TONY Bishop scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his Barangay Ginebra debut - a 100-86 win over Converge on Friday night in the 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Christian Standhardinger had 25 points and 16 rebounds for Barangay Ginebra, which won its first game in its title-retention bid with Bishop stepping in after Justin Brownlee failed a doping test during the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
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Maverick Ahanmisi had seven points and six rebounds in his first match with Ginebra and at the expense of his former team Converge, which slipped to 0-3.
Ginebra got its full rhythm in the third quarter where it outscored Converge, 26-15, to grab an 80-67 lead.
The win comes two days before Ginebra faces Magnolia Chicken Timplados on Sunday at the Big Dome.
“We did worry that we wouldn't be as sharp as Converge because they have a couple of games under their belt. We were just coming from just practicing. It’s hard to get that game speed in practice,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“We didn’t know what to expect from ourselves and they (Converge) came out and shot the ball extremely well in that first half and we had a hard time keeping up with them. But we found our legs a little bit in the second half especially on the defensive side and we were able to go,” said Cone.
Ginebra also won with PBA Season 47 Mythical Five winner Jamie Malonzo in street clothes and not seeing action in the team’s first game of the season.
Justin Arana had 20 points and eight rebounds but Converge import Tom Vodanovich was limited to 13 points as the FiberXers remained winless.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 100 – Bishop 34, Standhardinger 25, Thompson 13, J. Aguilar 11, Pringle 8, Ahanmisi 7, Pinto 2, Cu 0, Pessumal 0, Gumaru 0.
Converge 86 – Arana 20, Balanza 13, Vodanovich 13, Zaldivar 9, Melecio 7, Nieto 7, Stockton 6, Winston 5, Racal 3, Caralipio 3, Fornilos 0, Maagdenberg 0, Wong 0, Tallo 0.
Quarters: 25-30; 54-52; 80-67; 100-86.
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