ANTIPOLO – Barangay Ginebra shrugged off a slow start and went on to whip Blackwater, 103-85, and register its first back-to-back wins this Season 50 in the PBA Philippine Cup.
RJ Abarrientos, coming off his first stint with Gilas Pilipinas under coach Tim Cone, finished with 15 points, while Jeremiah Gray and Stephen Holt with 12 each for the Kings, who trailed 1-9, early in the first quarter.
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Their second straight win allowed the Kings to even their record at 4-4 and remain in a tie with Meralco for the seventh to eighth places.
"I wouldn't say we're groping for form, but I would say we're still searching ourselves a little bit at this point," said coach Tim Cone afterwards.
"Tonight's game was absolutely crucial for us."
So crucial it was that Cone had to call a quick timeout when rookie Dalph Panopio scored on a layup and gave Blackwater an early eight-point lead just three minutes into the game.
But Gray, Holt, and Troy Rosario came out firing following the Ginebra huddle and by the time the first period was over, the Kings were finally on top, 23-22.
There was no looking back from there.
"They came out shooting the ball really well and we didn't adjust to their zone (defense) right away. So we just want to get the guys settled," said Cone.
Jayson David also came out firing for Ginebra with 11 points, including eight straight in the second period when the Kings finally pulled away for good.
Blackwater went down to its eight straight defeat for a 1-8 record, and was the second team to be eliminated in the quarterfinals race after Terrafirma.
Panopio came through with 22 points as he suited up for the Bossing despite having an early flight to Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday with the Gilas Pilipinas men's team for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games. He also had eight rebounds and shot 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Sedrick Barefield finished with 17 points and Abu Tratter, another Gilas player bound for the SEA Games, added 12 and seven rebounds.
The scores
Barangay Ginebra (103) - Abarrientos 15, Gray 12, Holt 12, David 11, Rosario 10, Torres 9, Thompson 8, Aguilar 8, Estil 7, R. Aguilar 6, Cu 3, Adamos 2, Pinto 0.
Blackwater (85) - Panopio 22, Barefield 17, Tratter 12, Una 8, Malilin 8, David 7, Guinto 6, Cruz-Dumont 5, Mendoza 0, Jopia 0, Andrade 0, Zamar 0.
Quarterscores: 23-22; 63-42; 80-64; 103-85.
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