Japeth Aguilar powers his way past his defender. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
BOCAUE – Japeth Aguilar emerged as the grinch who stole Star’s Christmas, exploding for 32 points to carry Ginebra to an 84-77 win Sunday at Philippine Arena here.
The lanky forward exploited the Hotshots defense, converting the open looks and putback dunks and going perfect from beyond the arc with five triples. He also hauled down 12 rebounds, and two blocks.
“This was indicative of the way we win games. Japeth was awesome tonight on the offensive side and even defensively, he was very active,” said coach Tim Cone of Aguilar. “We encourage him to shoot threes and he hit them tonight. It’s a huge weapon that we can continue to use and develop.”
Aguilar had a response for every Star fightback in the fourth, turning a close one-point lead, 66-65, into eight, 81-73, with 34.9 left in the game.
Joe Devance also had 17 markers and six boards, while Scottie Thompson also impressed in his debut in the world-class arena, tallying five points, seven assists, and a team-high 17 rebounds.
Star saw its three-game winning run cut short and will now go to the break tied for sixth with an even 3-3 slate, together with Ginebra, Alaska, and Phoenix.
Paul Lee led the Hotshots in his first Manila Clasico with 20 points and five rebounds, while Marc Pingris had 14 markers, 16 boards, and four assists.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 86 – Aguilar 32, Devance 17, Tenorio 7, Mariano 7, Thompson 5, Taha 5, Caguioa 4, Marcelo 4, Ellis 3, Mercado 2, Ferrer 0, Helterbrand 0, Cruz 0.
STAR 79 – Lee 20, Pingris 14, Maliksi 13, Ramos 7, Dela Rosa 6, Barroca 6, Melton 5, Reavis 4, Simon 4, Sangalang 0, Brondial 0.
Quarters: 25-16, 45-35, 62-61, 86-79.