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Barangay Ginebra flipped the script in the second half to beat Meralco, 83-72, in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Saturday night at University of San Agustin Gym in Iloilo.
Scottie Thompson had his fingerprints all over the Gin Kings’ fourth win in eight games with seven points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in less than 30 minutes of action.
“We’re still trying to climb our way back into contention. This was a really crucial game for us. it was tough for them as well,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “But the thing i like today is our team really battled. We had some bad movement. we had some bad movements but we kept battling and held our heads high.”
“We have a really high expectations for ourselves since the championship so when we have high expectations if we don’t beat them we got a little frustrated and a little upset and for us, we have to move forward,” Cone added.
Ginebra got going in the third quarter then, pulled ahead in the fourth period, leading by as much as 14, 79-65, on a jumper by Japeth Aguilar with 1:59 remaining.
Joe Devance topscored with 19 points that went with six rebounds while LA Tenorio and Aguilar added 18 and 17 points, respectively for the Kings, who put their sorry 72-70 loss to the league-leading San Miguel Beermen last Sunday.
The game also marked the two teams’ first meeting since Ginebra won the Governors’ Cup title three months ago.
Chris Newsome just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bolts (2-7), who failed to sustain their strong play in the first half and reeled to their sixth straight setback.
The Bolts got off to a good start, taking a 23-13 buffer with under a minute left in the opening period, before the Kings found their way back behind Thompson’s all-around play.
Despite Ginebra’s recovery, Meralco still managed to take a 40-39 lead at halftime after a step back triple by Ed Daquioag to end the half.
The Kings held the Bolts to only 26% shooting from the field.