Energy keep Kings winless

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The side that never said die in the Barako Bull-Barangay Ginebra game in the PBA Philippine Cup carved out a rallying victory to remember Saturday night—and it wasn’t the Gin Kings.

Barako Bull labored hard under a bum start but came up with a furious finish to slap a second straight loss on the Kings, an 82-79 decision at Mall of Asia Arena that kept Ginebra winless in the season-opening tournament.

Held to three points after the first six minutes and to nine at the end of the first quarter to trail by 20, the Energy slowly nibbled their way back into the contest and then outsteadied the Gin Kings in the stretch to win for the first time in two games.

JC Intal, toughened up mentally by a stint with Gilas Pilipinas, scattered 22 points and RR Garcia tossed in 10 of his 16 in the final frame to help the Energy upend the Kings.

Despite all the brouhaha surrounding the Kings in the off-season after the coming of Tim Cone, Ginebra has yet to play with the form that is worthy of its potential.

The Kings lost in a lopsided manner to Star in their debut last week and were seen as the overwhelming picks against the much-smaller Energy.

Greg Slaughter had 27 points and 26 rebounds—the first 20-20 game of his career—but the 7-footer from Cebu had very little help from the star-studded Ginebra roster with only LA Tenorio finishing in twin digits with 12.

Actually, Tenorio wasn’t even in double digits until the final 12 seconds, when he hit a three-pointer that made it 80-79 and fanned hopes of a Ginebra recovery.

Meanwhile, Talk ‘N Text survived Mahindra, 101-97, in the first game, to also be at 1-1. The Enforcers also dropped to 0-2 like Ginebra.

“I thought we did a good job defensively,” Barako Bull coach Koy Banal told reporters. “Our offense will start from good defense, that’s what I have been telling the boys during our preparation for this game.”

The Energy held the Kings scoreless for a 2:20 span late in the fourth to build an 80-73 lead, and then botched up several Ginebra offensives after that—none bigger than a double team on Mark Caguioa by Intal and Garcia inside the final eight seconds that forced the former MVP to a turnover for the final count.

Despite the Kings’ enormous advantage in size, Barako Bull held its own in the battle off the boards, yielding a 55-59 margin as veteran Mick Pennisi plucked down 10 rebounds.

The scores:
First Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 101—Castro 28, Rosario 12, Tautuaa 12, Fonacier 11, Reyes J. 10, Reyes R. 10, Carey 6, Rosser 6, Miranda 3, Seigle 3, Aban 0.
MAHINDRA 97—Revilla 21, Guinto 17, Ramos 13, Jaime 12, Hubalde 8, Pinto 8, Canaleta 7, Bagatsing 5, Yee 4, Webb 2, Alvarez 0, Laure 0.
Quarters: 24-19, 47-53, 73-76, 101-97
Second Game
BARAKO 82—Intal 22, Garcia 16, Baracael 8, Lanete 8, Monfort 7, Caperal 6, Pennisi 6, Wilson 6, Miranda 2, Cruz 1, Sorongon 0, Urbiztondo 0.
BRGY. GINEBRA 79—Slaughter 27, Tenorio 12, Ellis 9, Mercado 9, Aguilar 6, Caguioa 6, Devance 6, Marcelo 2, Salva 2, Brondial 0, Helterbrand 0, Thompson 0.
Quarters: 9-29, 36-43, 57-57, 82-79