BARANGAY Ginebra went on a third-quarter tear to break free from Converge and hack out a 105-93 win on the road in the PBA Philippine Cup on Saturday night.
Maverick Ahanmisi led the second half breakaway by pouring 11 of his 17 points as he teamed up with Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar in helping the Kings outscore the FiberXers, 36-21, in the third period.
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The fourth straight win by Ginebra raised its record to 7-3 for solo second place, while creating further separation against NLEX and Magnolia in the heated race for the remaining twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.
Standhardinger fell just an assist short of a triple double with his 33 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists for the Gin Kings. The 6-8 Fil-German also had two shotblocks and two steals to round out an outstanding performance.
The 33 points of Standhardinger is likewise a season-high that equalled his highest output in a Ginebra uniform which he did in Game 1 of the 2023 Governors Cup semifinals against San Miguel.
Halftime of the game at the Aquilino Pimentel Jr International Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro ended at 48-all.
The game also saw the debut of newly acquired Dave Murrell for the Kings. The former Converge player was fielded in the final five minutes of the match when the team already had it in the bag, 96-77.
Four other players finished in double figures for Barangay Ginebra, including Scottie Thompson who had an all-around game of 10 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
After keeping pace with the Kings in the first half, the roof caved in for the FiberXers, who couldn't pull off a repeat of their 104-99 win over the Meralco Bolts the previous game.
Alec Stockton continued his hot shooting for Converge with a team-high 32 points spiked by four three pointers, while Justin Arana's 18 points and seven rebounds also went for naught as the FiberXers lost for the ninth time in 10 outings.
The scores:
Ginebra (105) - Standhardinger 33, Ahanmisi 17, Cu 13, J.Aguilar 12, Thompson 10, Pinto 10, Murrell 3, Pringle 3, Pessumal 3, Gumaru 1, David 0, Onwubere 0, Tenorio 0, R.Aguilar 0.
Converge (93) - Stockton 32, Arana 18, Melecio 10, Winston 9, Delos Santos 7, Maagdenberg 7, Santos 5, Caralipio 2, Fornilos 2, Flores 1, Nieto 0.
Quarterscores: 24-21; 48-48; 83-69; 105-93.
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