SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Japeth Aguilar had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in front of his fellow Kabalen and Barangay Ginebra got back to its winning ways with a 85-66 victory over Converge on Saturday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center.
Aguilar, who traces his roots from Sasmuan, Pampanga, had 11 points in the second quarter where the Gin Kings built their biggest lead at 39-20 at that point of the game, a gap they never conceded to improve their win-loss record to 3-2.
The Gin Kings also bounced back from their three-point loss to NLEX last Wednesday.
With the defeat, Converge snapped its three-game winning streak to go down to 4-3 after playing catch-up the whole match when they trailed, 23-13, at the end of the first period.
With the number of personalities from the Converge camp tracing its roots in Pampanga led by governor Dennis Pineda, the match could be considered as a home game for the FiberXers.
Still, Barangay Ginebra fans came out in droves and their presence were felt as soon as the Gin Kings started to mount their lead.
Aguilar later went down with cramps after a made basket with less than three minutes left in the match, and the result of the match already settled.
Ginebra's defense on point
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone lauded the defense against Converge that saw Justin Arana’s five-game double-double streak snapped after he finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, and Alec Stockton scoring eight points.
The two combined for 7 of 20 shooting from the field.
“We felt we didn’t play a very good defensive game against NLEX the last time out. We were determined to clean up some stuff. I thought we played a lot more detailed game this time around which was important for us,” Cone said.
“That’s what is going to get us to the playoffs and make us play well there. We really had a good effort in terms of paying attention to detail tonight, and I thought that was the one that struck me most because we knew we had to be very detailed against this team because they have very obvious strengths in terms of Arana, Baltazar, Stockton, and Winston," he added.
Scottie Thompson added 15 points, while RJ Abarrientos had 14 points and five rebounds for the Gin Kings.
Justine Baltazar had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two rebounds in his first PBA game in Pampanga, while fellow Kapampangan MJ Garcia had 12 points in a losing cause for the FiberXers.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 85 – J. Aguilar 23, Thompson 15, Abarrientos 14, Holt 12, Malonzo 9, Rosario 7, David 3, Adamos 2, Pinto 0, Mariano 0, R. Aguilar 0, Cu 0.
Converge 66 – Baltazar 13, Garcia 12, Arana 9, Stockton 8, Ambohot 7, Winston 4, Delos Santos 4, Suerte 3, Racal 3, Nermal 2, Corpuz 1, Caralipio 0, B. Santos 0, R. Santos 0.
Quarters: 23-13; 50-34; 67-54; 85-66.
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