PBA IMAGES
BATANGAS — Flaunting a new weapon, Barangay Ginebra cruised past NLEX, 100-85, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night at Batangas City Coliseum here.
Beloved import Justin Brownlee and latest acquisition Stanley Pingle figure served as the defending champion’s one-two punch in the thumping of the Road Warriors.
“You got two guys like that—it’s like you have Steph Curry and Kevin Durant,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone told reporters after the contest.
Brownlee and Pringle accounted for 37 and 16 points, respectively to lead the Gin Kings attack that hiked their record to 4-3 and added to the woes of the Road Warriors in the midseason conference.
“That third quarter revolved around Stanley and Justin feeding off of each other,” the decorated mentor said.
But his praises came after a sigh of relief.
“Tough conditions tonight, playing a second game,” he added, noting of the humid state of the venue. “The game gets worse and worse as it progresses. The more the guys sweat, the more drops are on the floor. One little drop makes a guy fly.
“I was frightening for our players. As much as we wanted to thrill the fans as they are paramount to us, we got to remember that the players are the assets. And without those assets, we couldn’t put out a good product for the fans,” Cone added.
Pringle and NLEX import Tony Mitchell both suffered a slip and a bad fall midway through the contest.
“The last thing you want is a key guy falling down on a slip … but to the credit of the ‘punas’ guys, they really came out every moment they could,” Cone said. “I’m glad we got through it and we got through it with a win.”
NLEX leaned on Poy Erram, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Mitchell tossed in 17 and eight, while Kenneth Ighalo and Jericho Cruz both posted twin-digit scores.
Ginebra faces Phoenix this Friday, while NLEX will try to cram wins in its last three games beginning against Rain or Shine on the same day. The matches are slated at Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.