By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra rode on a furious third-quarter run and blew past Terrafirma, 106-82, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, July 6.
Through the efforts of Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Christian Standhardinger and Arvin Tolentino, the Gin Kings unleashed a blistering 18-1 run in the final five minutes of the third to erase an early seven-point deficit and took an 82-72 lead going into the final quarter.
That onslaught was enough to unsettle the Dyip as the Gin Kings continued to pile up points and cruise to the 24-point blowout win to catch San Miguel atop the standings with a 6-1 record.
It was also enough for themselves to book a spot in the quarterfinals.
Aguilar led the way for Ginebra with 22 points, seven blocks and six rebounds while frontcourt partner Christian Standhardinger added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
LA Tenorio added 12 points and six assists while Scottie Thompson only finished with seven points but collared 12 boards.
“‘Yung character namin only showed in the second half, in the first half we played out of character actually, we were getting outhustled and yun yung nagiging problema namin even on our last game against Converge and you can see the energy of Terrafirma kasi nga nothing to lose for them and anything to gain,” said stand-in coach Richard Del Rosario.
Juami Tiongson started out like a house on fire in the first half for Terrafirma with 20 points although he was limited to just four points the rest of the way.
Ginebra however came alive in the final minutes of the third frame as they clamped down on the defensive end with Aguilar’s defense forcing the Dyip to forced shots allowing the Gin Kings to get their rhythm back and embark on the telling run.
With the loss, the Dyip dropped to a 0-7 record in the standings as they slowly lose grip of their own playoff fate.
BLACK SHINES
Aaron Black broke out of his personal slump to help Meralco snap its two-game slide with a 77-73 victory over Rain or Shine in the first game.
After struggling in the past two games — even going scoreless in the Bolts’ 90-89 loss to Blackwater Bossing — Black bounced back with 20 points built on four triples, including a huge three-pointer he buried with 39 seconds left which gave Meralco enough cushion to weather a late Elasto Painters rally and list their fourth win in seven games.
Allein Maliksi provided support with 19 points spiked by four triples while Raymond Almazan finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
Cliff Hodge added 10 points and eight rebounds while Chris Newsome, after missing his first 10 shots in the first three quarters, provided the Bolts a huge lift with seven points in the fourth quarter points to give Luigi Trillo a winning return at the helm after taking over the coaching role from Norman Black who is in the US to attend to his ailing mother. Also missing was Ronnie Magsanoc who is in Singapore for the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.
The scores
GINEBRA 106 – J.Aguilar 22, Standhardinger 18, Tenorio 13, Tolentino 12, Pringle 8, Thompson 7, Mariano 6, Chan 5, Caperal 4, Pinto 4, Salado 3, David 2, R.Aguilar 2, Onwubere 0.
TERRAFIRMA 82 – Tiongson 24, Cahilig 14, Gabayni 14, Camson 9, Calvo 7, Munzon 6, Gomez de Liano 6, Balagasay 2, Mina 0, Enriquez 0.
Quarters: 26-20, 48-50, 82-72, 106-82