BINAN, Laguna – Barako Bull stayed unbeaten in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup following a stunning 69-68 win over crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra Sunday night.
Chico Lanete orchestrated a short but telling 7-0 Energy run in the fourth period to take control late in the tightly-fought match played before a banner crowd at the Alonte Sports Arena here.
The win was the second straight for the surprising Energy, who forced a three-way logjam on top amongst Meralco and Talk ‘N Text.
The Kings suffered their second consecutive loss for a 0-2 record, although the Kings almost pulled off an epic comeback when they rallied from a six-point deficit following a five-point cluster by Joseph Yeo to trim the deficit to 69-68 in the final 39 seconds.
But the comeback fell short as Yeo himself missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the Kings’ final possession, sending the pro-Ginebra crowd in utter disappointment.
Chico Lanete scored 17 points, including eight in the second period, to pace the Energy, while JC Intal added 14, eight of them coming in the third quarter.
Greg Slaughter topscored for Ginebra with 18 points, while import Michael Dunigan, who is coming off a bout with food poisoning, finished with 11.
The scores:
Barako Bull (69) -- Lanete 17, Intal 14, Alabi 13, Marcelo 11, Mercado 7, Garcia 5, Lastimosa 1, Pascual 1, Pena 0, Hubalde 0, Salvador 0, Wilson 0, Salva 0, Paredes 0, Sorongon 0.
Ginebra (68) -- Slaughter 18, Dunigan 11, Caguioa 10, Baracael 8, Yeo 7, Urbiztondo 5, Tenorio 4, Mamaril 3, Aguilar 2, Monfort 0, Helterbrand 0, Ababou 0, Ellis 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 15-12; 28-34; 50-50; 69-68
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