Hot-shooting Ginebra torches NorthPort; Converge downs Rain or Shine for 3rd straight win

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MANILA, Philippines – When it rains, it pours for the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.

Riding on the hot hands of RJ Abarrientos and Jayson David, the Gin Kings returned to the win column of the PBA Philippine Cup after a 131-106 mauling of the NorthPort Batang Pier at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, April 30. 

Abarrientos shot a near-perfect 6-of-7 clip from three-point land and 1-of-1 from the league’s four-point distance to finish with a game-high 27 points, along with 8 assists in the wire-to-wire rout. 

Meanwhile, David — who was recently reactivated by Ginebra in lieu of LA Tenorio — connected on all his four attempts from beyond the arc to come up with 25 points to go with his 9 rebounds. 

Overall, Ginebra knocked down 17 of its 32 attempts from deep for a very efficient 53.1% clip as it redeemed itself from its loss to the San Miguel Beermen last Friday, April 25, hiking its record to 2-1. 

“We did come out with really good focus. That’s something we’re always trying to do, obviously we didn’t do that against San Miguel,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. 

“We came out and did what we’re supposed to do. We got sloppy at times, but by and large, we played the game we wanted to play.”

Laser-focused from the get-go, the Gin Kings immediately buried the Batang Pier in the opening period with a 40-24 lead after hitting 8 of their 11 shots from downtown.

It was Stephen Holt who set the tone early for Ginebra with 11 points built on three long bombs in just the first 12 minutes.

Holt ended up with 17 points, while Japeth Aguilar and Troy Rosario added 15 each.

Jamie Malonzo also had a solid outing of 14 markers and 12 boards for the Gin Kings in the lopsided affair that saw them lead by as many as 34 points. 

For the Batang Pier, Will Navarro led all scorers with 19 points as they continued to play without their injured star Arvin Tolentino. 

Sidney Onwubere backed up Navarro with 17 points, while Avan Nava chipped in 14 for NorthPort, which suffered its third straight loss for a 1-3 record. 

Earlier, the Converge FiberXers claimed their third straight win and improved to a 4-2 card after outlasting the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 107-97.

For the second straight contest, Converge leaned on its main gunners Schonny Winston, Alec Stockton, Justin Arana, and Justine Baltazar as the quartet combined for 79 of the team’s 107 points. 

Winston and Stockton delivered 24 points apiece, while Arana and Baltazar contributed 18 and 13, respectively.

Arana and Baltazar even recorded double-double stat lines as the former grabbed 17 rebounds, while the latter hauled down a whopping 22 boards. 

Leonard Santillan topscored for the Elasto Painters with 26 points, while Gian Mamuyac tallied 25 in the loss that brought their record down to 2-2. 

The Scores

First Game

Converge 107 – Winston 24, Stockton 24, Arana 18, Baltazar 13, Racal 9, Suerte 7, Caralipio 5, Garcia 4, Santos 2, Corpuz 1, Delos Santos 0, Nermal 0, Ambohot 0.

Rain or Shine 97 – Santillan 26, Mamuyac 25, Nocum 11, Lemetti 6, Norwood 5, Caracut 5, Asistio 5, Clarito 2, Escandor 1, Malonzo 0.

Quarters: 25-31, 53-54, 84-78, 107-97.

Second Game

Ginebra 131 – Abarrientos 27, David 25, Holt 17, J. Aguilar 15, Rosario 15, Malonzo 14, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 6, Pinto 2, Thompson 2, Mariano 1, Adamos 0, Pessumal 0, R. Aguilar 0.

NorthPort 106 – Navarro 19, Onwubere 17, Nava 14, Jalalon 11, Munzon 10, Flores 10, Taha 8, Bulanadi 8, Cuntapay 3, Kwekuteye 2, Miranda 2, Nelle 2, Yu 0.

Quarters: 40-24, 70-43, 95-72, 131-106.

– Rappler.com