.
Aguilar scored 23 points – 13 of which he unloaded in the first quarter on top of seven rebounds and two blocks while Scottie Thompson produced an all-around game of 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
The Kings also got solid contributions from Arvin Tolentino who scored all of his 11 points during the huge 24-5 run in the third frame, turning a 45-47 deficit into a 69-52 advantage. The lead even ballooned to as high as 21 points early in the final frame following a one-handed jam and a layup from Aguilar.
Refusing to go down without a fight were the Elastopainters who went with its own 14-3 run sparked by the efforts of Gian Mamuyac, Andrei Caracut and Mike Nieto to cut the lead down to just 10, 82-72 with less than five-minutes left in the game.
Another Nieto triple broke Ginebra’s double digit barrier before a Santi Santillan trey cut the lead down to five, 87-82 with 36 seconds left.
Rain or Shine had the chance to inch closer but came up dry in its last two possessions as Aguilar and LA Tenorio made free throws that sealed the deal for Ginebra.
Nieto had his best performance in Elastopainters uniform finishing with 15 points off the bench while Belga added 14 points and 10 boards.
With the Batang Pier threatening to steal the game away from the Timplados hands in the waning minutes, Calvin Abueva and Rome Dela Rosa delivered the telling blows – none bigger than the latter’s go-ahead triple with ten seconds left.
Magnolia notched its first win in three games while also putting a dent to Northport’s earlier perfect record which now fell to a 2-1 slate.
Abueva had a double-double performance of 23 points and 12 rebounds while Paul Lee fired away with 12 points on a 4-of-7 shooting from three-point line in his return to the lineup after missing the Timplados’ first two games.
Northport after trailing behind by 17-points in the first half came back roaring behind the scintillating three-point shooting from Roi Sumang and Robert Bolick in the final frame. Bolick’s top of the key trey even gave the Batang Pier a 77-75 cushion with 54 seconds left in the game.
Abueva answered back with a layup on the other end to tie the game at 77-apiece. Kevin Ferrer had the chance to shove the lead back to the Batang Pier but he muffed the two crucial free throws allowing the Timplados to reclaim possession that led to a go-ahead left wing triple from Dela Rosa which happened to be his first field goal of the contest after missing his first seven attempts.
Arwind Santos had the chance to send the game to an extra period but came up short in his supposed game-tying triple
“It’s a close game again but that sense of urgency in terms of executing, in terms of consistency, the effort, the desire, I think nagawa naman namin,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero.
“Wala akong masasabi about sa effort of my players, every game even the last two games but it’s all about the breaks of the game in the last two games, maybe also on executing our plays in the end but now we did a good job on executing on both ends especially down the stretch,” he added.
Santos paced Northport with 18 points while Sumang and Jamie Malonzo added 15 markers apiece. Bolick, despite being hounded by Magnolia defense all-game-long still finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field.
