PBA: Ginebra climbs to 4-4 after dominant win over Blackwater

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings’ RJ Abarrientos during a game against Blackwater Bossing in the 2025 PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—The PBA Philippine Cup playoff race is reaching a fever pitch, and Barangay Ginebra joined in on the fun late Wednesday with a 103-85 win over Blackwater at Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.

The Gin Kings followed up their win over Phoenix before the Fiba break to climb to 4-4, pulling even with Meralco in a tie for the eighth seed.

READ: PBA: ‘Struggling’ Ginebra gets boost before Fiba break

“We needed a really good performance tonight, being in the middle of the standings,” coach Tim Cone said. “We’re still searching for ourselves a little bit at this point. Tonight’s game is definitely crucial.”

RJ Abarrientos came off the bench and delivered a team-high 15 points along with three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

“Our team right now is so deep and we need to take [our playing time] seriously,” the sophomore guard said. “We’re thankful to the coaches for giving us our minutes.”

Supporting Abarrientos’ effort was the sharpshooting tandem of Stephen Holt and Jeremiah Gray, who tallied 12 points each. Jayson David nearly recorded a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Bossing absorbed their eighth straight loss despite Dalph Panopio’s 22 points and eight rebounds. Sedrick Barefield and Abu Tratter added 17 and 12 points, respectively, but their efforts weren’t enough to prevent Blackwater from slipping to 1-8.

The Gin Kings aim to climb further in the standings on Friday when they face Terrafirma at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Blackwater, meanwhile, takes on defending champion San Miguel Beer on Saturday at the Antipolo venue.