Ginebra reclaims top spot, fends off Magnolia

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Barangay Ginebra regained first place after beating rival Magnolia, 93-86, in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Gin Kings import Justin Brownlee scored 29 points, including a layup to end the resilient Hotshots’ hopes of a comeback with 24.5 seconds left.

The game also marked the conference debuts of key cogs Greg Slaughter (ankle) and Sol Mercado (knee) for Ginebra.

Slaughter and Mercado announced their return in style.

The 7-foot Slaughter nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds in a little over 20 minutes of action while Mercado had nine points, two rebounds and two assists in close to 24 minutes.

A 3-pointer by Brownlee made it, 89-75, with only 2:30 remaining but Magnolia came back and trimmed the deficit to just five twice inside the last 40 seconds of the game before LA Tenorio iced the game with two free throws with 18 ticks to go.

Japeth Aguilar added 17 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Kings, who climbed to 8-2.

Romeo Travis had 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks while Paul Lee scored 21 points for the Hotshots (8-3), who slipped into a tie with the Alaska Aces in second place.