PBA IMAGES
Ginebra went to its top guns and downed TNT, 93-78, to grab a share of fifth place in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, and Greg Slaughter formed a terrible trio for the Gin Kings as they frustrated the KaTropa and accounted for almost the entire team’s production.
Tenorio fired 27 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds, Aguilar had 25 markers, six boards, two dimes, two steals, and two blocks, and Slaughter got a double-double of 20 points, 14 rebounds with four assists, and two rejections.
“LA was awesome all night long, Japeth was making brilliant passes to Greg and we love seeing those guys play together, passing to each other,” praised Ginebra head coach Tim Cone after guiding his team to 5-4. “It’s not how well Japeth plays or how well Greg plays, but how well they play together and that’s the key for us.”
Scottie Thompson almost had a double-double of his own too, posting nine markers, 11 boards, four assists, and two steals while Kevin Ferrer also helped spark a fourth-quarter breakaway with his pair of triples breaking a 65-deadlock.
“We said before the game that it was a huge game so now that we’ve won it, it’s a huge win. We’re tied in the standings right now and it’s so tight. It’s the time in the conference that everyone’s scrambling for wins,” Cone remarked. “But our guys stepped up today. We were playing ok in the first half, but we knew it wasn’t gonna be enough to win the game so we elevated our play in the second half.”
TNT suffered its second consecutive defeat and fell to eighth place at 4-5.
Jayson Castro led the fight with 17 points, but shot 6-of-20 from the field, while also grabbing four assists and two rebounds.
Kelly Williams also had 17 markers and 15 boards for the KaTropa, who played without Troy Rosario, while Roger Pogoy added 16 points and five rebounds.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 93 — Tenorio 27, J. Aguilar 25, Slaughter 20, Thompson 9, Cruz 6, Ferrer 6, R. Aguilar 0, Caguioa 0, Caperal 0, Mercado 0, Taha 0.
TNT 78 — Castro 17, Williams 17, Pogoy 16, Tautuaa 10, Garcia 8, Paredes 2, Reyes 2, Semerad 2, Tamsi 2, Torres 2, Carey 0, Golla 0.
Quarters: 22-18, 44-42, 63-62, 93-78.