BARANGAY Ginebra welcomed the return of coach Tim Cone with a bang, scoring a 100-93 beating of NorthPort to snap out of a two-game skid in its PBA Philippine Cup campaign Sunday night.
Ginebra vs NorthPort recap
The Kings went on a third quarter tear to pull away from the Batang Pier before surviving some anxious moments in the homestretch of a game that marked the return of Cone on the Ginebra bench.
Scottie Thompson had a near triple double of 23 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists in the win that put the Kings back in solo third place at 7-3.
Cone missed out on the team's previous four games after serving as part of the Miami Heat coaching staff in the NBA Summer League.
“Sometimes you need a little kick in the rear end to get yourself going. I think that last two games gave us that kick in the rear,” said Cone during the post-game presser at the Willie Caballes Hall of the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings lost back-to-back games against TNT Tropang Giga (106-92) and Meralco (90-73).
“And we understood that if we want to try and compete again for a championship, we have to play with a lot of fire, vigor, and energy.”
The Kings came a little bit flat in the first 12 minutes of play, but found a hot hand in John Pinto during the second quarter when the tough-playing guard had 11 of his total 18 points that turned around a six-point deficit into a 47-42 lead at the break.
Come the second half, Thompson, Pinto, and Jeff Chan connived as the Kings erected their largest lead at 80-58.
The win locked Barangay Ginebra’s shot of playing in a best-of-three series in the quarterfinals that kicks off next week.
Pinto went 4-of-6 from three-point range, Japeth Aguilar had 14 points and eight rebounds despite being afflicted with dengue, LA Tenorio with 13, and Chan 11 for the Kings.
NorthPort still has a slim chance for the eighth and final quarterfinals spot with its 3-7 record, but needed to win its remaining game against NLEX on Friday to stay in contention.
Robert Bolick had eight three pointers for a game-high 29 points for the Batang Pier.
The last of his three pointer moved NorthPort to within 89-94 with 2:43 to play, but it was the closest the Batang Pier could get against the Kings.
The scores
Ginebra (100) -- Thompson 23, Pinto 18, J.Aguilar 14, Tenorio 13, Chan 11, Standhardinger 9, Pringle 8, Mariano 4, Dillinger 0.
NorthPort (93) -- Bolick 29, Malonzo 19, Santos 14, Ferrer 13, Balanza 6, Taha 6, Sumang 4, Calma 2, Dela Cruz 0, Ayaay 0.
Quarterscores: 20-26; 47-42; 80-60; 100-93.
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