BARANGAY Ginebra relied on a flurry of three-pointers in the final period to finish off a tough Barako Bull side, 90-83 and strengthen its grip of the top spot in the PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings outscored the Energy, 30-15 in the payoff quarter when their outside snipers finally found their range against the zone defense of Barako Bull that made it tough for Twin Towers Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar to impose their will inside.
“We’re lucky na yung nag-sona sila, we were able to hit our shots sa three-points saka mas naging aggressive kami sa defense,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin after the win that atoned for a shock 79-83 defeat to sister team San Mig exactly a week ago.
The Gin Kings, who converted 13 three-point shots in the game, hiked their record to 10-2 (win-loss), moving within a win of clinching the top spot and a twice-to-beat incentive heading into the playoffs.
Not until Aguilar broke loose on a fastbreak and completed an alley-oop basket off a perfect feed by Chris Ellis did Ginebra finally breathe easy, 86-80, time down to 37 seconds.
Barako Bull, which pulled off a miracle 92-88 win over fancied Petron last Wednesday, dropped to 5-8 in a tie with Globalport with a game left on its schedule.
Mark Caguioa also scored 14 points while Aguilar finished with 13 and 10 boards for the league-leading Ginebra quintet, which stayed a full game ahead of Petron and Rain or Shine with two games left to play in the elims.
Dennis Miranda paced the Energy with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists, while JC Intal, one of eight former Ginebra players now playing for Barako Bull, added 15 and eight boards.
